Idylease: What’s in a Name?

idylease inn

For many years two stories have circulated about how Idylease derived its name.

Names for historic structures and landmarks give the people that live in the area a sense of place and speak to those locations and their particular place in time.

Several different explanations prevail about the naming of Idylease. Let’s first determine what is known for certain. Originally the area where Idylease is located was part of a 1,000 acre parcel that was owned by Theodore Brown who established Brown’s Hotel in Newfoundland in 1855. Dr. Edgar Day, a Brooklyn physician, along with 11 other investors built Idylease in 1902-1903. It was a place where cheerful hospitality reigned for persons “wearied or worn with the ceaseless turmoil of the city.” Originally, Idylease was planned as both a vacation spa and resort hotel.

Mention in a 1903 guidebook, yields an entry where State Rt. 23 crosses the Pequonnock River and the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, narrowing the run between the parallel Pequonnock and a shale escarpment. This is a region of small lakes off the main highway, exploited by real-estate development companies as “The Idyl A While of the East”. Did Idylease derive its name from the locale of this reference? Or… does it’s name originate from the combination of syllables that include: Idyll“an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one” and Ease“absence of difficulty or effort” as in ease of living? Somewhat of a literary romantic, it is also believed that Edgar Day named the resort after Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King,” an epic poem about Camelot and the legendary King Arthur’s court.

The background story of the naming of Idylease may never be known for certain and has probably died along with those who built the structure at the turn of the century.

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David Banks Sickels Authors the Poem Idylease in 1909

idylease
A Crisp Autumn Day at Idylease Taken on Halloween — 2016

DAVID BANKS SICKELS

David Banks Sickels (1837-1918) was a Civil War Correspondent, Fiscal Agent for the State of Arkansas, a Diplomatic Representative of Siam and Acting Consul of The Netherlands. With Lyman W. Griggs he founded the American Surety Company and upon his retirement, focused on literary work. He authored a prolific amount of poems, many of which were published in “Leaves of the Lotos” and “Flowers from the Wayside”.

He authored this poem entitled ‘Idylease’ in 1909 while a guest of the hotel.

We love to hear the wild birds greet
At morn their comrades in the trees
And feel the heart of nature beat
With Joyous throbs at Idylease

To gaze upon the pine-crowned hill,
And watch the streamlets downward flow,
From foaming falls and roaming rills.
Along the steeps of Ramapo.

To linger mid the shady scenes
Where rest Invites the weary mind,
And evil never Intervenes,
For thoughts are pure and unconfined.

To lie upon the dewless grass
And view above the radiant sky.
Then count the fleecy clouds that pass
Like scenes before the dreamer’s eye.

To mark the parent bird’s delight,
As nestlings plume their eager wings,
Intent upon their infant flight
In quest of more etherial things,

To muse o’er rocks and running rills,
And trace Pequannock’s whirls and bounds,
Whose liquid laughter
In the hills Fills all the air with soothing sounds.

To walk the woods alone with God
As Enoch did. unseen awhile.
And know the paths our feet have trod
Were lighted by his loving smile.

—David Banks Sickels (1837-1918)

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Idylease Dining Room Menu: 1904

idylease dining room
The Idylease Main Dining Room as pictured in 1903

Idylease provided the American Plan to its guests. The room rate includes three meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all provided by Idylease.

Richard Zampella at Idylease
Idylease Main Dining Room Menu from 1904. Click to enlarge

American Resort Hotels proliferated throughout North America in the 19th century. When the Civil War ended in 1865, Americans enjoyed prosperity with more wealth and economic power than they’d ever had before. Seemingly overnight, a new emphasis was placed on materialism which led the country’s elite to seek destinations where they could relax and escape over-populated urban areas.

This new crop of resort hotel offered modern conveniences, like sanitation systems, fireplaces, electric lights, running water, and more. These amenities were not present in existing American home construction, so escaping to resort hotel was a luxurious experience for guests.

During this period of rapid expansion, resort hotel owners had adopted the use of the European model of charging their guests for the services and amenities they provided. In this model, guests were billed for lodging only. Patron were expected to find his or her meals elsewhere.

By 1852 New, York’s Metropolitan Hotel was bestowed with the honor of being the first hotel to abandon the European Plan and replace it with the American Plan. The European plan offered significant advantages to big-city hotel keepers. By making the meal service optional and extending the hours of service, hotel operators did not have to employ an army of waiters to serve all of the house’s guests simultaneously. Fewer waiters working longer hours could serve the same or a greater number of diners at less cost to the hotel. Under the American plan, guests commanded all the resources of the host’s kitchens for a fixed fee, whereas under the European they paid for each item selected. The meal became a revenue producer rather than an extension of hospitality, and the burden of food costs shifted from the hotel to the guests. Finally, by opening its dining hall to the public, the hotel increased the number of potential customers but diminished its ability to function as a domestic haven.

Idylease provided the American Plan to its guests. The room rate includes three meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all provided by Idylease.  As you can see on the 1904 menu, drinks were not included under this plan.

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