History of Early American Landscape Design - User contributions [en]

Nursery of Robert Buist

2018-08-15T15:24:40Z

E-athens:

'''The nursery of Robert Buist''' was a key source of exotic flowers in Philadelphia in the 1830s and 40s. Robert Buist knew many of the gardeners and seedsmen from his native Britain, from whom he often procured rare species of camellias, dahlias, geraniums, and roses to sell at his city nursery on South 12th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>U. P. Hedrick, ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> Local naturalists, such as the botanist Thomas Nuttall, also provided plants collected on travels to different regions of the North American continent.

==Overview==
'''Alternative Names:''' Buist’s Nursery; R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery; Robert Buist’s City Nursery & Greenhouses 
'''Site Dates:''' 1833–c. 1850 
'''Site Owner:''' [[Robert Buist]] (1805–1880) 
'''Associated People:''' Mr. Scott (dates unknown; originally gardener at Knight’s Exotic Nursery in London) 
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA; Demolished 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lombard+St+%26+S+12th+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19147/@39.9442089,-75.1637345,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c6c6240bf4bb61:0x813489c0d3bbcdf9!8m2!3d39.9442048!4d-75.1615458 View on Google maps]

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==History==
[[Robert Buist]] first entered the nursery business in 1830 as partner to Thomas Hibbert, whose garden and [[greenhouse]]s were located at South 13th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert was likely eager to join with Buist, a Scottish émigré, due to his familiarity with nurserymen in Scotland and England—one of Buist’s first tasks after partnering with Hibbert was to travel to Britain to import exotics not available in the United States.<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero], and William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero].</ref> According to an 1832 notice in the ''Gardener’s Magazine'', he brought back to Philadelphia “large collections of Chinese, Cape, and Botany Bay plants” to sell at Hibbert & Buist.<ref>Alexander Gordon, “Notices of Some of the Principal Nurseries and Private Gardens in the United States,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 283, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/2TVP4JIX/q/gordon view on Zotero].</ref> Unfortunately, their collaboration was brief due to Hibbert’s sudden illness and death in May 1833.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1734.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.]]

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]
Buist quickly established a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street and an independent [[nursery]] at 140 South 12th Street, which he opened by December 1833 [Fig. 1], using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> It was often referred to as “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” for the rich variety of rare plants it offered, both from abroad and from the Pacific Northwest, the latter of which had been collected by Thomas Nuttall during his 1834 expedition along the Columbia River.<ref>C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey, “Notes on Nurseries and Private Gardens, visited in the early part of March,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 205, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Descriptions of the [[nursery]] from 1833 and 1835 describe the layout and contents of his [[greenhouse]], which was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different climates his exotic plants required [Fig. 2]. The front compartment was the “New-Holland House” and featured various heaths, ''Banksia'', diosma (''Coleonema pulchellum''), and other plants then uncommon in the United States. A [[hothouse]] or stove occupied the second compartment, and the final three compartments were each dedicated to a specific flower: the geranium, the camellia, and the rose.<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZBUNJMGX view on Zotero], and C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later expanded his nursery in order to build an additional stove and an entirely separate, north-facing camellia house [Fig. 3]. He noted that camellias benefited when partially shaded, and advised patrons to white-wash the glass of their [[greenhouse]]s or place them in north-facing situations to protect the flowers.<ref>Hovey 1837, 202–3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846. A comparison with Buist’s calling card reveals the nursery’s expansion.]]
Camellias were not the only plant that was subject to Buist’s careful study; roses also received his focused attention, and he is known to have introduced the Jaune Desprez—a yellow climbing rose with a strong fragrance—to the American market.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, in 1844 Buist published the ''Rose Manual'', which described different types of roses and their cultivation and care. The book followed his 1832 publication of the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' that, along with the ''Rose Manual'', were important adjuncts to his [[nursery]] business. His publishing efforts allowed him to sell his customers exotic flowers, as well as directions for their proper maintenance, adding to his professional success.

