Ringwood Manor

Iron came out of the Ramapo Mountains long before Ringwood Manor became a summer residence. The region’s magnetite deposits supported iron production from the 1740s, and the works supplied tools and hardware during the Revolution. Ringwood iron also contributed material for the great chain stretched across the Hudson River near West Point, part of an effort to obstruct British ships. The estate’s history begins with industry and strategic resources, not with the house that now draws visitors.

The manor house took shape over generations. A ten-room Federal-style house was built in 1810, and Peter Cooper purchased Ringwood and extensive surrounding land in 1853. He and his son-in-law Abram S. Hewitt managed the ironworks. Cooper and Hewitt’s business supplied iron to the Union during the Civil War. As demand and the company’s fortunes declined later in the century, the Hewitt family expanded the house and used the property as a summer estate. The 51-room mansion now associated with Ringwood grew through additions made in 1864, 1875, 1900, and 1910.