Burhans Mansion
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The Burhans Mansion was erected in 1865 on the hill behind the present Town Hall for Col. Burhans' son, Frederick O. The stone was quarried from Hackensack Mountain. Many of the 150 or more employees of the Burhans Tannery were used in its construction, when operation of the tannery was temporarily suspended. Colonel B. P. Burhans Charles F. Burhans. The family eventually left town, using the mansion only as a summer residence. The property was sold in the early 1960s and eventually the great stone building was torn down. The property was subdivided. The original guest cottage (opposite the Fire House) and the carriage house remain as private residences.
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The Burhans Mansion ~Marie Fisher
There is no remaining evidence of the stately Burhans' mansion, which stood on the hill behind the present town hall, except for a few will-placed trees on the grounds and the board and batten caretaker' cottage, fronting on Elm Street.
Erected in 1865, by Colonel B.P. Burhans for his son, Frederick Burhans, the Italian-villa-style mansion was constructed of native stone, quarried from a ledge on the side of Hackensack Mountain. Albert Alden, of the village, was head mason and the crew was comprised of one hundred-fifty tannery workers from the Burhans' tannery, during the summer suspension of activities at the factory. In quarrying the stone, it was necessary to cut some trees and make a sluiceway down a portion of the mountain, in order to get the big stones to a point where they could be loaded on wagons and stoneboats, to be drawn to the site. Under the guidance of Mr. Alden, many of the tannery workers learned of their fitness for other crafts and, as a result, many did not return to the tannery but went out as experienced carpenters and masons.
Frederick Burhans moved there from the house previously referred to as the Swan house, at 31 Main Street. His widow resided there until her death. The property then passed on the Charles F. Burhans.
