We are fortunate to have in our collections the original guest books of Ringwood Manor. The Hewitts were a wealthy and prominent family, and were highly active in both politics and society in the New York City area. Therefore, they had a large social circle and would frequently invite friends, dignitaries, and businessmen to visit them at their summer home. The guests were encouraged to sign their names in the guest book in the Great Hall of Ringwood Manor, documenting a veritable "who's who" of the 19th century. In addition to signatures, the books contain artworks drawn by the Hewitts and their guests, poems, jokes, photographs, newspaper clippings, paper scraps, and more. Four of the Hewitt family's guest books spanning from 1876 to 1932 survive. As part of a generous donation from Edgar and Margery Masinter, all four guest books were conserved and digitally scanned. These can be viewed online below.
For each book, we have highlighted only a few of the many pages that have the signatures of various well-known individuals as well as interesting artwork, historical items, or photographs.
* Please note that the images are owned by Ringwood Manor and are copyrighted. Reproducing or using images from the Ringwood Manor Guest Books without permission is prohibited.