By 1848 his business had outgrown 140 South 12th Street, and Buist purchased a [[plot]] of land southwest of Philadelphia, not far from the [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery]], to accommodate its expansion. Called “Rosedale,” it was considered the largest nursery in the United States at the time; a period description of the site indicated that it comprised about 100 acres of land and more than 20,000 feet of [[greenhouse]]s featuring “everything in the plant way.”<ref>“A Visit to Rosedale,” ''Florist and Horticultural Journal'' 4 (1854): 152–53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35KZG677 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1850 Buist ultimately gave up his city nursery in order to consolidate all of but his seed warehouse at Rosedale.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> According to Joel T. Fry, the expansion of Buist’s horticultural empire may have been one of the factors that led to the bankruptcy and sale of [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]] that year.<ref>Email correspondence with author, August 10, 2018. For more details on the competition between Buist and the Bartram family, see Joel T. Fry, “The Introduction of the Poinsettia at Bartram’s Garden,” ''Bartram Broadside'' (Winter 1994–95): 3–7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/GCQJCC4J view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

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==Texts==
*Anonymous, May 15, 1832, describing the nursery of Robert Buist (''National Gazette and Literary Register'')<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>
The [[greenhouse|Green House]] of [[Robert Buist]] is 150 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with correspondent glass framing. It is divided into five compartments, each appropriated to plants requiring the same treatment. In the New-Holland house there are several fine specimens of Banksias, such as speciosa, grandis, cunninghamia and verticillata. There is likewise a beautiful plant of dryandra; some of the heaths are very fine; erica rubida is a great picture; diosma is also a conspicuous genus; with plants of epacris, boronia, protea, and many others of more every day observation.

The [[hothouse|Hot House]] also contains some very rare plants, such as ardisia paniculata, justicia picta, dracaena terminalis, latania borbonica, pandanus, astrapaea, myrtus pimentiodes or allspice tree; —cactus are likewise improved with the fine blooming sorts, such as Ackermania, Jenkinsonia, and Buonapartea; — Buonapartea juncea is also a curious looking plant.

The Geranium House is well filled with fresh young and healthy plants: there are upwards of 100 varieties, some of which are very splendid; and a few years ago a single plant cost in London £2 2s sterling.

The Camellia House begins to appear in its glory: the plants are in great luxuriance, and display a profusion of buds. It is said that sixty varieties will bloom during the winter. It would be too tedious to give a detail of their characters—but suffice to say that nivalis, eximia, rosea, reticulata, imbricata, Gray’s invincible and Floyii have a place among seventy other sorts. As for the beautiful speciosa and the pretty fimbriata, they appear to be as plentiful as the common varieties.

The sixth [sic; fifth] is the Rose House, containing about eighty varieties and species of China rose: the yellow and white tea-scented rose is in great abundance. There are also odorata Golconda, odorata grandi and odorata superba, new sorts. Rosa smithii, or yellow noisette, is looked upon as a great treasure.

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1835, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery, 12th, near Lombard street” (''American Gardeners’ Magazine'' 1: 203)<ref>Hovey 1835, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
The range of [[greenhouse|green-houses]] is upwards of one hundred feet in length; it is built with a span roof, though in some places it is not glazed, and is divided into five compartments; he intends enlarging it the present summer, and also to build a house purposely for his Caméllias, of which he has a very fine collection. . . .

The arrangement of the plants throughout the whole range, is highly creditable to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] taste; and the general good order which exists throughout his establishment, where propagation is continually going on, is to be much commended. Too little attention is paid to neatness by many nurserymen. . . .

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1837, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 3: 202)<ref>Hovey 1837, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
Since the spring of 1835, the time of our last visit to this place, [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has erected a camellia house and a small stove. The former is about fifty feet in length, and twenty in width, and is built with a slope to the north instead of the south, as is usual in the erection of all similar structures. . . . We noticed that [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has the camellias placed at a good distance from the glass; this we much approve of: we know from our own personal experience that camellias, placed upon a stage near the glass, rarely make a healthy growth. . . . No plants will bear growing at a greater distance from the glass than camellias.

The interior of this house is constructed with a front shelf, about four feet in width; between this and the back [[border]] is the [[walk]]. In the [[border]] are planted out several camellias at various distances, and the space between them is filled with plants in [[pot]]s. The front shelf was filled with azaleas and other plants, which prefer a cool temperature and shady situation. . . .

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], June 1849, “Visit to Buist’s Nursery” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 43–4)<ref>“Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1, ed. Andrew Jackson Downing (July 1849): 43–4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WIF29SDV view on Zotero].</ref>
While we were in Philadelphia, early last month, we had a great deal of pleasure in visiting the exotic department of '''Buist’s nursery''' establishment. [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has for a long time, we believe, employed more capital in exotic floriculture than any other commercial grower in the country. His extensive trade, especially with the southern and western states has enabled him to introduce immediately every new species, and to maintain an immense stock of all the finest exotics in cultivation.

