Landscape and Garden Tour of Hamilton House, South Berwick, Maine July 30, 2011

Photo gallery
Looking at this tranquil view of the Salmon Falls River, it’s hard to imagine the shore lined with busy wharves and tall masted ships sailing in and out of the harbor . Yet this was the scene in 1785 when Jonathan Hamilton built his house on this site. Since that time, the property has evolved from a busy commercial waterfront, to a working sheep farm, then a summer retreat, and finally an historic property for all to enjoy.

On the last Saturday of July, Gary Wetzel, landscape manager for Historic New England, led a tour of the gardens created in the early 1900′s by the last private owners, Emily Tyson and her stepdaughter, Elise Tyson. In 1996, Historic New England began restoration of these gardens.

Unlike Sarah and Dorothy Ogden of the Codman House, Emily and Elise did not keep a record of what was planted. Fortunately, Elise, who was an accomplished amateur photographer, took photos of the gardens and property, and from these the restoration staff could figure out not only what was planted, but also the design of the gardens. The gardens became quite famous in the 1920′s and were featured in several articles in House Beautiful, which the restoration staff have used to further their knowledge of the gardens.

The classical lines of the garden extended from a water trench that ran from the well to the house. The plantings consist mainly of peonies, globe thistle, Asian lilies, daylilies, phlox, nigella, and foxglove. The Tysons designed the gardens and the interior of the house with the help of Herbert Browne of the Boston architectural firm Little & Browne in the Colonial Revival style, which was popular at the time. Millstones throughout the garden reflect interest in Colonial times of which gristmills were an integral part.

In 2002, the garden arch was rebuilt using Elise’s photos. Finding the piers of the original arch allowed staff to place it in its original location.

Because Emily and Elise wanted to create a strong connection between the indoors and outdoors, the gardens were designed like a series of rooms. Trellises and a pergola surrounded the garden to create this effect. The pergola, which had fallen into disrepair, was torn down in the 1950′s after it was damaged in a hurricane. Historic New England hopes some day to raise funds to rebuild the pergola whose foundation stone work remains.

Today, the gardens at Hamilton House are lovingly cared for by devoted volunteers, Mimi Demers and Kathy Gray.

History

Jonathan Hamilton was a prosperous merchant by the mid 1780′s. Starting with selling fish and timber, he ventured into privateering during the American Revolution expanding his business to include shipbuilding, mills, and ownership of sugar plantations in the West Indies.

His base of operation was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In 1783, he purchased property upriver from Portsmouth at Pipe Stave Landing on the Salmon Falls River in Berwick, Maine. This parcel of land was previously owned by David Moore who had built a house, which later burned, as well as a wharf. It was an ideal location for loading and building vessels.

In 1785, Hamilton built a grand mansion from which he could oversee his shipping and business operations. After he died in 1802, his sons could not maintain the prosperous business their father had established in part because the shipping industry was crippled by the Jefferson Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812.

In 1839, the house was purchased by the Goodwins, a farming family, as the economy shifted towards agriculture. The Goodwin family enjoyed several prosperous decades of raising sheep and other crops until agriculture shifted towards the west in the late nineteenth century.

Because the house had fallen into disrepair, the local author, Sarah Orne Jewett, feared that the house would be torn down by the next buyer. In 1898, she convinced her friends, Emily and Elise Tyson to purchase the property. The Tysons, whose fortune was made in the railroads, wanted to use it as a summer retreat, which they restored in the Colonial Revival style to reflect their interest in their colonial forbears. They were also inspired by their trips to Italy and by Edith Wharton’s book, Italian Villas and Their Gardens.

When Emily died in 1922, Elise and her husband, Henry Vaughan, kept the house and summered here until 1949. She bequeathed Hamilton House to Historic New England, which has restored and maintained it ever since.

Historic New England

Historic New England owns and oversees several other houses in the South Berwick and Portsmouth area including:

  • Sarah Orne Jewett House
  • Jackson House
  • Rundlett -May House
  • Governor John Langdon House

Founded in 1910, Historic New England is the oldest and largest regional heritage organization in the country. Its mission is to preserve and present to the public New England’s architectural and cultural past, which includes historic buildings and their surrounding landscapes as well as art, furnishings, and artifacts. Your support makes this possible. So please visit their website (www.HistoricNewEngland.org) and plan a visit to one or more of these fabulous properties!

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