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The History of Lusscroft Farm
Lusscroft Farm is a one of a
kind historic site. This 578 acre property has a rich and diverse
past. Between 1914 and 1930, James Turner, a Montclair stockbroker,
invested the considerable fortune of $500,000 to make Lusscroft a
perfect model of dairy farming, employing the most innovative
practices of the time based on scientific research. In 1931, Mr.
Turner donated his Lusscroft to the State of New Jersey in order for
it to be used as an agricultural research station. Cook College
established a forestry program in 1955, and research actively
continued until 1970. Rutgers University retained Lusscroft for
use as an outdoor education center for the 4-H youth program. The
facility closed in 1996 due to declining enrollment and rising
maintenance costs.
The State of NJ transferred the
administration of Lusscroft from Rutgers University to the NJ
Department of Environmental Protection (State Park Service) and the
State Agricultural Development Committee in January 2002. High
Point State Park now administers Lusscroft in cooperation with the
State Agriculture Development Committee.
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James
and William Turner
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James
Turner’s Lusscroft
Montclair stockbroker James Turner spent $500,000 between 1914 and
1930 to establish Lusscroft as a model dairy farm, based upon up-todate
principles of scientific agriculture. He built his country manorhouse
on Neilson Road in 1916, enlarging it in 1928. It overlooks a scenic
patchwork of pastures, ponds, woodlots and barnyards, where farm
manager Edward Decker once supervised the finest purebred Guernsey
herd in the region. In 1930, James Turner had craftsmen salvage
antique timbers from twenty-five barns and houses to construct the
“Outlook Lodge” atop the ridge for his brother, Dr. William
Turner. With a brick inglenook, this Arts-and-Crafts masterpiece of
chestnut log construction offers a panoramic view of the Kittatinny
Valley and Highlands.
Dairy
Research Farm
To promote agricultural research and education, James Turner donated
his Lusscroft, Newbegin and Belle Ellen Farms, totaling 1,050 acres in
Sussex County, to the State of NJ in 1931. He placed no deed
restrictions upon the property, intending that it be used “in every
expedient way toward promoting social progress and welfare.” His
gift included 250 head of Guernsey and Holstein cattle, horses,
tractors, modern dairy buildings, employees’ cottages and a complete
line of farm machinery. It was one of the first dairy farms in the
United States to be used as a research project. Until its closure in
1970, researchers on these grounds made New Jersey a premier state in
the development of grassland farming, grass ensilage, artificial
livestock breeding and production testing for a safe healthful milk
supply. In 1938, Enos J. Perry used Lusscroft sires in the first
experiments with artificial insemination for the improvement of dairy
herds in the United States.
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Cook
College Forestry Program
Cook College established a forestry program in 1955, planting
demonstration plots of black locust and Christmas tree varieties and
teaching woodlot and fence post management. The Outlook Lodge was a
summer dormitory from 1956 until the program ended in 1975.
4-H
Youth Center for Outdoor Education
Rutgers University closed its Beemerville research stations in 1970,
keeping only 578 acres at Lusscroft for use of the 4-H Youth Center
for Outdoor Education. It opened to 900 campers in 1973 and closed in
1996 because of declining enrollment and rising maintenance expenses.
Transfer
to the State Park Service
The State of NJ transferred the administration of Lusscroft from
Rutgers University to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection
(State Park Service) and the State Agricultural Development Committee
in January 2002. The transfer encompasses 578 acres, including 23
original structures built between 1914 and 1932. High Point State Park
now administers Lusscroft in cooperation with the State Agriculture
Development Committee.
Basic
Facts
• Lusscroft encompasses 577.86 acres in Wantage and Montague
Townships, Sussex County, New Jersey. It lies along County Route 519
and Neilson Road, adjacent to High Point State Park and Stokes State
Forest.
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Adjacent to Lusscroft, Rutan Hill is geologically significant as one
of only two exposures in New Jersey of nepheline syenite, a very rare
type of igneous rock. Lusscroft is the only place in New Jersey to see
an extinct volcano (440 million years old) and also sedimentary rock
that has been thermally altered by baking due to the high temperature
of the nepheline syenite intrusion.
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Built as a model dairy farm between 1914 and 1930 and serving as the
North Jersey Dairy Branch of the State Agricultural Experiment Station
between 1931 and 1970, Lusscroft uniquely preserves two fundamental
stages
in the revolutionary advance of scientific agriculture. In August
2000, the State Historic Preservation Office determined (HPO-H2000-71)
that “the Experimental Station, including its staff housing, barns
and fields, is clearly eligible for listing on the National Register
for its association with the development of agricultural techniques,
especially the development of artificial insemination.”
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Embracing the headwaters of the West Branch of Papakating Creek,
Lusscroft falls within two Natural Heritage Priority Sites: the
Wallkill River Macrosite (B4), which contains occurrences of globally
rare and endangered animal species; and the Papakating Creek Natural
Heritage Site (B3), which contains good occurrences of a globally rare
and endangered turtles, threatened animals and endangered plant
species.
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Lusscroft presents a unique opportunity to protect and enhance the
habitat for grassland-dependent bird species in the Great Limestone
Valley, which are declining regionally as well as nationally.
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