a desolate town in the middle of the depression riddled Sourland Mountains of Hunterdon County. It was agricultural, a mix of woodlands and hilly pastures dotted with ramshackle farms that could have as easily been situated in the Appalachians of Kentucky or West Virginia.
Yet the town was also close enough to New York City that Lindbergh could drive there with all that it offered: his job as a consultant with TransContinental Air Transport (later Transworld Airlines), his upper echelon social acquaintances in whose world he moved so easily, an intruding yet adoring public that never let him go, and the journalists and photographers who seemed to hound and record his every step since his epic flight.
The site was about one hour's drive from Next Day Hill, the Englewood, New Jersey country estate of wealthy Dwight and Elizabeth Cutter Morrow, Lindbergh's inlaws. Dwight Morrow had risen from an obscure law practice in Pittsburgh to become a partner of J.P. Morgan. He served as United States Ambassador to Mexico, and was often mentioned as a possible Republican nominee for president.
Shortly after purchasing the tract in September of 1930 Lindbergh began to personally supervise construction of his house. Personal supervision and direction dominated all of Charles Lindbergh's projects and his social stature prevented anyone from challenging him. To complete this project he and his wife Anne rented a farmhouse in nearby Mount Rose.
By November the Lindberghs and their five month old son Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. had moved into the Mount Rose house with an English couple, Oliver and Elsie Whately, as butler and cook, and with a Miss Cummings as a nurse for the child.
Although located in the Town of Mount Rose, the rented farmhouse was just four miles from the Lindbergh tract and just a two hour train ride from New York City. Lindbergh commuted to the city on a regular basis.
The new house in Hopewell was a rambling two story whitewashed fieldstone structure built in the French Manor tradition. Set back from the dirt road by a half mile long winding driveway, it was further shrouded by dark woods of sassafras and dogwood.
In February of 1931, Ms. Cummings was replaced by Betty Gow. As his house neared completion, Charles planned a three month flight across the Pacific to the Orient and commanded Anne to accompany him. They left on July 29. Their son was sent with Betty Gow to the Morrow's summer home Deacon Brown's Point in North Haven, Maine, with the request from Anne to "keep some kind of record of his actions and take a picture about once a month." On October 5, 1931, while in China, they received word of the death of Anne's father and returned home by sea. They were reunited with their son on October 27 in Englewood.
The Lindberghs then moved in with Mrs. Morrow and during the winter settled into a very regular pattern of behavior. During the week they would stay at Mrs. Morrow's estate and Charles would commute to New York. On weekends the Lindberghs, with their son and the Whatelys, would stay at their Hopewell house.
Although Betty Gow remained the child's nurse during the week, she did not accompany the Lindberghs on weekends. This was to give Anne Lindbergh a chance to be alone with and care for her child, and to give Betty Gow time off.
On the last weekend of February, 1932, Charles and Anne Lindbergh, with Charles, Jr., the Whatelys and the Lindbergh's English Terrier, Wahgoosh, traveled to the Hopewell house.
The three Lindberghs were all suffering from colds. The weather was raw and wet, and a sleeting rain had pulverized the area the whole weekend. The strict pattern had been that on Mondays Charles would leave for work in New York and on Monday afternoons Anne would pack up the household and travel back to Englewood. After work, Charles would join them.
On the morning of Monday, February 29, 1932, Charles left for work as usual. However, he later telephoned Anne and instructed her not to return to Englewood that day. The reason he later gave was that he had concerns about Charles, Jr.'s cold and felt that it was better if he did not make the one hour automobile ride to Englewood.
On Monday evening, Charles did not return home to Hopewell. Instead, he drove the shorter distance to Englewood and spent Monday night at Next Day Hill.
On Tuesday morning, March 1, 1932, the rain continued. From New York, Charles telephoned Anne and told her to stay over one more night, that it was still too raw for Charles, Jr. to be driven to Englewood. He further indicated that he would come home that night to Hopewell.
After speaking with Charles, Anne telephoned her mother's home in Englewood. Violette Sharpe, an English maid in the Morrow household, answered. Anne informed her that they would be staying yet another night in Hopewell and requested that Betty Gow be driven out to assist them. At about 1:30 p.m. the nursemaid was chauffeured over from Englewood.
After his solo Atlantic flight in May of 1927, Charles Lindbergh had emerged from obscurity to receive more accolades, awards and adulation from all corners of the globe, than had ever been received before, and has not been replicated since. Among the awards upon his return to America was, at age 25, his instant promotion by the Secretary of War to the rank of colonel in the Army reserves, although Lindbergh's earlier request in 1925 for a permanent commission in the Army had never even elicited a reply. He loved the title "Colonel" and used it constantly. He expected others to use it as well.
Because of his popularity, he was in demand as an afterdinner speaker or head table guest at every fundraiser imaginable. Everyone recognized the magic which the name "Lindbergh" suddenly held. Despite his reputed contempt for the press he basked in the resultant publicity that accompanied his attendance at these events. On the evening of Tuesday, March 1, 1932, Colonel Lindbergh had such a social engagement in midtown Manhattan, having accepted an invitation to be the guest speaker at a major fund raising banquet for New York University. The event had received wide publicity. Charles Lindbergh never attended.
In the evening the rain finally stopped, but the wind sprang up and the weather remained raw and cold. Shortly before 6:00 p.m., Betty took Charles, Jr. upstairs and fed him. Shortly after 7:00 p.m. Anne joined them and, together with Betty, prepared him for bed. Betty put Vick's Vapor Rub on his chest, decongestant drops in his nose and dressed him in a flannel shirt with blue silk thread which she had made herself.
They then put on him a sleeveless wool shirt, diapers and rubber pants and over everything a popular store bought "Doctor Denton's OnePiece Sleeping Suit." Over each thumb was placed a shiny metal cylinder which was pinned to his clothes and which was thought to discourage thumb sucking.
Not yet totally completed, the Hopewell house had no curtains, shades or drapes in any of the windows. Its remoteness in an otherwise desolate community was considered sufficient to assure privacy. However, all of the windows had exterior lattice shutters which swiveled in and, once closed, could be latched on the inside.
The child's bedroom was in the southeast corner of the home. Two windows faced east and bracketed a tile fireplace. One window faced south. This south window was located over a cement patio or walkway which ran along the back of the house. The ground below the two east windows was rough scrub as the landscaping had not yet begun.
Betty and Anne closed all three sets of shutters. However, the set of shutters on the east side just to the right of the fireplace were warped and although they could be swung shut, they would not latch. The two east windows were closed, but Betty opened the south window a crack behind its latched shutters to let in fresh air.
At 7:30 p.m. Betty and Anne put Charles, Jr. to bed and pinned his blankets to his sheets and mattress with two three inch safety pins at the head of the crib. They switched off the lights and left the room, closing his bedroom door behind them.
Anne went downstairs to work on her writing, while Betty began washing some of Charles, Jr.'s clothes in the bathroom adjacent to the nursery.
At approximately 7:50 p.m. Betty checked in on Charles, Jr. Finding him sleeping soundly, she descended to the staff sitting room for supper, leaving Charles, Jr. alone in that section of the house for the next two hours and ten minutes.
This was at the specific direction of Colonel Lindbergh, who had ordered that on that evening no one was to enter the nursery or otherwise disturb the child from the time he was put to bed until taken to the bathroom at approximately 10:00 p.m. The reason, the Colonel stated, was