Natirar: A Royal Walk in the Park

The King of Morocco once owned Natirar, now a Somerset County Park

By B.L. Leiding

Everyone loves a park, a treasured public space designed for ball games, fireworks and exploring nature. But when is a park more than a park?

• When your horse is allowed to trot freely on the grounds.

• When a sign warns bicycles and people must yield to horses.

• When dog walkers outnumber walkers without dogs.

• When the King of Morocco once owned the country estate at the crest of the mountain, but never once stepped foot in it.

The correct answer is all of the above. 

What's in a Name?

The curious experience of Natirar begins with its curious name. While many New Jersey towns and places have borrowed words from Native Americans, Natirar is not one of them. Instead, the name was derived from the Raritan River, which traverses the property, only the spelling is reversed to spell N-a-t-i-r-a-r.

This unusual naming convention was employed by the original owners of Natirar, Kate Macy Ladd and Walter Graeme Ladd. Before moving to the Somerset Hills, they had christened their Bar Harbor home "Eegonos," the opposite spelling of "Sonogee." 

The couple later commissioned their architect, Guy Lowell, noted for landmark buildings in New York and Boston, to design a 30,000 square-foot country estate in central New Jersey on what was then 1,000 acres straddling Bedminster, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone.

Perhaps the architect was the one who insisted on christening his latest creation. Maybe the mere whisper of the name "Raritan" tickled the Ladds' dyslectic sense of humor yet again. Whatever the genesis, Natirar was born. And the fanciful name has now stuck for over one hundred years.

Early Real Estate Development

Construction of the palatial brick Tudor was completed in 1912 at the tail end of Guilded Age, a celebrated period in American History when a wave of newly minted millionaires sought ways of spending their newly acquired and staggering wealth.

For a growing circle of Manhattan's elite, the Somerset Hills proved to be a convenient place, 50 miles away, to escape the city's oppressive humidity and heat, and build lavish summer homes. The climate of central New Jersey was thought to be mild and the natural beauty was abundant. As an added benefit, despite their deep pockets, the cost of an acre was dirt cheap. 

They purchased parcels of land primarily from local farmers of German decent who had settled the area after the American Revolutionary War. Cobbled together, private properties numbered hundreds of acres each. High-profile architects were brought in from New York and the building craze was set into motion.

One country estate was more opulent than the next. Each was distinctive in reflecting the client's unique personal tastes. Despite the diversity of architectural styles, the summer homes did have one thing in common: each was bold enough and sufficiently massive to be named, rather than don a more common numbered address.

Among them were Knollcrest, Peachcroft, Brookrace, Froh Heim (German for "Happy Home), Boulderwood, Upton Pyne and Blairsden, and many others, most of which are still standing today. The fanciful names were admirable in their poetic intent, but do any conjure up more allure than Natirar? 

Outdoor Entertaining

The early days in the Somerset Hills were among the happiest of her life, Mrs. Ladd was known to have said. She and her husband whose occupation was listed in tax records as simply, "Gentleman," occasionally hosted outdoor parties for their insular circle of friends from the neighboring estates.

Their home might have been suitable for glamorous balls with a full orchestra playing until dawn, but the Ladds were fond of forming a caravan of horse-drawn carriages to shuttle their guests down the steep and winding road leading to a rustic setting by a bend in the Raritan River.

There, on the far grounds by an outdoor hearth, a bevy of chefs, butlers and maids served an elegant feast of grilled home-grown vegetables, beef from cattle raised on the grounds, and fresh fish caught from the river.

The Ladd's Legacy

By 1949, four years after the death of her husband, Mrs. Ladd magnanimously set up a convalescent home for working women who were recuperating from surgery or health conditions, and could not afford adequate care themselves. Her humanitarian effort was only one of many she had taken on in her desire to share her many blessings with those less fortunate than herself.

Charitable work was an expression of her Quaker roots, but she could also relate to the pain of those whose health was deteriorating, as she became an invalid herself, a condition that landed her in a wheelchair for the majority of her marital years.

During her lifetime, her charitable giving totaled $19 million, an impressive amount even by today's standards. Following her death, the convalescent facility was relocated to the Natirar home with instructions to set up hospital beds and cots in nearly every room of the house. Servants were employed to attend to every need of the patients, while doctors and nurses were brought in to assure the quality of recovery. But the special daily treat was gathering around the ice cream at the parlor Mrs. Ladd had requested to be built for the delight of her special guests.

The Ladd's home for convalescing women was in full force for 34 years. It closed in 1983. 

His Majesty Hassan II

As the mid-1980s rolled in, condo developments were emerging throughout the Somerset Hills. Rumors persisted that Malcolm Forbes, long-standing local resident and founder of the Forbes publishing concern, was perturbed by the proliferation of multiple unit communities. Desiring to preserve the cultural integrity of the area as well as the historical relevance of landmark estates, he persuaded his friend, the King of Morocco to purchase Natirar. It was a one-man effort to keep developers at bay.

The pleas worked. The king, officially dubbed His Majesty Hassan II, granted Mr. Forbes' wish. For a mere $75 million, Natirar become a royal outpost. The hefty selling price might have gone far to assuage the fears Mr. Forbes apparently harbored of new residential developments infiltrating his beloved turf, but Hassan never seemed to have relished the pleasures of relocating his throne, if only for a summer. Never once was he known to have honored the locals with His Royal Presence. He never lived in the home or stepped foot on the bucolic grounds.

The rumor mill was churning. Why did His Highness not visit his new digs?

The question remains a mystery, but the king's legacy of snubbing central New Jersey continued with his son, a prince. When the young royal inherited the property upon the king's death in 1999, just like his father, the appeal of the American-style palace dubbed with the curious name of Natirar--despite its elegance and glorious grounds--eluded the foreigner.

And thus, the Ladd's magnificent country manor remained empty. No more horse-drawn caravans. No more cookouts. No more convalescing for the area's beleaguered and needy women. Through neglect, the ice cream parlor was frozen in time. 

Natirar Today

In an effort to preserve the Ladd's now-historic treasure and treat the general public to use of its land, the Somerset County Park Commission acquired the property in 2002, and opened the grounds for all to enjoy.

Today, Natirar sits on 404 acres, less than half of its original 1,000. It is topped by a restaurant and club, called Ninety Acres, owned by Sir Richard Branson. The relatively new facility offers a cooking school, fine dining and private club, and hosts numerous formal and fundraising events, while the park below holds special events throughout the year, including an annual track meet for area high schools and an occasional equestrian show. But seven days a week, from sunrise to sunset, the staple of activity is jogging, dog-walking and exploring two distinct nature trails.

Artists and photographers are often seen capturing the beauty of the expansive lawn and mature woodland, while fishing poles cast bait in the meandering river that the county regularly stocks.

With any luck, a fresh catch would make for a hardy lunch or dinner--just as it had in the heyday of the Ladd's treasured country estate. Some pleasures are simple and timeless, never going out of style.

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