I became fascinated with Florham while researching and writing my book Fortune’s Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt.

The 800-acre Gilded Age estate was the New Jersey country home of Hamilton Twombly and his wife Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt and granddaughter of the Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt.

The Florham mansion, designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, was one of the largest private homes ever built in America with 110 rooms. The landscaping was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, co-designer of New York City's Central Park.

In 1958, Fairleigh Dickinson University purchased the mansion with 178 acres of gardens, and the property is now known as the Florham Campus.

Since its formation in 1990, Friends of Florham has served its mission assisting in the preservation of the historic elements of the Florham campus with a variety of restoration and preservation projects. 

This pictorial history of Florham, written by Carol Bere, Samuel Convissor, Walter Cummins, Mark Hillringhouse, and myself and published by Friends of Florham, is illustrated with vintage photos as well as beautiful new photos taken especially for the book.

It includes historical details about the Vanderbilt and Twombly families, a typical weekend as a guest of Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, other Morris County mansions and estates, and the unique survival of Florham when most of its neighbors have disappeared.