That Great Stone Wall Around the Bernards Township Town Hall

Picnickers in 1916 in what was known as Owens Woods. Pictured are Dorthy Wing, Jane Dunham, and Fred Runyon. Source: Millie Van Dyke collection.

Join the quest to answer the question:
How many stones make up the Great Wall of Basking Ridge around the Bernards Township Municipal Complex?
Follow along……

As with all Mr. Local History retrospectives, this post is updated when we learn additional information. We will continue to expand it as information becomes available and our readers suggest additions.
Mr. Local History Research Team

The Great Wall of Basking Ridge

Everyone in town knows the Great Wall of Bernards Township.

Built in 1912, the Basking Ridge town hall was the home of four families, Owen, Lee, Bissell, and Astor, before it was purchased by Bernards Township for $140,000 in 1968. But what about that beautiful stone wall? Where does it go? Who built it? And the key question: How many stones did it take to create what we’re calling the Great Wall of Basking Ridge? Our researchers had a new mission: to find out more about this local iconic landmark.

We started by looking at an old survey of the Astor Estate. I guess it’s as good a place to start as any. We don’t know who built the wall, when it was built, or who built it. We learned where the stones came from—what is now the Lord Stirling Stables grounds, which used to be part of the Astor farm.

Patrolman Robert Eberle was at a new police station on Nov 20, 1969, just outside the Great Wall of Basking Ridge.

Similar Stones? More Stones…

Researchers identified a clue when they uncovered a story about another stone structure they researched years ago, the Bishop Janes United Methodist Church on South Finley Avenue. The stone edifice replaced a frame church built in 1853. The minister and congregation members hauled stones from the fields east of South Maple Avenue to form the outer walls of the sanctuary.

Bishop Janes United Methodist Church – Basking Ridge circa 1911

It has been told that even Bishop Edmund Janes helped cart stones from the South Maple Ave field to construct the church facade. The stones are most likely the same as the stone wall around the town hall. We keep digging.

The Bishop, returning after an absence at the Western Conferences, heard the pastor’s statement and said, “I will help you tomorrow.” Early the following day, as the pastor looked out of his study window, the Bishop was seen driving a double team of oxen, drawing a large cart loaded with stones which, with his own hands, he had gathered from the top of the mountain more than a mile distant (the area now known as Lord Stirling Stables). He invited the pastor to join him. For three days, they worked together in this way, carting stones.
Edmund Janes History – See story

This 1950 survey map showcases the 16.986 acres of the Astor Estate. This is only part of the 28 acres purchased for the Municipal Complex. Source: THSSH

2024 Survey of the Bernards Township Municipal Complex.

We start our measurements from the Town Hall entrance and measure the wall lengths to the right and to the left.

The original entrance to the estate was just to the right of the current entrance, so S. Finley Avenue had to be reconfigured.

The stone wall ends at the Bernards Township Board of Health offices by Ridge High School.

From the main entrance, we then travel down Collyer Lane (once named Cedar Hill Road) to South Maple Avenue.

Finally, the wall ends along South Maple Avenue just before the Bernards Township Engineering Buildings.

John Smith Map Collection – Bernards Township Library

Approximate linear footage of the wall: North Finley, Collyer Lane, and South Finley Ave.

So, we ran a few numbers based on a few assumptions….. and here’s our guess:

IF our assumptions are sound and our math is correct, estimating 23,718 sq feet of stone and there are two stones per sq. foot, we’re guessing there are 49,835 fieldstones making the Great Wall of Bernards Township.
Someone please check our math – we’re researchers, not engineers. Now you guess – prizes at stake!

Make Your Guess Yet?

Submit your guess
for a chance to win a BR sticker and magnet pack.

FYI, we also asked the Ridge High School math department and student body to prepare a more precise calculation. We will see if they come back with an estimate.

History Tidbits

Cedar Hill Road street name was changed to Collyer Lane in 1952
Collyer was a farm where today’s Lord Stirling Park sits, just at the end of Collyer Lane and Maple Avenue.