Balbrook

BALBROOK The Balbrook Estate was built in 1894 by the Balbachs, a family that had immigrated from Germany and became wealthy through smelting operations along the Passaic River in Newark following the American Civil War during a time of great prosperity and economic expansion known as 'The Guilded Age.' Balbrook was merely a summer home for the Balbachs, constructed in order to get fresh air out in the countryside of Summerset County during the hot summer months when the industrial areas around Newark became too unpleasant for Julia Balbach who experienced some poor health.