The original manor house was built in 1870 for John Masterton, early founder Alexander Masterton’s youngest son, a politician and banker. In1884 he was arrested and soon lost his house and all his assets for using depositors’ money for speculating in mining stocks. Later owners, generous philanthropists, became well-known for lending the house to the community’s Red Cross chapter to do war work both before and during World War II, thus earning the house its second name.
As a result of a fire in the 1920s, architect Lewis Bowman did a massive reconstruction and changed the look of the house considerably. The original three-story, plain, square, stone construction (with walls nearly 18 inches thick), had a mansard roof with dormers and a first-floor columned porch that surrounded the house. Bowman entirely redesigned the roofline, and recreated the house in his trademark Tudor style. He added wings to both ends of the house, the northern included an open terrace for dancing and the southern a kitchen, butler’s pantry and servant quarters. He installed a number of large windows in the new additions and increased the size of the reception room by bringing the front wall forward. Two subsequent owners in 1998 and 2007 have made extensive renovations, mostly to the interior.
Architects: original unknown; 1920s, Lewis Bowman; 1998 and 2007, Boris Baranovich.