[[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] establishment consists at the present moment of three distinct departments—1st. An extensive seed warehouse, No. 99 Chestnut St.; —2d. The '''city Green-houses''' or '''exotic nursery''', 140 South Twelfth St.; —3d. The general hardy nursery of fruit and ornamental trees, and seed farm on the Darby road. The buildings have now so completely surrounded the city establishment, that [[Robert Buist|Mr. B.]] informed us it is his intention to remove all the exotic department next year to his general [[nursery]] and seed farm on the Darby road—thus consolidating the whole establishment as much as possible. Either the amateur or the professional horticulturist who wishes to see all the garden novelties of the day, will find a great deal to interest him in a visit to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]].

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==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.
</gallery>

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==Map==
{{#display_map:
39.944208, -75.1637345
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

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==Notes==

<references/>

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[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-15T14:59:50Z

E-athens:

'''Boston Common''' is the oldest public park in the United States. Over time it has served as pastureland, [[burying ground]], military encampment, theater for political action, and [[public ground]], sometimes filling these various roles concurrently. Its history tracks the increasing levels of intervention in American landscape as its more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to its use for recreation and leisure.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common; The Park; Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

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==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the [[Boston Public Garden]] by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html National Park Service]

[https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common City of Boston]

[http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml The Freedom Trail Foundation]

[http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common Friends of the Public Garden]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Riversdale

2018-08-15T14:30:43Z

E-athens:

Riversdale was the [[plantation]] of the Belgian émigré Rosalie Stier Calvert (1778–1821) and her husband, George Calvert (1768–1838), a planter and direct descendent of the Proprietary Governors of Maryland. Though estates were usually owned by men in the early Republic, Riversdale is one of the few that passed from father to daughter.<ref> Writing to her father on September 28, 1804, Rosalie wrote to her father about careful estate planning, since “. . . the laws [in the United States] give little power to women and it is better to err on the side of too much caution.” Quoted in Margaret Callcott, ''Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795–1821'', (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 98, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Rosalie received the house and land from her father, Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821), as part of her inheritance, and oversaw the development of its extensive grounds. Much of what is known about the layout of the estate derives from Rosalie’s correspondence with her European relatives.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Baltimore House; Calvert Mansion; Baron de Stier House 
'''Site Dates:''' 1800 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821); Rosalie Stier Calvert (1778–1821) and George Calvert (1768–1838); Charles Benedict Calvert (1808–1864); Riverdale Park Company; Thomas H. Pickford (1862–1939); Thaddeus Caraway (1871–1931) and Hattie Wyatt Caraway (1878–1950); Abraham Walter Lafferty (1875–1964); Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission<ref> Riversdale Mansion, National Historic Landmark Nomination, 26–30.</ref> 
'''Associated People:''' [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] (1764–1820); William Lovering (active 1795–1810); [[William Russell Birch]] (1755–1834) 
'''Location:''' Riverdale, MD 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Riversdale+House+Museum/@38.9602373,-76.9318343,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x257ceb2d688b2815?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNrrG03OzcAhWHTt8KHfimAyIQ_BIwCnoECAoQCw View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
Fleeing the terror unleashed by the French Revolution, Belgian aristocrat Henri Joseph Stier and his family left their native country for the United States in the autumn of 1794, intending only to remain until they could safely return to Europe. But when the youngest of Henri’s three children, Rosalie, married the Maryland planter George Calvert in 1799, the family decided to make their home in the United States.<ref> Callcott 1991, 1–17, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref>

As a direct descendant of the Proprietary Governors of Maryland, Rosalie’s husband was an exceptionally wealthy landowner, possessing over 3,300 acres by 1800, which comprised the tobacco farm he inherited on the Patuxent River, called Mount Albion, and additional tracts of land in Prince George’s County, including a small lot in the town of Bladensburg.<ref>Steven James Sarson, ''The Tobacco-Plantation South in the Early American Atlantic World'' (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 26–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZHS3A4LB/q/sarson view on Zotero].</ref> When Henri began searching for property, his son-in-law suggested 729 ½ acres nearby, which would become the site of Riversdale.<ref>Callcott 1991, 23–25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero]. The property was purchased in his son’s name, Charles John Stier, who had become a naturalized American citizen; Henri would gain citizenship only later that year.</ref> Benjamin Henry Latrobe was commissioned to oversee the design and construction of the house, but Henri was vexed by his inefficiency and replaced him with the Washington architect William Lovering.<ref>Callcott 1991, 28–29, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref>

