Township Shutters MacLeod Rice House at Croydon Hall

The distinctive MacLeod Rice building at Croydon Hall will be closed today by the township, perhaps for a long time.  

Township officials, in consultation with the construction official and Board of Health, have decided that the township-owned building is "no longer suitable for regular usage and occupancy," according to Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante, in a letter dated Sept. 6. 

Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said Monday the decision was sparked by a recent inquiry to Town Hall about ADA accessibility compliance at the MacLeod Rice house, which could have lead to "legal issues."

The well-worn 18-century mansion with the tall columns and sitting porch has long been the home of the township Historical Society and the Crossroads substance abuse counseling center's administrative offices, 

But now the creaky floorboards of the old building will be silent, and no light will glow through its multi-pane windows. The Historical Society has been asked to remove its collections by Sept. 20, or choose to leave them with limited access. The Township has offered to help the independently-chartered Society find another meeting location and store items, and the Society has accepted the help. 

Crossroads will officially vacate the lower level of the building by Sept. 27 and take up residence at the building that long served as the Lincroft Library until it was closed in February, and turned over to the original owner, the Board of Education. The school board is leasing it to the township for a nominal fee.  

Mercantante said there are no short or long-term plans to use the MacLeod Rice building, nor or there any plans to restore or rehabilitate it anytime soon, which he described as "gigantic."  

According to a history published on the township website, the house was owned by Donald W. Macleod, a wealthy linens importer. Melvin Rice, a local and state education leader, also held the keys, and it is said he entertained his good friend Woodrow Wilson there. The mansion was turned into a boys boarding school in the 1940s under the ownership of Dr. John M. Carr. The township acquired it in 1975 when the academy closed.  Today, the grounds of the former country estate are also home to the all-girls high school Trinity Hall and the township senior center. The health and recreation offices recently moved to the site formerly used by the Bayshore Library branch. 

Mayor Scharfenberger, a history buff who has lead private fundraising efforts in the past to pay for minor repairs to the MacLeod Rice house, said the township has no plans to tear down the building. 

Do you have a special memory of the MacLeod Rice building? Please share it in the comments.