More History,
Rutherford taught that in 1925, the end of the world would come and the 16 faithful men of the Old Testemant, mentioned in Hebrews the eleventh chapter, would set up a world capital in Jerusalem. Well, things didn't go as planned, so later the Judge (Rutherford that is) said that these "ancient worthies" would return before Armageddon and he had Beth Sarim built in 1929 for their eventual lodging. In 1939, William Heath, member of the Coca Cola family and Rutherford's private secretary, built a slightly larger mansion on the adjoining propery called Beth Shan.
Beth Shan had a bomb shelter concealed by a hidden trap door. There was a large enough water system on the property to hold enough water to last for months and two fire hyndrants to protect the buildings in case they were cut off from outside resources. There also was a 4,000 gallon diesel fuel tank for power generation and a 425 foot well. There was another bomb shelter in one of the out buildings, also hidden by a secret entrance. This mansion sat on a bluff and could only be reached a long dirt road. The road was gated and guards on horse back kept trespassers out. At that time, Rutherford believed that Hitler would defeat England and the US and that American cities would be exposed to biological and chemical warfare, besides bombing. Beth Shan was constructed as a place of refuge for Rutherford and his elite, for when the great tribulation began.
The deeds to both mansions with a total of 100 acres of land listed the 16 men of the Old Testiment as the rightful owners, with the WT holding them in trust until their arrival. Beth Shan was sold in 1945, after WWII ended and Beth Sarim was sold two years later in 1947.
Since there is no value in letting a mansion sit empy, Rutherford spent the winter months at Beth Sarim from 1929 when first built until his death in 1942. When he died, my aunt Berta and Nathan H. Knorr were at his side.