Despite the Stier family’s plans to remain in the United States, Henri’s son and daughter-in-law returned to Europe in 1802, and they reported that Napoleon was offering safe return to émigrés who had fled the Revolution.<ref>Callcott 1991, 33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Henri and his wife, along with their elder daughter and her family, decided to rejoin them. Rosalie—married to an American husband, with a young daughter and another child on the way—was determined to remain in her adopted country. The news disappointed her father: “Since no hope remains of seeing all my family reunited, I must join the greater number.”<ref>Henri Joseph Stier to Charles Joseph Stier, November 1802, quoted in Callcott 1991, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> He offered her the land and the newly built house, making a point to have the estate placed in Rosalie’s name.<ref>Henri had an antenuptial agreement drawn up for Rosalie and George Calvert, which ensured that her inheritance would go directly to her children or, if the marriage produced no issue, reverted to the Stier family. Despite this, Rosalie still had to become a naturalized citizen of the United States and required an act of the Maryland Legislature in order to be legally recognized as the owner of Riversdale. See Callcott 1991, 19–20, and William Kilty, Thomas Harris, John N. Watkins, eds., ''The Laws of Maryland from the End of the Year 1799, with a Full Index, and the Constitution of This State, as Adopted by the Convention, with the Several Alterations by Acts of Assembly: and an Appendix Containing the Land Laws; with the resolutions Considered Proper to be Published'', vol. V (Annapolis: J. Green, 1820), 1754, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N43UCBYT/q/kilty view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1112.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Anthony St. John Baker (artist), B. King (lithographer), “Riversdale, near Bladensburg,” 1827.]]

Riversdale would serve as an important point of connection between Rosalie and her European family. She and her father wrote each other regularly, and among their voluminous correspondence are Henri’s suggestions for the landscape’s design: “Note that the water, as a mirror in an apartment, is the principal ornament; the north side of your home is very convenient for this embellishment.”<ref>Henri Joseph Stier to Rosalie Stier Calvert, May 1, 1806, quoted in Callcott 1991, 142, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Her letters to her father indicate that she engaged the landscape designer and artist [[William Russell Birch]] to draw up plans. However, Birch never visited the estate nor supervised the work and thought “very little” of his design had been implemented.<ref>Rosalie’s location of the pond to the south, rather than north, of the mansion may have been due to Birch’s influence; see Callcott 1991, 53–54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref>

Relying on both hired and enslaved labor, Rosalie created a [[pond]] on the south side of the estate and divided the grounds at Riversdale into [[flower garden|flower]] and [[kitchen garden]]s, [[orchard]]s, and a series of falling [[terrace]]s.<ref>Sarson 2012, 28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZHS3A4LB/q/sarson view on Zotero]. For more information on slaves held at the Calvert properties, see Callcott 1991, 378–84, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero]. Before his marriage to Rosalie, George Calvert had already had two children through a relationship with Eleanor Beckett, an enslaved woman at Mount Albion.</ref> A brick [[ha-ha]] separated the [[terrace]]s from the [[pond]] and [[meadow]]s to the south, and an [[icehouse]], [[dovecote]], slave cabin and other structures surrounded the mansion [fig. 1].<ref>Using available archaeological and epistolary evidence, Susan Buonocore developed a map of the grounds at Riversdale during Rosalie Stier Calvert’s lifetime; see Buonocore, “‘Within Her Garden Wall’: The Meaning of Gardening for the Republican Woman, Rosalie Stier Calvert and the Gardens of Riversdale (1803–1821)” (Ph.D. diss., South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, 1996), 106, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NZF3YWST view on Zotero].</ref> Writing to her brother in 1808, Rosalie described the visual appearance of these structures: “[The icehouse] is covered with straw and . . . looks like a little hut. A little farther on, a negro cabin gives the same effect and another we intend to build supported by columns will look like a little [[temple]].”<ref> Rosalie Stier Calvert to Charles Joseph Stier, December 10, 1808, quoted in Callcott 1991, 196.</ref> Within the mansion itself, she transformed her cellar and salon into an [[orangery]], where she nurtured orange trees, geraniums, and heliotropes, all exotic plants.<ref>Buonocore 1996, 125, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NZF3YWST view on Zotero].</ref>

