for his son, whose financial difficulties made a sale of the property necessary. He developed the property into Ardsley Park and Ardsley Country Club. Asphalt business In 1878, he became actively involved with asphalt pavement work with his brother-in-law John J. Albright, a Buffalo industrialist. In 1880, Barber partnered with U.S. Senator John Sherman for the purchase and sale of the "Stone" property, then on the outskirts of Washington D.C. This led to an interest in asphalt for paving city streets, after a government study determined it to be the best available method. He incorporated Barber Asphalt Company in 1883 to produce asphalt, and in 1887, secured a 42-year monopoly concession from the British Government for the Pitch Lake in Trinidad, the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world. He was also managing director of Trinidad Lake Asphalt Co., Limited, incorporated in London in 1898. Barber moved the Washington-based business to New York City, and it continued to expand, becoming, against Barber's wishes, part of an asphalt trust. By 1900, he had laid over 12 million square yards of Trinidad asphalt pavement in 70 American cities at a cost of $35 million. Barber retired from the business in 1901, just before the trust collapsed, but returned to the industry in 1904. Locomobile Barber also had an interest in automobile production, forming the Locomobile Company in 1898. The company at first produced small Stanley Steamer motor cars, which they initially sold for $600, with sales peaking at 1,600 cars in 1900. Locomobile later transitioned into selling internal-combustion automobiles. Personal life In 1868, Barber married his first wife, Celia M. Bradley of Geneva, Ohio, who died shortly thereafter in 1870. In 1871, he married Julia Louise Langdon (1844–1912) of Belmont, New York. Julia was first cousins with Olivia Langdon Clemens (1845–1904), the wife of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), also known as Mark Twain. With Julia, he had five children, of which four reached adulthood: LeDroit, Lorena, Bertha, and Rowland. Barber died of pneumonia in April 1909 at the age of 66 at his home "Ardsley Towers" in Ardsley-on-Hudson, New York. At the time of his death, The New York Times estimated his wealth at "many millions." Barber was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Residences and hobbies As part of the purchase of the Stone" property in 1880, Barber reserved the best piece of the property for his own