Tenacre History
From Farm to Foundation
(Page 2 of 4)

While it is true of a divine idea that, as the writer of Ecclesiastes put it, "nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it…" (Eccl. 3:14), the history of Tenacre, from farm to foundation, is nevertheless quite interesting.

During the 1800s, Tenacre was indeed a farm, part of a community of descendants of the French Huguenots who originally settled what was then known as Cedar Grove.  George and Kathryn Barmore, who had been married just a year and a half prior to moving to the outskirts of Princeton, purchased the farm from an artist named Malcolm Stewart in February of 1913.  The earliest pamphlet available to us today dates from 1916.  It describes Tenacre as an active, prosperous poultry farm run by Mr. Barmore.  He and his wife were also active Christian Scientists, part of a small group of Christian Scientists who together founded the Princeton Christian Science Society that later would become a full-fledged branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist.  Mr. Barmore left the poultry business in favor of the fulltime public healing ministry as a Christian Science practitioner.  Mrs. Barmore had already established an office in Princeton as a practitioner.  They continued to tend to their gardens and scenic ponds that they had constructed on their farm, and in the process, they gradually transformed their farm into a lovely country estate.

Their dedication to Christian Science deepened when, on the suggestion of a visiting Christian Science lecturer, they opened their doors in 1922 to other Christian Scientists needing a place to go as they worked out a healing through the application of the teachings of Christian Science.  Families began to learn as well that Tenacre would accept as guests those who were having mental challenges.  By 1928, in response to requests from the Christian Science field, the Barmores decided to construct a building capable of housing more than the seven or eight guests they were used to accommodating. To accomplish this, the Barmores sold bonds primarily to Christian Scientists in the tri-state area. At the same time, Tenacre was granted a license by the state of New Jersey to care for mental cases.

With this license, Tenacre was able to accept cases that were not readily admitted at other Christian Science nursing facilities.  They served the Christian Science movement well, but by the mid 1930s, the Great Depression and other challenges cast a shadow to the point that Tenacre was not able to pay its local creditors and bondholders and when the construction bond finally matured in 1938, the Christian Science home filed for bankruptcy.  The Barmores themselves gave their beloved home of 26 years into the hands of the newly formed Tenacre Foundation and moved to Maine.  There, George and Katherine Barmore resumed their healing practice.

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