Rosalie’s love for her family was closely entwined with the Riversdale landscape. She wrote Henri, “I feel attached to this place you have created . . . and where I have spent so much happy time with you. . . . When I walk in the garden, each tree and rose planted by your own hand is of interest to me, and I take pleasure in watching them grow and caring for them. . . . [E]very object here is dear to me because you used it.”<ref>Rosalie Stier Calvert to Henri Joseph Stier, June 28, 1803, quoted in Callcott 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Following her early death in 1821 and the death of her husband seventeen years later, Riversdale descended to their second son, Charles Benedict Calvert, an important innovator in agriculture and husbandry and the founder of the University of Maryland, originally the Maryland Agricultural College.<ref> Jason G. Speck, ''The University of Maryland'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010), 10, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HDVPTZRM/q/speck view on Zotero].</ref> He made several improvements to the estate, especially in terms of farming methods, but he continued to depend heavily on an enslaved labor force. Journalist and landscape designer [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] (1822–1903) visited in 1852 and offered a description of the grounds of Riversdale in his ''Journey in the Seaboard Slave States: With Remarks on their Economy'', published in 1856. He commented favorably on the grounds, including the [[fountain]]s and [[flower garden]]s, while at the same time registering his disapproval of slavery.<ref>Frederick Law Olmstead, ''A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States: With Remarks on their Economy'' (New York: Dix & Edwards; London: Sampson Low, 1856), 6–11, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ABI26XGF view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==

*Anonymous, August 1848, describing Riversdale, estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George’s County, MD (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)<ref>Anonymous, “Visit to Riversdale,” ''The American Farmer and Spirit of the Agricultural Journals of the Day'' 4, no. 2 (August 1848): 52–55, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/65GUICEQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

:“The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant [[Portico]] on its northern [front], and a [[piazza|Piaza]] [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety. . . .On either front is an ample [[lawn]] with shade trees, grass [[plot]]s, [[parterre]]s, [[shrubbery]], and flowers, whose effect upon the senses impart an interest to the view, warm the mind into admiration, and give assurance, that a chastened taste and artistic skill had presided while these were being fashioned into form. . . . These improvements were made by the present proprietor’s ancestors, in the beginning of the present century, but are still in a state of the most perfect preservation.”

*Warden, David Bailie, 1816, describing Riversdale, estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George’s County, MD (1816: 156)<ref name="Warden_1816">David Bailie Warden, ''A Chronographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia'' (Paris: Printed and sold by Smith, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF8TXC8D view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The establishment of George Calvert, Esq. at Bladensburg, attracts attention. His mansion, consisting of two stories, seventy feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth, is admirably adapted to the American climate. On each side there is a large [[portico]], which shelters from the sun, rain, or snow.”

*Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1856, describing Riversdale, estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George’s County, MD (1856: 6) <ref>Frederick Law Olmsted. ''A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States: With Remarks on Their Economy'' (New York and London: Dix & Edwards and Sampson Low, Son & Co., 1856), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ABI26XGF view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The kept grounds are very limited, and in simple but quiet taste. . . . There is a [[fountain]], an ornamental [[dovecote|dove-coat]], and [[icehouse|ice-house]].”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="4">

Image:1112.jpg|Anthony St. John Baker (artist), B. King (lithograper), “Riversdale, near Bladensburg,” 1827.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
Riversdale House Museum, Riverdale, MD
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/73002166.pdf National Park Service Register of Historic Places Documents]

[http://www.riversdale.org/ Riversdale Historical Society]

[http://www.pgparks.com/places/eleganthistoric/riversdale_tour.html Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George's County]

[http://www.lib.umd.edu/RARE/MarylandCollection/Riversdale/ The University of Maryland Riversdale Book Shelf]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]

Nursery of Robert Buist

2018-08-15T14:21:42Z

E-athens:

'''The nursery of Robert Buist''' was a key source of exotic flowers in Philadelphia in the 1830s and 40s. Robert Buist knew many of the gardeners and seedsmen from his native Britain, from whom he often procured rare species of camellias, dahlias, geraniums, and roses to sell at his city nursery on South 12th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>U. P. Hedrick, ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> Local naturalists, such as the botanist Thomas Nuttall, also provided plants collected on travels to different regions of the North American continent.

