Reid Hall, Manhatanville College

Reid Hall is an imposing mansion in the castellated style with a crenelated tower and ornate interiors reminiscent of the castles of European aristocracy. The entrance hall walls are clad with yellow and pink marble from northern Africa and Georgia which are embellished by the light that flows in from the stained glass windows that overlook the central staircase.[1] Off the main entrance to the right, two rooms were imported from the Chateau de Billennes, the country estate of a member of the House of Napoleon III.[2] The Castle was built in the footprint of the previous six story, 84 room mansion built by Ben Holladay that burned down due to a short circuit. The rebuilt mansion was heavily inspired by Whitelaw Reid's tenure as Ambassador to France. He oversaw the construction of the mansion abroad and adapted many of their experiences into the castle’s design and décor.[3] Reid Hall, as it is constructed today, was designed by the McKim, Mead, and White architectural firm. This notable firm was responsible for the renovations of east and west wings of the White House, the campuses of Harvard and Columbia, as well as the Boston Public Library.

            Before the building of the present Reid Hall, Ben Holladay purchased the site in 1864 with money that he made during the American Gold Rush by running a transcontinental stagecoach route to California. He named the estate Ophir Farm after the mine of the same name that he won during a poker match. Holladay had herds of buffalo and elk transported onto Ophir Farm and had Western trout put into the streams, bringing the romance of the American West to New York.[4] The grounds also contained a Norman Gothic chapel that was built for his wife, Ann. Underneath the chapel was a family burial vault that was relocated to White Planes.[5] The chapel still remains on the Manhattanville. Holladay lost his fortune after the panic of 1873 and was forced to put the mansion up for sale. 

            The next owner was shipbuilder, John Roach. however, he never took up residence in the house. He intended to remodel the mansion before becoming terminally ill and dying in 1887. The following year, the Reids purchased the estate and began renovations which  included being the first house in Westchester County to install telephone and electricity.[6] On July 14, 1888, just weeks after the couple moved into the renovated estate, a fire gutted the building. The loss on the estate was estimated at $250,000—approximately $6.8 million today—of which only $100,000 was insured.[7] The rebuilding of the castle was completed in 1892.

            In 1905, the castle was renovated again to add a double storied library and during the period of renovation, the family lived abroad in England. Whitelaw would die while abroad never seeing the finished library.. His wife Elizabeth, however, live there until her death in 1931. The house was left to their son, Ogden Mills Reid, who preferred to live in a smaller house.[8] The estate was sold to Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in 1949 after remaining vacant for two decades; it is now known as Manhattanville College after becoming nonsectarian. The Ophir Farm name was changed to Reid Hall in 1969 and the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The estate was also considered as a location for the United Nations before the site in Manhattan was officially selected. 

[1] Mark Meredith, “Reid Hall”, House Histree, published April 28, 2019, updated August 30, 2019, accessed September 27, 2020. https://househistree.com/houses/reid-hall.

[2] Casey Tolfree, The History of Reid Castle, Manhattanville College Office of Communications, July 2012, accessed September 27, 2020, page 7. https://www.mville.edu/sites/default/files/ReidCastle_History_Rev0723_1.pdf.

[3] Tolfree, 6. 

[4] Gray Williams, “Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County” (Elmsford, New York: Westchester County Historical Society, 2003), 332. 

[5] Tolfree, 3. 

[6] Tofree, 4. 

[7] “Terrible Fire: The Ben Holiday Mansion at Ophir Farms in Ruins”, Eastern State Journal, White Plains, Saturday July 21, 1888, Westchester County Historical Society Archives, Accessed September 17, 2020. 

[8] Williams, 332.