| Acorn Hall | |
| Location: | 68 Morris Avenue, Morristown, New Jersey |
| Coordinates: | 40.7967°N -74.4606°W |
| Architecture: | Italianate |
| Added: | April 3, 1973 |
| Refnum: | 73001124 |
| Designated Other1 Name: | New Jersey Register of Historic Places |
| Designated Other1 Abbr: | NJRHP |
| Designated Other1 Link: | New Jersey Register of Historic Places |
| Designated Other1 Date: | June 1, 1972 |
| Designated Other1 Number: | 2182[1] |
| Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
| Designated Other1 Color: |
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Acorn Hall is an 1853 Victorian Italianate mansion located at 68 Morris Avenue in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1973, for its significance in architecture.[2] It serves as the headquarters of the Morris County Historical Society, which operates Acorn Hall as a historic house museum.
After inheriting the property, antiwar activist and actress Mary Crane Hone tried for decades to donate the property for historical preservation, finally succeeding in 1971.[3] [4]
Named for the two-centuries-old oak tree formerly standing on its property, Acorn Hall was built in 1853 by the Schermerhorn family as a simple four-room over four-room farmhouse. Following the death of Mrs. Schermerhorn in 1854, Dr. Schermerhorn put the house and its contents up for sale. It was purchased in 1857 by the Augustus Crane family of New York. The Cranes in 1860 had the house enlarged and remodeled in the then-fashionable Italianate Villa style.
After being passed down through several generations, the house was given to the Historical Society in 1971 by antiwar activist, actress, and curator Mary Crane Hone.[5] [6] [7] [8] Hone was the last private resident of the property. Historians have recognized Acorn Hall for its authentic mid-Victorian era furnishings, primarily pieces from the Schermerhorn and Crane-Hone families, supplemented with significant objects from other prominent Morris County families of the 19th century. Carpeting, wall coverings, and decorative paint techniques remain as they were in the nineteenth century.
Acorn Hall also offers an exhibit gallery with changing exhibits highlighting various aspects of Morris County history and Victorian culture.
In addition to the National Register of Historic Places, Acorn Hall is on the New Jersey State Register, and is part of the New Jersey Women's Heritage Trail, in recognition of the importance of the Crane and Hone women in both preservation and the women's suffrage movement.[9] The grounds are also connected to the Morris County Park Commission's Patriot's Path system of trails.