Lloyd Wescott
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Bruce Wescott was an agriculturalist, civil servant, and philanthropist
in New Jersey
. Born and educated in Wisconsin
, he moved to New York after college before settling in New Jersey where he served as a member of agricultural boards, chairman of the New Jersey State Board of Control of Institutions and Agencies, and founder and first president of the Hunterdon Medical Center
. He was also a major fundraiser and donor of land that became Wescott Preserve in Hunterdon County. Novelist Glenway Wescott
is his brother.
, Washington County, Wisconsin
, the son of Bruce and Josephine Wescott. His elder brother Glenway
was also born in Wisconsin in 1901. He graduated from high school in Ripon, Wisconsin
and attended Ripon College
. He then lived for several years in New York City
.
In March 1935, Wescott married Barbara Harrison
, the daughter of Francis Burton Harrison
, Governor-General of the Philippines
under Woodrow Wilson
. In 1936 they purchased a 1000 acres (4 km²) dairy farm along the Mulhocaway Creek in Union Township
near Clinton
in Hunterdon County
, New Jersey
. Mulhocaway Farm, as it was known, became the headquarters for the Artificial Breeding Association, a pioneer in the artificial insemination
of dairy cows. In the 1950s, Mulhocaway Farm was acquired by the State of New Jersey under eminent domain
in order to create the Spruce Run Reservoir
.
In 1959 the Wescotts moved to a 147 acre (0.59488842 km²) farm further south in Hunterdon County, near the village of Rosemont in Delaware Township
. The farm had been previously owned by big band leader Paul Whiteman
.
Wescott was a member of the State Board of Agriculture from 1952 to 1956. He was appointed as chairman of the State Board of Control of Institutions and Agencies (later renamed the State Board of Human Services) in 1956. He also served as Chairman of the National Agricultural Stabilization Committee for Dairy Products in 1961.
Wescott was one of the founders of the Hunterdon Medical Center
in Raritan Township
near Flemington, New Jersey
. He was chairman of the Medical Center's first study group set up in 1946. In 1949 Wescott chaired the fundraising drive to raise $1.2 million for the construction of the hospital. He subsequently served as President of the Board from 1950 onwards, and was instrumental in establishing a progressive approach to rural medical care. The street leading to the Hunterdon Medical Center is named Wescott Drive in his honor.
Wescott received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters
from Lafayette College
in 1955. He was awarded a similar degree by Rutgers University
in 1960.
In 1966 the Wescotts donated their farmland in Rosemont for the creation of the Wescott Preserve, the first county park in Hunterdon County.
In 1987, Wescott sold most of his remaining farmland. He remained active in farmland preservation, helping to dedicate the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture
on the Cook College campus of Rutgers University
in 1989.
, Monroe Wheeler's longtime companion. In 1934, shortly before Barbara Harrison married Lloyd Wescott, the press relocated to New York, where it published a final title, Katherine Anne Porter
's Hacienda.
Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler returned to the United States and maintained an apartment in Manhattan
with photographer George Platt Lynes
. When Lloyd and Barbara Wescott moved to Mulhocaway Farm, Glenway along with Wheeler and Lynes took over one of the farmhand houses and called it Stone-Blossom. When Lloyd and Barbara later moved to the Rosemont farm, a two-story stone house, dubbed Haymeadows, was reserved for Glenway. He died at the Rosemont residence in 1987.
Barbara Wescott continued her patronage of the arts throughout her life. She was a noted collector of artwork, and she played a critical role in the development of the New Jersey State Museum
, serving on the museum's Advisory Council. After her death in 1977, a sculpture garden was dedicated in her memory at the State Museum.
In 2007, the Hunterdon Medical Center named the Wescott Medical Arts Center in his honor.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Born and educated in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, he moved to New York after college before settling in New Jersey where he served as a member of agricultural boards, chairman of the New Jersey State Board of Control of Institutions and Agencies, and founder and first president of the Hunterdon Medical Center
Hunterdon Medical Center
Hunterdon Medical Center is a 176-bed non-profit community hospital located in Raritan Township, New Jersey near Flemington.Hunterdon Medical Center was founded in 1946 and opened in 1953, a culmination of efforts by the Hunterdon County Board of Agriculture to provide rural medical care to the...
. He was also a major fundraiser and donor of land that became Wescott Preserve in Hunterdon County. Novelist Glenway Wescott
Glenway Wescott
Glenway Wescott was a major American novelist during the 1920-1940 period and a figure in the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s. Wescott was gay. His relationship with longtime companion Monroe Wheeler lasted from 1919 until Wescott's death.-Biography:Wescott was...
is his brother.
Biography
Wescott was born in 1907 on a dairy farm outside FarmingtonFarmington, Washington County, Wisconsin
Farmington is a town in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,239 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Boltonville, Cheeseville, Fillmore, St Michaels, and Orchard's Grove are located in the town,...
, Washington County, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, the son of Bruce and Josephine Wescott. His elder brother Glenway
Glenway Wescott
Glenway Wescott was a major American novelist during the 1920-1940 period and a figure in the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s. Wescott was gay. His relationship with longtime companion Monroe Wheeler lasted from 1919 until Wescott's death.-Biography:Wescott was...
was also born in Wisconsin in 1901. He graduated from high school in Ripon, Wisconsin
Ripon, Wisconsin
Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,828. The City of Ripon's official website claims the city's current population to be 7,701. The city is surrounded by the Town of Ripon....
and attended Ripon College
Ripon College (Wisconsin)
Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance...
. He then lived for several years in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In March 1935, Wescott married Barbara Harrison
Barbara Harrison Wescott
-Biography:She was born on October 27, 1904 to Francis Burton Harrison.While living in France, she worked closely with other American expatriates in the literary world. She and Monroe Wheeler established Harrison of Paris, a press publishing limited-edition literary paperbacks...
