The Havemeyer House

Above is the interior of the Havemeyer House filled with lavish and decorative items

Above is a postcard of the Havemeyer House as it was a popular visitor destination

The other mansion that is on the Ramapo College property is the Havemeyer House which currently acts as the home of the Ramapo College president.  Originally known as the Hagerman house, it was built for Andrew Hagerman and his wife Anna Hopper Bogart by Andrew’s father Henry Hagerman. Henry built this house immediately next door to his own. The house was built around the year 1850 along what is now modern day Ramapo Valley Road.  Henry Hagerman was a colonel in the New York State militia and following his military career he became a political figure holding many positions in Mahwah. He became a judge and a justice of the peace, who was known to be very strict and gave strict punishments.  Once Henry passed away Andrew inherited the house and the surrounding property. In 1861 Andrew lost the property in a foreclosure and later opened a hotel in the center of Mahwah which he ran for a few years after he lost the house.  Theodore Havemeyer initially rented the house when he started Mountainside Farm but actually purchased the house in 1878.  The Hagerman/ Havemeyer house remained in the Havemeyer family for the years following.  During Theodore’s time in the mansion both the exterior and interior of the mansion were heavily renovated.  Theodore’s grandson Henry Havemeyer Jr.  eventually moved into the old house in 1936.  

Henry lived in the house until his death in in 1993. During that time a new wing of the Mansion was added.  Before construction of the new edition could begin another historic building, The Hopper House, had to be torn down to make room.  The Hopper House was an important building in Mahwah and next to the Havemeyer House.  The Hopper house was used as George Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War while Washington’s troops camped out on what is now the Ramapo College athletic fields. When the historic Hopper House was torn down it made room for an edition to the house that included a kitchen, living quarters for the servants.  The only thing that remained from the old house was the fireplace that became used in the servants living quarters. The house was then purchased by a man named Timothy Bray and had it heavily renovated in 1999 into the lavish mansion that currently stands today.

It now stands as the home of Ramapo College’s President Peter Mercer and will house the future college presidents.

The Havemeyer House has been in use for almost 170 and has had many important people walk through its doors.  As an example the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was once a visitor of the mansion while he visited the United States.  The spectacular mansion gained a reputation so much so that it and the farm frequently had visitors. This brought many visitors to the area and with visitors comes business. Without Theodore Havemeyer’s purchase of the house in 1878 the house may not have stayed stayed standing and the Havemeyer family would not have preserved the house and keep it in such pristine condition.  Even today the house is used for many formal events by the school and its patrons.