In 1884, visionary Marcus L. Ward Jr. inherited a sizable fortune from his late father, New Jersey Governor Marcus L. Ward (1865-1868).

Upon Mr. Ward Jr’s passing in 1920, he had created a place where mature gentlemen could enjoy their retirement years. Its name: the Marcus L. Ward Home for Aged and Respectable Bachelors and Widowers. The executors of the estate acquired 50 acres in Maplewood, New Jersey and initiated the building of the project. They traveled to Europe to research architectural masterpieces, and engaged the services of noted New York architect John Russell Pope, who designed the Jefferson Memorial and West Building of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

To ensure that the surroundings would be as spectacular as the structure, the executors retained the landscape architecture firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, designers of Central Park in New York City.

Opened on August 31, 1927, the original “Ward Homestead” has since grown from a superior residence for 80 gentlemen to the present Winchester Gardens, a continuing care retirement community that is home to many men, women and couples. Today, residents can still walk through the 37-acre campus, and take in the original English country gothic style estate created by a true master of architecture.