The house was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White, attributed to architect William Symmes Richardson who later became a partner at the firm. It was built as the primary residence for the prominent Frelinghuysen Family in the Classical Revival style. In 1913 after three years of construction, the house was named “Twin Oaks” after the large oak trees that stood outside the home’s grand entrance. The mansion was expanded in 1925 to accommodate their growing family and hired the same firm to enlarge the north wing of the home. The home was part of a 150 acre cattle farm.  The Morris Museum acquired the property in 1964 from the Frelinghuysen Foundation.  Over the years, the Museum enlarged the complex by adding several major additions, including a theater, compromising the building systems and causing uneven climate control that is not optimate for either the collection or the building. 

The 2021 Trust grant will help fund replacement of the slate roof in-kind, including repair and replacement of the built-in gutters, repointing of the chimneys, replacement of deteriorated copper flashings, installation of new copper ridge rolls, hip and valley flashing, replacement of the slate and copper trim at the dormers, and finish carpentry restoration and painting of the wood cornice. The 2020 Trust grant will help fund an optimization study of its aging HVAC systems, particularly as they impact Twin Oaks. 

For more information, visit https://morrismuseum.org/mission-history/