==Overview==
'''Alternative Names:''' Buist’s Nursery; R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery; Robert Buist’s City Nursery & Greenhouses 
'''Site Dates:''' 1833–c. 1850 
'''Site Owner:''' [[Robert Buist]] (1805–1880) 
'''Associated People:''' Mr. Scott (dates unknown; originally gardener at Knight’s Exotic Nursery in London) 
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA; Demolished 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lombard+St+%26+S+12th+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19147/@39.9442089,-75.1637345,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c6c6240bf4bb61:0x813489c0d3bbcdf9!8m2!3d39.9442048!4d-75.1615458 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[Robert Buist]] first entered the nursery business in 1830 as partner to Thomas Hibbert, whose garden and [[greenhouse]]s were located at South 13th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert was likely eager to join with Buist, a Scottish émigré, due to his familiarity with nurserymen in Scotland and England—one of Buist’s first tasks after partnering with Hibbert was to travel to Britain to import exotics not available in the United States.<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero], and William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero].</ref> According to an 1832 notice in the ''Gardener’s Magazine'', he brought back to Philadelphia “large collections of Chinese, Cape, and Botany Bay plants” to sell at Hibbert & Buist.<ref>Alexander Gordon, “Notices of Some of the Principal Nurseries and Private Gardens in the United States,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 283, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/2TVP4JIX/q/gordon view on Zotero].</ref> Unfortunately, their collaboration was brief due to Hibbert’s sudden illness and death in May 1833.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1734.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.]]

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]
Buist quickly established a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street and an independent [[nursery]] at 140 South 12th Street, which he opened by December 1833 [Fig. 1], using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> It was often referred to as “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” for the rich variety of rare plants it offered, both from abroad and from the Pacific Northwest, the latter of which had been collected by Thomas Nuttall during his 1834 expedition along the Columbia River.<ref>C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey, “Notes on Nurseries and Private Gardens, visited in the early part of March,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 205, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Descriptions of the [[nursery]] from 1833 and 1835 describe the layout and contents of his [[greenhouse]], which was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different climates his exotic plants required [Fig. 2]. The front compartment was the “New-Holland House” and featured various heaths, ''Banksia'', diosma (''Coleonema pulchellum''), and other plants then uncommon in the United States. A [[hothouse]] or stove occupied the second compartment, and the final three compartments were each dedicated to a specific flower: the geranium, the camellia, and the rose.<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZBUNJMGX view on Zotero], and C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later expanded his nursery in order to build an additional stove and an entirely separate, north-facing camellia house [Fig. 3]. He noted that camellias benefited when partially shaded, and advised patrons to white-wash the glass of their [[greenhouse]]s or place them in north-facing situations to protect the flowers.<ref>Hovey 1837, 202–3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846. A comparison with Buist’s calling card reveals the nursery’s expansion.]]
Camellias were not the only plant that was subject to Buist’s careful study; roses also received his focused attention, and he is known to have introduced the Jaune Desprez—a yellow climbing rose with a strong fragrance—to the American market.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, in 1844 Buist published the ''Rose Manual'', which described different types of roses and their cultivation and care. The book followed his 1832 publication of the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' that, along with the ''Rose Manual'', were important adjuncts to his [[nursery]] business. His publishing efforts allowed him to sell his customers exotic flowers, as well as directions for their proper maintenance, adding to his professional success.

By 1848 his business had outgrown 140 South 12th Street, and Buist purchased a [[plot]] of land southwest of Philadelphia, not far from the [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery]], to accommodate its expansion. Called “Rosedale,” it was considered the largest nursery in the United States at the time; a period description of the site indicated that it comprised about 100 acres of land and more than 20,000 feet of [[greenhouse]]s featuring “everything in the plant way.”<ref>“A Visit to Rosedale,” ''Florist and Horticultural Journal'' 4 (1854): 152–53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35KZG677 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1850 Buist ultimately gave up his city nursery in order to consolidate all of but his seed warehouse at Rosedale.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> According to Joel T. Fry, the expansion of Buist’s horticultural empire may have been one of the factors that led to the bankruptcy and sale of [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]] that year.<ref>Email correspondence with author, August 10, 2018.</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, May 15, 1832, describing the nursery of Robert Buist (''National Gazette and Literary Register'')<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>
The [[greenhouse|Green House]] of [[Robert Buist]] is 150 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with correspondent glass framing. It is divided into five compartments, each appropriated to plants requiring the same treatment. In the New-Holland house there are several fine specimens of Banksias, such as speciosa, grandis, cunninghamia and verticillata. There is likewise a beautiful plant of dryandra; some of the heaths are very fine; erica rubida is a great picture; diosma is also a conspicuous genus; with plants of epacris, boronia, protea, and many others of more every day observation.

