by Erin Feith, Coordinator of Research & Visitor Engagement
April 7, 2026
Top photos from the collections of the Caroline Rose Foster North Jersey History & Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Upon their marriage, Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller, daughter of Standard Oil president William Rockefeller, and Marcellus Hartley Dodge, heir to the Remington Arms Co., became one of the wealthiest couples in America. Soon after, the pair dedicated part of their fortune to constructing a palatial mansion of their own, and setting their sights on Madison, NJ, not only built a sprawling estate, but an enduring bond to the community through their philanthropic contributions.
Initially renting in Convent Station for several years, the couple purchased the Elizabethan Revival style mansion, “Onunda,” constructed for millionaire Daniel Willis James in 1916. Renamed “Giralda,” updates were soon made to the home, including roofed porches, a laundry wing, and temperature-controlled vault. The Dodges regularly acquired tracts adjoining the property, ultimately expanding their estate to 370 acres. Part of their extensive holdings included Hartley Farms on Spring Valley Road, which Marcellus connected to Giralda by trail. Featuring sunken gardens and rare species of trees, the grounds were often surveyed by Geraldine as part of her daily routine.
Over their tenure at Giralda, the Dodges were benefactors of their community. Their donations helped to construct nursing residences at Morristown Memorial Hospital, purchase modern equipment for the Madison Fire Department, and erect a stately new municipal building named in honor of their late son, Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr. A lover of dogs, Geraldine started St. Hubert’s Giralda as an animal rescue center in 1939 and allotted a portion of the estate for their headquarters. Her husband similarly championed the natural world when he purchased 1,800 acres of the Great Swamp to prevent the Port Authority of New York’s proposed jetport there in the 1950s-60s. To ensure the land would be preserved, he donated it to the federal government through the North American Wildlife Foundation. Established by an act of Congress in 1960, the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was dedicated on Dodge’s New Vernon estate in 1964 and has since grown to encompass 7,768 acres.
Following their respective deaths, the dazzling contents of Giralda were sold over a multi-day auction that garnered the attention of 60,000 spectators. The mansion itself was placed on the market and later demolished. Despite little of their estate remaining, the Dodges’ contributions to their community continued. As one of her final wishes, Geraldine named the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation as her main beneficiary and provided it with latitude to address a wide-range of charitable work still pursued today.
