The Mansion House owns a high-profile space in Warren County history.

The property that eventually became the Mansion House – across Fourth Avenue from the Warren County Historical Society and Warren County Courthouse – was owned at one time by a Native American named Spotted Coat – also known as Jacob Snow — according to the 1970s-era article “The New Mansion House” provided by the Warren County Historical Society. He purchased the property for $8.

Ebenezer Jackson obtained the land in 1833. He built a stone structure for use as a tavern. Stone believed to be from nearby Tanner Hill was used to create the two-foot think walls from the basement to the top of the building.

Jackson’s Warren Hotel was open in 1834 for “the accommodation of all those who will favor him with their custom.”

The Warren Hotel did not endure.

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Mansion

“In 1835, the building was purchased by Robert Falconer for use as the Lumberman’s Bank,” according to the New Mansion House. “A reinforced closet… served as a bank vault.”

The Lumberman’s Bank lasted longer than the Warren Hotel.

“During the panic of 1837, the bank failed,” according to the New Mansion House. “The building was sold to Archibald Tanner and became the Tanner House.”

The next historical reference in the New Mansion House has the name changed to the Diamond House as of 1846.

The diamond referred to the area at Market Street and Fourth Avenue “originally intended to be the center of town,” according to the New Mansion House.

The Diamond House apparently returned the structure to its original use, according to the New Mansion House, and was “fitted up thoroughly and prepared for the reception and accommodation of all who may find it convenient.”

Based on its location, the advertising catered to those who might be stepping away from the Courthouse – “especially for judges, jurors, witnesses, parties, and all others having business at court or the public offices.”

“The table is pledged to be supplied with the best the market can produce,” according to an advertisement cited in the New Mansion House.

There was an ‘old’ Mansion House. The structure was built in 1814 on Pennsylvania Avenue.

When that building “ceased to exist, the Diamond House became the New Mansion House… also known as the Temperance Hotel (no liquor served),” according to the New Mansion House.

Mark Jamieson bought the property in 1910 and renovated the structure, including installing “one of the first central heating systems in Warren,” according to the New Mansion House. “Since it’s use as a hotel, the building has been owned by the Woman’s Club, the Philomel Club, Judge Allison D. Wade, and (in the 1970s) H.J. Ristau and Paul E. Ristau, who have converted into five beautiful apartments.”

“During its existence, the Mansion House has been the site of many cultural activities in Warren,” according to the New Mansion House. “Concerts, sponsored by the Philomel Club, brought such artists as Madame Julia Rive-King and Wanda Landowska to Warren. The Shakespeare Club had meetings there. Many Warrenites, both young and old, learned to dance in the ballroom on the second floor. Cotillions were held there with all the glamour of kid gloves and dance programs.”

The Mansion House Bell, originally part of the first Mansion House, rang at 7 a.m., and 1, 5, and 9 p.m., as well as signaling important events like fires, floods, other emergencies, and the arrival of steamboats.

It was moved to the New Mansion House, and then to the Warren County Historical Society.