Restoration of Acorn Hall

Representing seven years of planning and consistent construction, the comprehensive exterior restoration of Acorn Hall was completed in 2018. The first projects, commenced in 2013, were begun upon completion of a preservation plan by Connolly & Hickey, Historic Architects, which has guided all work on the Hall since. By the time of construction, the building was in need of significant and time-sensitive restoration. Some of the earliest projects included replacing the lead-coated copper flat roofs and repairs to the built-in gutter system and underground drainage system. Requiring two years of grants to fully fund, Acorn Hall’s main slate roof was matched to shards of slate found in the crawl space of the attic.

After repairs to the clapboards and trim, Acorn Hall was also painted to its 1860-1880 color palette as determined through paint analysis which identified over 15 coats of paint and primer applied over the lifetime of the building. Matching the earliest known color scheme, Benjamin Moore’s “wool peacoat” gray, “country life” green, and “brownstone” were used on the clapboards, trim, and windows respectively. Applied, as it would have been in the mid-19^th-century, by hand with brushes, painting of the Hall took several months and was the final stage completed in fall 2018.

Restoration of Acorn Hall’s carriage house began in spring 2020 to address a wide range of condition issues including structural and roofing issues, water intrusion, paint failure, and widespread wood rot. Like Acorn Hall, the carriage house still retained a great deal of original historic fabric, most of which had been stored in the basement and crawl spaces following a failed modernization attempt in the 1990s. Completed over multiple phases through grants totaling nearly $1 million, the exterior was returned to its original gray color, like Acorn Hall, the interior’s original wall and ceiling materials were reinstalled, a new custom lead-coated copper roof consisting of over 800 individual panels was installed, doors were restored and reinstalled, and a new landing was installed to provide access to what was the original tack room. Most recently, the original garden shed addition, visible in historic photographs and marked by its remaining foundation, was rebuilt to include an ADA-accessible public bathroom. MCHS is grateful for funding from both the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust and New Jersey Historic Trust to complete these projects.

Over the past decade, progress has steadily been made to return Acorn Hall’s grounds to a more authentic representation of their historic appearance. The guiding principles espoused by noted mid-19th-century landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing were lightly incorporated, recognizing the property’s original function as a gentleman’s farm and mixed-fruit orchard. Through grant funding from both the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust and New Jersey Historic Trust, the original cast stone and wrought iron fence, lost when Morris Avenue was widened to accommodate the on-ramp to I-287, has been returned to the front yard. Additionally, period-appropriate lighting based on the original street lamps along Morris Avenue, were installed to mark the driveway entrance and exit.