Walking through some of Newark’s neighborhoods can transport you to a time in the 18th and 19th centuries when America’s history was doused in opulence and grandeur. Just look up and marvel at the first-of-its-kind architectural designs on some of the structures.
We took a walk down memory lane with a former owner of the Coe Mansion, which is one of the many mansions in Newark on the National and State Register of Historic Places.
GLENCOE MANSION
The High Victorian Italianate-style house is known as Glencoe or the Coe Mansion, and it’s significant for its architecture. James Dickerson, a leather merchant, built the mansion in 1871 on what was then High Street, now Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The home was purchased in 1886 by local steel and iron merchant James Coe, where he, his wife, their six children, and their servants lived. According to theclio.com, the Coe family had several Black servants who lived on the property with them. The last resident to live in the original home was Richard Grossklaus, co-founder of Integrity House, which provides residences and services to people recovering from addiction.
In the 1980s, Grossklaus purchased the Coe Mansion, including the butler’s cottage and carriage house, separate structures that are also on the property. “Coe was going for $68,000 at that time,” recalls Grossklaus, who sold his previous Newark home for $60,000 to purchasing the mansion.
Grossklaus lived and entertained at the Coe Mansion for several years until he felt it was too much space for him. He then sold the mansion in the 1990s. According to Grossklaus, that purchaser lost the home, and it has been vacant for at least 20 years. It was reported in 2020 that the mansion had been later purchased for $1.6 million with plans to renovate and repurpose it as apartments. Today, in 2024, the mansion is finally undergoing renovations to restore the beauty and the grandeur of the home’s woodwork and historic exterior.
