The Ford Gate House
55 Eagle Rock Avenue

Frank Ford, a New York City industrial engineer, acquired about 600 acres in Roseland at the turn of the century so he could build a magnificent estate. He intended to build a mansion on the highest point, which he planned to call Holmehill, but before construction began on the main house his wife died. He had, however, completed the Gate House by this time. All of the stones for the wall and many of the stones for the house itself were cut and fitted by expert Italian stonecutters from stones and boulders found on the estate. Ford's second wife did not like country life and, so, the mansion was never constructed. The Holmehill section of Roseland bears its name because of Ford's legacy.