The [[hothouse|Hot House]] also contains some very rare plants, such as ardisia paniculata, justicia picta, dracaena terminalis, latania borbonica, pandanus, astrapaea, myrtus pimentiodes or allspice tree; —cactus are likewise improved with the fine blooming sorts, such as Ackermania, Jenkinsonia, and Buonapartea; — Buonapartea juncea is also a curious looking plant.

The Geranium House is well filled with fresh young and healthy plants: there are upwards of 100 varieties, some of which are very splendid; and a few years ago a single plant cost in London £2 2s sterling.

The Camellia House begins to appear in its glory: the plants are in great luxuriance, and display a profusion of buds. It is said that sixty varieties will bloom during the winter. It would be too tedious to give a detail of their characters—but suffice to say that nivalis, eximia, rosea, reticulata, imbricata, Gray’s invincible and Floyii have a place among seventy other sorts. As for the beautiful speciosa and the pretty fimbriata, they appear to be as plentiful as the common varieties.

The sixth [sic; fifth] is the Rose House, containing about eighty varieties and species of China rose: the yellow and white tea-scented rose is in great abundance. There are also odorata Golconda, odorata grandi and odorata superba, new sorts. Rosa smithii, or yellow noisette, is looked upon as a great treasure.

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1835, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery, 12th, near Lombard street” (''American Gardeners’ Magazine'' 1: 203)<ref>Hovey 1835, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
The range of [[greenhouse|green-houses]] is upwards of one hundred feet in length; it is built with a span roof, though in some places it is not glazed, and is divided into five compartments; he intends enlarging it the present summer, and also to build a house purposely for his Caméllias, of which he has a very fine collection. . . .

The arrangement of the plants throughout the whole range, is highly creditable to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] taste; and the general good order which exists throughout his establishment, where propagation is continually going on, is to be much commended. Too little attention is paid to neatness by many nurserymen. . . .

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1837, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 3: 202)<ref>Hovey 1837, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
Since the spring of 1835, the time of our last visit to this place, [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has erected a camellia house and a small stove. The former is about fifty feet in length, and twenty in width, and is built with a slope to the north instead of the south, as is usual in the erection of all similar structures. . . . We noticed that [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has the camellias placed at a good distance from the glass; this we much approve of: we know from our own personal experience that camellias, placed upon a stage near the glass, rarely make a healthy growth. . . . No plants will bear growing at a greater distance from the glass than camellias.

The interior of this house is constructed with a front shelf, about four feet in width; between this and the back [[border]] is the [[walk]]. In the [[border]] are planted out several camellias at various distances, and the space between them is filled with plants in [[pot]]s. The front shelf was filled with azaleas and other plants, which prefer a cool temperature and shady situation. . . .

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], June 1849, “Visit to Buist’s Nursery” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 43–4)<ref>“Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1, ed. Andrew Jackson Downing (July 1849): 43–4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WIF29SDV view on Zotero].</ref>
While we were in Philadelphia, early last month, we had a great deal of pleasure in visiting the exotic department of '''Buist’s nursery''' establishment. [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has for a long time, we believe, employed more capital in exotic floriculture than any other commercial grower in the country. His extensive trade, especially with the southern and western states has enabled him to introduce immediately every new species, and to maintain an immense stock of all the finest exotics in cultivation.

[[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] establishment consists at the present moment of three distinct departments—1st. An extensive seed warehouse, No. 99 Chestnut St.; —2d. The '''city Green-houses''' or '''exotic nursery''', 140 South Twelfth St.; —3d. The general hardy nursery of fruit and ornamental trees, and seed farm on the Darby road. The buildings have now so completely surrounded the city establishment, that [[Robert Buist|Mr. B.]] informed us it is his intention to remove all the exotic department next year to his general [[nursery]] and seed farm on the Darby road—thus consolidating the whole establishment as much as possible. Either the amateur or the professional horticulturist who wishes to see all the garden novelties of the day, will find a great deal to interest him in a visit to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]].