, the daughter of Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and appointed Governor-General of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodrow Wilson...
, Governor-General of the Philippines
Governor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....
under Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. In 1936 they purchased a 1000 acres (4 km²) dairy farm along the Mulhocaway Creek in Union Township
Union Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,160 people, 1,666 households, and 1,162 families residing in the township. The population density was 324.8 people per square mile . There were 1,725 housing units at an average density of 90.9 per square mile...
near Clinton
Clinton, New Jersey
Clinton is a Town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on the South Branch of the Raritan River. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 2,719....
in Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 128,349. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Mulhocaway Farm, as it was known, became the headquarters for the Artificial Breeding Association, a pioneer in the artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
of dairy cows. In the 1950s, Mulhocaway Farm was acquired by the State of New Jersey under eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
in order to create the Spruce Run Reservoir
Spruce Run Recreation Area
Spruce Run Recreation Area is a New Jersey state recreation area located in Clinton Township in Hunterdon County. It encompasses the Spruce Run Reservoir that is used as a backup reservoir to protect New Jersey from prolonged droughts. The reservoir is the third largest in the state, after Round...
.
In 1959 the Wescotts moved to a 147 acre (0.59488842 km²) farm further south in Hunterdon County, near the village of Rosemont in Delaware Township
Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,478 people, 1,643 households, and 1,302 families residing in the township. The population density was 121.9 people per square mile . There were 1,701 housing units at an average density of 46.3 per square mile...
. The farm had been previously owned by big band leader Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
.
Wescott was a member of the State Board of Agriculture from 1952 to 1956. He was appointed as chairman of the State Board of Control of Institutions and Agencies (later renamed the State Board of Human Services) in 1956. He also served as Chairman of the National Agricultural Stabilization Committee for Dairy Products in 1961.
Wescott was one of the founders of the Hunterdon Medical Center
Hunterdon Medical Center
Hunterdon Medical Center is a 176-bed non-profit community hospital located in Raritan Township, New Jersey near Flemington.Hunterdon Medical Center was founded in 1946 and opened in 1953, a culmination of efforts by the Hunterdon County Board of Agriculture to provide rural medical care to the...
in Raritan Township
Raritan Township, New Jersey
Raritan Township is a Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,185...
near Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....
. He was chairman of the Medical Center's first study group set up in 1946. In 1949 Wescott chaired the fundraising drive to raise $1.2 million for the construction of the hospital. He subsequently served as President of the Board from 1950 onwards, and was instrumental in establishing a progressive approach to rural medical care. The street leading to the Hunterdon Medical Center is named Wescott Drive in his honor.
Wescott received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters
Doctor of Humane Letters
The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters is always conferred as an honorary degree, usually to those who have distinguished themselves in areas other than science, government, literature or religion, which are awarded degrees of Doctor of Science, Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Letters, or Doctor of...
from Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
in 1955. He was awarded a similar degree by Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1960.
In 1966 the Wescotts donated their farmland in Rosemont for the creation of the Wescott Preserve, the first county park in Hunterdon County.
In 1987, Wescott sold most of his remaining farmland. He remained active in farmland preservation, helping to dedicate the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture
New Jersey Museum of Agriculture
The New Jersey Museum of Agriculture, located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, focuses on the evolution of agriculture in New Jersey. The museum's exhibits include farm tools and machinery, household implements, scientific instruments, trade tools, farm vehicles, early electrical appliances and a...
on the Cook College campus of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1989.
Personal life
Before her marriage to Wescott, Barbara Harrison lived in France, where she worked closely with other American expatriates in the literary world. She and Monroe Wheeler established Harrison of Paris, a press publishing limited-edition literary paperbacks. From 1930 to 1934, Harrison of Paris published thirteen titles, including two new works by Glenway WescottGlenway Wescott
Glenway Wescott was a major American novelist during the 1920-1940 period and a figure in the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s. Wescott was gay. His relationship with longtime companion Monroe Wheeler lasted from 1919 until Wescott's death.-Biography:Wescott was...
, Monroe Wheeler's longtime companion. In 1934, shortly before Barbara Harrison married Lloyd Wescott, the press relocated to New York, where it published a final title, Katherine Anne Porter
Katherine Anne Porter
Katherine Anne Porter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel Ship of Fools was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her short stories received much more critical acclaim...
's Hacienda.
Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler returned to the United States and maintained an apartment in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
with photographer George Platt Lynes
George Platt Lynes
George Platt Lynes was an American fashion and commercial photographer.Born in East Orange, New Jersey to Adelaide and Joseph Russell Lynes he spent his childhood in New Jersey but attended the Berkshire School in Massachusetts. He was sent to Paris in 1925 with the idea of better preparing him...
. When Lloyd and Barbara Wescott moved to Mulhocaway Farm, Glenway along with Wheeler and Lynes took over one of the farmhand houses and called it Stone-Blossom. When Lloyd and Barbara later moved to the Rosemont farm, a two-story stone house, dubbed Haymeadows, was reserved for Glenway. He died at the Rosemont residence in 1987.
Barbara Wescott continued her patronage of the arts throughout her life. She was a noted collector of artwork, and she played a critical role in the development of the New Jersey State Museum
New Jersey State Museum
The New Jersey State Museum is located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, New Jersey, United States, overlooking the Delaware River. The Museum is operated as part of the New Jersey Department of State. General admission is free....
, serving on the museum's Advisory Council. After her death in 1977, a sculpture garden was dedicated in her memory at the State Museum.
Death
Wescott died in 1990 at his Rosemont home at the age of 83.In 2007, the Hunterdon Medical Center named the Wescott Medical Arts Center in his honor.