J. Ward Packard, inventor of the Packard Motor Car, came to Lakewood as a summer visitor in the late 1800's and built this mansion as his permanent home in 1912. The interior decor of the 32 room house was adapted from European models, and the front entrance is a replica of those found on 18th century buildings. Stone was imported from Scotland for cut stone bands encircling the house. The property continued as a private residence for a few years after Mrs. Packard's death in 1960. In the early 1980s developers created condos inside the mansion and built the two large condominium structures on either side of the mansion. A few traces remain of the elegant formal gardens that originally surrounded the mansion.