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56 ja n ua r y/ f e b r ua r y 2 015 U n tac k e d mond Jim Brady, a financier known for his appetite, as well as his fondness for jewels and statuesque singer/actress lillian russell. he died in 1917. e far more conservative James Cox Brady lived for another decade, as he enjoyed a lifestyle patterned on that of the British aristocracy. hamilton farm was among dozens of estates in the area drawing busi- nessmen and their families out from new York on a train nicknamed the "million- aires' express," established in 1890. After making stops in affluent Ber- nardsville and far hills, the end of the line was gladstone (called happy rock by some jocular conductors), where the travelers were picked up, at first by horse-drawn carriages, then later by chauffeurs in pierce-Arrows and rolls royces, who took them to their nearby mansions. Brady's family was among the most prominent in the hills, but there were and are many others whose names are well- known, from the Johnsons of Johnson & Johnson fame to the dillons (douglas dil- lon was a secretary of the treasury, as was Brady's descendent, nicholas Brady) and the engelhards, who made their money in pre- cious metals. e son of a utilities baron and grandson of an irish immigrant, Brady made his own fortune as a financier in yet another chapter of an American success story. e stable housed Brady's prized collec- tion of horses. Clydesdales and percherons worked the land of the self-sufficient farm, an industry that provided employment to many in the area. hackney ponies and hunt- ers also lived in the stable—the essex fox- hounds gathered there periodically for their meets. e extremely competitive Brady took enormous pride in his horses and farm ani- mals, and he spent lavishly to have the best. he paid $10,000 for the shetland stallion King largo, and he treated visitors looking through the trophy room's glass floor to a procession of marvelous livestock parading along a red carpet below on the main level of the stable. e most famous of Brady's hackneys was hamilton model, immortalized on one of the stable's three fabulous weather- vanes crafted by two italian sculptors. e piece is so valuable that it's now kept inside the building, along with the others, which depict a coach-and-four and a tandem (two horses pulling a carriage head-to-tail). ere have been stories of thieves using helicopters or mountain-climbing gear to nab other pre- cious weathervanes, and no one wanted to A vintage sign and ledger greet visitors at the entry to the stable. The Gladstone facility isn't limited as a venue for major national competitions—it's also played host to local events such as this side- saddle show. HistorY Sara lIeSer PHoTo nanCy jaffer PHoTo

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