Llewellyn Park was founded in 1853 by Llewellyn Solomon Haskell, a New York City businessman and was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis. Haskell discovered the lush, wooded area on the eastern slope on the first range of the Watchung Mountains which was originally farmland owned by Ira Harrison Condit. Purchasing 100 acres from Condit in 1855, Haskell set out to create a suburban community of country estates. These finely crafted homes would stand amid majestic trees and running streams. The first annual meeting of proprietors was held at the Park's Gatehouse on January 1, 1858 and continues today.