102 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS - HABS / JOHANNA HARLOW although Celia’s 250-acre property may have shrunk down to a mere six acres today, her home still watches over the hilly Tobin Clark Estate neighborhood, which was developed in the 1970s. Other grand Hillsborough homes, like the Carolands, Rosecourt, Fagan and Newhall Way back when, the haven of Hillsborough was once awash in old estates. Among its many mansions: a Cotswold Tudor belonging to banking heiress Celia Tobin Clark. The aptly named House-on-Hill is considered a jewel in prolific architect David Adler’s dazzling career. But he wasn’t Celia’s first choice. The heiress had originally turned to friend and architect Arthur Brown Jr. for the project—but on seeing his plans for an imposing French chateau, Celia decided to seek another architect to breathe life into her quiet retreat. The project, started the same year as the Great Depression, employed many down-on-their-luck artisans and builders and even revived a failing planing mill to supply the oak planks. When the dust had cleared, Celia’s sanctuary was adorned with Van Dyke paintings, harlequin-pattern blackand-white marble tile, furniture from Europe and scrollwork by England’s finest wood carver, Grinling Gibbons. Over the years, the manor’s music room played host to the Flonzaly, Lener and Budapest string quartets and its lavish bedrooms received presidents (yes, several). And estates, also survived on smaller lots surrounded by subdivision homes. Meanwhile, the Skyfarm, Uplands and Kohl estates became centerpieces for schools (The Nueva School, Crystal Springs Uplands and Mercy High, respectively). Only a few, like Villa Rose and Guignécourt, remain intact. Tobin Clark Leaves Her Mark
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