The Greenfield Town Hall’s Remarkable Heritage

During the First World War, banker, broker and sportsman E. Clarence Jones, who resided in Manhattan (in a brownstone which occupied the site of the present One57 Tower, Central Park South), purchased property on high ground just north of the Saratoga Springs corporate line, in Greenfield.  Mr. Jones constructed an estate which included multiple buildings, marvelously linked through a series of gardens. The main building was known as Broadview Lodge, and construction took place during 1917-18.

The planning of the Jones Estate occurred while the country was at war with the Central Powers of Europe. Perhaps this type of extravagance which naturally entailed a very large workforce, taking place during wartime with soldiers in the field, or the relatively small size of the community with limited media resources, explains the dearth of primary source material regarding construction details of Mr. Jones’ structures.

E. Clarence Jones hired the prominent New York Architect, Aymar Embury, to design his summer place to be, which continues into our time as the Surrey-Williamson Inn operated by Skidmore. Aymar Embury would become one of the country’s most noted architects, and he left a few notable landmarks in Saratoga County.  The planning process introduced Mr. Jones to many residents and he developed an appreciation for his neighbors and officials in the Town of Greenfield, and presented them with a new Town Hall Building, which he had his architect, Aymar Embury design.

Aymar Embury served as a captain with the 40th Engineers of the United States Army during the conflict. Architect Embury, with his developed appreciation of aesthetics, was called upon to design the Distinguished Service Cross, which was established by the US Army in 1918 to honor heroism of the highest degree, which remains our Nation’s second highest military award. Mr. Embury needed to step away from his normal duties when he went to Europe to join the Allies with the American Expeditionary Forces, and left completion of his Saratoga projects to his capable associate Lewis E. Welsh, and his future wife, Landscape Architect Ruth Dean.

I find it fascinating that the benevolence of E. Clarence Jones, a visitor and summer resident of Saratoga, would provide the Town of Greenfield with a new Town Hall Building, for which he covered the total expense for construction and design by world famous architects. A remarkable example of good citizenship, which residents of Greenfield today might call upon.