The vision for Hamilton Farm began in 1911, when James Cox Brady decided to create an English country estate in the green fields and woodlands of the Somerset Hills. At its zenith, Brady’s estate, bearing his wife’s family name, spread across five thousand acres, encompassing pastures, woods, horse trails and formal gardens. The farm produced its own food and prize winning livestock. A magnificent fifty-stall equestrian stable, the largest and most lavish of its kind at the time of its construction in 1916, housed a variety of breeds, from Hackney ponies and hunters to Clydesdale and Percheron draft horses. In 1921, the original main house burned. Brady rebuilt on its foundation a Georgian brick mansion with sixty-four rooms, eleven fireplaces, two elevators and a chapel with stained-glass windows and an organ. During World War II, Brady’s widow directed the conversion of the stables and carriage house into an emergency hospital and rest center for Merchant Marine seamen, the first such facility constructed in the United States during wartime. The stables were eventually returned to their original purpose and now serve as headquarters for the United States Equestrian Team, which uses Hamilton Farm as its training ground for the Olympic Games.
The Beneficial Corporation contracted to purchase the property from the Brady family in 1978. The closing was marred by yet another fire which destroyed the mansion. Beneficial Corporation continued with the purchase, and contracted with designer Percy Leach to restore the mansion to its’ grandeur. The property was used as a retreat and conference center. In 1998, Lucent Technologies purchased the property with the concept of developing an ultra exclusive golf club with eighteen corporate members. Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, nationally known golf course architects, were hired to construct the finest golf facility in the country. Two courses were built, an eighteen hole championship course, and a challenging par three, which became the only USGA rated par three in the country. In addition, the design included eighteen cottages on the Par three Hickory course, one for each of the members. Over $50 million was invested in bringing the dream of luxury golf entertaining to fruition.
In 2001, as the economy waned, so did Lucent’s interest in the property. In June of that year, Townsend Capital, LLC, took over and promptly converted the club into a private, invitation only club. The vision of the club remained the same, however. Townsend Capital set forth to create the finest golf experience one could enjoy. The mansion continues to host exquisite dining and entertaining, and the golf courses are raved as the finest to be played.