Stronghold

Just four years later (1890), the Drayton's marriage fell apart in what was called the, "most conspicuous society scandal of the generation". In Paris, Drayton challenged the rival to his wife's affections to a duel and Charlotte's father - hardly a paragon of virtue himself - was so outraged by events that he disinherited his daughter. In 1892, their marriage was unequivocally over and their mansion plus all its furnishings were sold to Thatcher M. Adams (1837-1919) who summered here for 7-years before shifting scenery to Lenox in Massachusetts. In 1899, it became the country home of John Fairfield Dryden (1839-1911), the founder and first President of the Prudential Life Insurance Company.

It was Dryden who renamed the estate "Stronghold" and he employed George Post to add the Corinthian-columned portico (on the opposite end of the house from the tower) that leads onto the steps that drop down to the lawn, flanked by a pair of rhino statues. It remained in the Dryden family until 1940 when it became the Gill St. Bernard's School, a private all-girls school. It continued as a school until 1995. The new owners then started a huge renovation project that included fitting a new zinc roof imported from France, but while they finished the exterior, they ran out of funds leaving the interior unfinished.  

The mansion sat empty until 2005 when it was purchased for $7.5 million by the fashion designer Marc Ecko. He completed the renovations and in 2015 placed the 7-bedroom, 30,000 square-foot mansion on the market. It remains a private family home.