When The Speedwell Village acquired the
property, the original buildings ere in poor condition and the once
beautiful lawns and gardens were overgrown with weeds and choked with
long grass. The Vail House, which,
according to New Jersey historian John Cunningham, deserves a rank
along with the Ford Mansion among Morristown area shrines, was a
decaying structure with paint peeling from the sides "nearer ruin than
restoration."
The rescue of the historic Vail site and the other old houses was spearheaded by E. Marco Stirone, then Mayor of Morristown, and Carl B. Scherzer, historian. Members of the first full Board of Trustees were Philip J. Bowers, Meade Brunet, Caroline R. Foster, Mrs. Merrill Harvey, Alfred J. Mackin, Thomas S. Mutch, Walter C. Pfeiffer, Dr. Francis S. Ronalds, Carl B. Scherzer, Samuel J. Spagnola, E. Marco Stirone, Mrs. Thomas W. Streeter, Sr., W. Parsons Todd, Victor S. Woodhull (Mayor of Morris Township). Honorary Trustees were Miss Matilda Frelinghuysen and Mrs. Paul Moore. These trustees and many who came after them dedicated their talents, energies and resources to saving the Vail Homestead. The property was cleared, and new lawns and shrubs were planted, with the significant help of the Garden Club of Morristown. The ice pond, which had been washed out for several years, was restored, the buildings were repaired and repainted, and an ongoing restoration of the Vail House and Factory began, which continues to attract public attention.
