The McNeal Mansion
There is a proverb which states: 'Pride
goeth before destruction', the origins of the modern-day turn of
phrase 'pride before fall'. Its meaning is that when you become
preoccupied with yourself you lose track of all else, and ruin is
soon to follow. Perhaps this is the allure which many may have with
abandoned mansions, that they represent something much more than
simply a former home come to rot – They are the relics of crumbled
empires. The cast-offs of the once noble. The death of pride. In
these ravaged mansions we see that no one, and nothing, is impervious
to failure. That the steady workings of nature and time pay no mind
to grandeur.
At the edge of the tall grasses and
reeds which have come to consume this old estate we find the former
McNeal mansion, or rather what remains of it. In 1866, Andrew McNeal
purchased this parcel of land on the New Jersey bank of the Delaware
River. Here he constructed not only his home, but his business - A
large pipe manufacturing plant and foundry. It was a massive
enterprise, and by the time McNeal’s company was incorporated into
U.S. Pipe in 1899, the facility was capable of producing 200 tons of
pipe per day. By the early 1900's it is estimated that U.S. Pipe was
creating 75% of the iron pipe in the country.
Decades have passed since the old
mansion was used as a home. Andrew McNeal was the last person to take
residence here, with U.S. Pipe later adding three wings and using the
building as a corporate office. In 1953 the company moved its
corporate operations elsewhere, and since then the old building has
seen little use. Many proposals for re-use of the house have been on
the table, but none have gained any traction. Half-completed
renovations scattered throughout the buildings interior are the only
testament to the many stalled projects. With those failed alterations
combined with fire damage to much of the main hall and grand
staircase, there seems to be little hope of rehabilitating the McNeal
Mansion today.
Eventually a day will come when the
frail mansion can no longer hold its form. It will crumble, folding
in upon itself and come to rest among the wildflowers which line the
river bank. The end of a storied mansion, and the end of an era.
The original mansion structure (right) was once physically attached to an old rest stop called Jegou's Tavern.
Andrew Mcneal sits in a rocker on the tavern porch. The tavern, dating from the mid-1600's, was razed sometime in the 1930's after U.S. Pipe came into possession of the property.
Fire has ravaged what was once a beautiful master stair.
Signs of failed renovation projects are found throughout the structure.
A built-in safe located on the upper-floor. Sadly long empty.
