Our Future Headquarters at the Historic Darlington Schoolhouse
Above: The Schoolhouse in 2012, after Phase 1 restoration.
Updates
May 16,2013
Bolger Foundation Challenges the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference to Complete Funding to Restore the Historic Darlington Schoolhouse - See details of the Bolger Challenge Grant
May 6, 2013
Site Plan Approval in local news!
Read Mahwah Patch's Article, Trail Conference Gets OK to Restore Historic Schoolhouse
May 3, 2013
Darlington Schoolhouse Site Plan Approval Marks Milestone for Trail Conference Relocation
MAHWAH, NJ- On May 1, 2013 Executive Director Ed Goodell, attorney Andy Norin, Drinker Biddle and Reath, architect Winston Perry, CPLA, and engineer Tibor Letiscics, Conklin Associates, met with the Mahwah Township Zoning Board of Adjustment to approve the site plan for the Darlington Schoolhouse. After years of legal work, this approval marks the first step in initiating the construction on the schoolhouse, bringing the Trail Conference closer to their goal of relocating to this historical treasure.
View our blog to read more regarding the site plan approval
April 8, 2013
Raising Awareness for Darlington Schoolhouse Campaign
As our efforts to raise the capital funds for our project continues, raising community awareness is an essential component. Click to check out how the Trail Conference is raising awareness for the campaign!
February 11, 2013
Rendering of Darlington Schoolhouse
Developed by Architect Victor Barbalato of ZVESDA Collective, this rendering of the Darlington Schoolhouse showcases the vibrant environment that will transform the landmarked 1891 building following a successful capital campaign to fund its adaptive re-use. The schoolhouse will become the permanent headquarters for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, a trail visitors center and center for conservation services learning. The schoolhouse grounds will feature picnic areas, a wood turtle habitat and historical information on the impact of this building located on an ancient Lenape trail.
January 24, 2013
Another step forward for Darlington
Mahwah Town Council endorses plan for sidewalk, read more on our blog!
January 17, 2013
Special Briefing Regarding Plans for the Adaptive Re-Use of the Darlington Schoolhouse
Ramapo College President Peter Mercer and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Ehlert-Mercer, welcomed the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and special guests to the Havemeyer House for the first in a series of briefings the Trail Conference has launched regarding plans for the adaptive re-use of the Darlington Schoolhouse. Read full story on our Darlington blog
In photograph taken at the Havemeyer House: Trail Conference Board Chair, Chris Connolly; Trail Conference Executive Director, Edward Goodell; President of Ramapo College, Peter P. Mercer; Mahwah Historian, Carol Greene; Trail Conference Development Director, Don Weise; Darlington Schoolhouse Stakeholder Action Team Members Bill and Linda Dator
December 27, 2012
Interested seeing in what Darlington Schoolhouse looked like before the exterior restoration? Visit our blog to view our gallery!
October 11, 2012
Darlington Schoolhouse event hits local news!
Check out Mahwah Patch's article, NY-NJ Trail Conference Kicks Off Expansion of Historic Darlington Schoolhouse
October 10, 2012
Phase 1 Exterior Restoration Completed, Commencing Efforts for the Adaptive Re-Use of Historic Darlington Schoolhouse
Leaders representing the organizations and institutions collaborating to raise the funds for the adaptive re-use of the Darlington Schoolhouse gathered at the site to announce the completion of the exterior restoration and the commencement of efforts funding the interior renovation.
“Today we are unveiling our plans for converting the historic landmark to become the permanent regional headquarters for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and standing with our partners who are going to help us make it happen” said Trail Conference Executive Director Edward Goodell.
Click to read and view photo's from the event
Creating a Center for Conservation Service Learning and Trails Visitors Center in Mahwah, New Jersey
The nation’s pioneering trail organization, the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, has undertaken a project to restore and renovate the landmark Darlington Schoolhouse as its permanent headquarters for conservation service learning and Trails Visitors Center. Centrally located within the 20 counties of northern New Jersey and Hudson River Valley that are the Trail Conference’s primary field of operation, the Schoolhouse is ideally situated, at a popular trailhead and directly adjacent to Ramapo College.
Every year the Trail Conference trains thousands of volunteers to create and maintain 1,850 miles of public nature trails. These trained volunteers donate 70,000 hours annually working with 122 public agency land managers to protect public open space and provide safe and responsible access through marked and maintained trails.
This project offers the perfect adaptive re-use for the Darlington Schoolhouse. By bringing together people and organizations with a wide range of interests including conservation, recreation, architecture, history, community development and citizen engagement, this collaboration is making it possible to create a new center for conservation service learning for the metropolitan area.
The Iconic 1891 Landmark Is a Perfect Public Face for the Trail Conference
Located on Route 202, an ancient native trail that gave Mahwah its Lenape name meaning ‘where the trails meet,’ the Darlington Schoolhouse was constructed in 1891 and is considered the most historically significant schoolhouse in New Jersey.
Designed by Newport, RI, architect Dudley Newton, the building’s fieldstone walls and Romanesque arches combined with Stick and Shingle Style features make it one of the most distinctive one-room schoolhouses in the country. A single classroom occupies most of the first floor and a community meeting hall most of the second.
Despite years of neglect, “the majority of the building remains intact, including chestnut doors, Eastlake-style door hardware, slate chalkboards and rounded-arch, multi-paned windows,” according to the nomination that resulted in the Schoolhouse being listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Side Elevation View of Restored Schoolhouse with Educational Annex
The new Center will offer many valuable benefits including:
- A centrally located headquarters for the Trail Conference and visitor center
- An educational and meeting center for Trail Conference stewardship training
- Facilities that can benefit other nonprofit and educational organizations such as Ramapo College’s Sustainability Center and local K-12 classes
The Trail Conference successfully raised the funds needed to acquire, stabilize and complete the exterior restoration of the schoolhouse. Now efforts are fully underway to raise the $2.4 million needed for the interior renovation and construction of an educational annex that preserves the Schoolhouse and property forever.
The Trail Conference’s presence and stewardship will ensure that the Headquarters and Visitors Center will become a gateway for public access to nature. We need your help to make this happen!
This capital project will allow the organization to better serve its 100,000 members and affiliates serving as a gateway to the vast network of trails and destination for its more than one million online visitors each year.
By transforming the Darlington Schoolhouse into a Center for Conservation Service Learning and Visitors Center, the Trail Conference will better serve its mission focused on the benefits to people of all ages access to nature and recreation for people of all ages.
To participate in the capital project for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Headquarters at the Darlington Schoolhouse Capital Campaign contact:
Jennifer Easterbrook, Campaign Assistant, Trail Conference Center for Conservation Service Learning
201.512.9348x 24 or jennifer@nynjtc.org
Beth Hershenhart, Campaign Counsel
800.710.7760, or beth@InnovativeResourcesGroup.com
New York-New Jersey Trail Conference
156 Ramapo Valley Road
Mahwah, NJ 07430
2007
History
- Learn about the history of the Darlington Schoolhouse.
Click here for Historical Highlights.
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