The Famous Sunnybank Collies | Wayne, New Jersey

Sunnybank Collies With Albert Payson Terhune — Albert Payson Terhune “in conference” with his collies. Public domain photo.

Albert Payson Terhune Ran Sunnybank Kennels

Albert Payson Terhune wrote the famous classic Lad A Dog. It was originally published in 1919.

Lad: A Dog book cover — First edition cover of *Lad: A Dog.* Public domain photo.

He lived in a home called “Sunnybank” in what is now Wayne, New Jersey. He raised “rough collies” at the in his famous kennels.

According to See Passaic County website (where you can see photos of the long-gone house:

In the late 1860s, Reverend Edward Payson Terhune and his wife, Mary Virginia Hawes, purchased several acres of land on Pompton Lake in Wayne, NJ, where they built a three-story home with a central gable, attic, cellar, and expansive veranda; the large porch hearkened to Hawes’ Virginia heritage.

Hawes named the home ‘Sunnybank’, describing the landscape as “a shimmering sunset lake and a natural stretch of shining green lawn.” Under the Terhune’s ownership, the property soon expanded, and by the 1890s, it included 30 acres and an additional three-story wing on the southern end. The family- Terhune, Hawes, and their three children, Christine, Virginia, and Albert- largely used Sunnybank as a seasonal home, visiting from May to October every year.

Sunnybank was sold to Wayne Township in the 1970s. While the house was demolished in 1969, the property is preserved today as Terhune Memorial Park.

This is the original Lad.