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
39.944208, -75.1637345
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Robert Buist

2018-08-15T14:21:11Z

E-athens:

'''Robert Buist''' (November 14, 1805–July 13, 1880) was a Scottish-born nursery- and seedsman based in Philadelphia. Through his businesses and his garden manuals, Buist became one of the most influential figures in American horticulture during the 19th century.

==History==
[[File:2167.JPG|thumb|left|Fig. 1, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.]]
Robert Buist was born in Cupar Fyfe, Scotland, on November 14, 1805 [Fig. 1]. Though little is known about his early life, he is believed to have trained as a gardener with William McNab, who served from 1810 until 1848 as the Principal Gardener of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. McNab was known for his careful relocation of the Edinburgh garden to its present site at Inverleith, with much of the transfer of plants occurring between 1821 and 1823, possibly during Buist’s tenure there.<ref>“Principal Gardeners—William McNab,” ''Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh'' 3, part 15 (March 1908): 303, 306–7, 319, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later moved to Derbyshire to work in the gardens of General Charles Stanhope, the 3rd Earl of Harrington, at Elvaston Castle, before immigrating to the United States in August 1828.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. Meehan’s 1880 obituary of Buist is perhaps the most fulsome single description of his life and work. U. P. Hedrick discusses Buist’s relation to other nursery- and seedsmen of the period; see his ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> On arriving in Philadelphia, Buist quickly immersed himself in its horticultural community, working briefly at David Landreth’s [[nursery]] in Moyamensing before becoming the gardener of [[Henry Pratt|Henry Pratt’s]] [[Lemon Hill]] [Fig. 2]. In June 1829 he participated in the first exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, with which he maintained a lifelong affiliation.<ref>James Boyd, ''A History of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1827–1927'' (Philadelphia: Printed for the Society, 1929), 36, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UN9TRH8T/q/boyd view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:2125.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2: J. Albright (illustrator), J. B. Longacre (engraver), Lemon Hill, in ''The Floral Magazine and Botanical Repository'' (1832).]]
By September 1830 Buist had left his post at [[Lemon Hill]] to go into business with the nurseryman Thomas Hibbert, whose [[greenhouse]]s were located on 13th Street between Lombard and Cedar (now South) Streets. As part owner, Buist had a degree of autonomy that he likely lacked in his earlier positions—he described his situation at Landreth’s, where he was relegated to hoeing weeds, as especially dismal.<ref>Meehan 1880, 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Within his first year of joining Hibbert, the pair considerably expanded the [[nursery]] by purchasing [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] former [[botanic garden]], Upsal, and Buist travelled back to Scotland and England “to make arrangements . . . to receive continued supplies of all kinds of new and desirable Plants and Flowers.”<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero].</ref> While abroad, Buist also paid a visit to [[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon]]—the preeminent horticulturist in England—and returned to Philadelphia in November 1831 with his longtime friend, the architect [[John Notman]].<ref>For Buist’s visit to Loudon, see William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero]. Buist would be essential in securing Notman’s 1856 commission for the entrance gate of Philadelphia’s Mount Vernon Cemetery, where Buist was treasurer. Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect: 1810–1865'', exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), 18, 215, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z/q/greiff view on Zotero].</ref> Buist’s travels yielded some fine stock, particularly of dahlias, which was described in the May 15, 1832, issue of the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' as “upwards of fifty of the most distinct [dahlias] in color and the largest in size; some of them Glob[e]-flowered, and Anemone-flowered, which are considered beautiful and rare.”<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>

The partnership of Hibbert & Buist was successful but not long-lived; Thomas Hibbert died on May 11, 1833, just a year after the ''National Gazette''’s report.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert’s widow determined to carry on her husband’s business while Buist struck out on his own, using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock to open his own independent nursery on 12th Street [Fig. 3] and a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street.<ref>C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero]. Buist’s nursery extended from 12th Street along Cedar, abutting the Hibbert nursery on 13th Street.</ref> [[Nursery of Robert Buist|“R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery”]] featured a [[greenhouse]] 150 feet in length, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, that was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different plants he stocked. The front compartment was referred to as the “New-Holland House” and featured various plants from Australia, including species of ''Banksia''—which Buist likely learned to cultivate while working with McNab, who specialized in the plant<ref>“Principal Gardeners” 1908, 303, 307–8, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref>—and was followed by the [[hothouse]], which featured the canary bird flower (''Tropaeolum peregrinum''), petunias, ficuses, and other rare plants. Toward the rear Buist created compartments dedicated to specific types of flower, including the Geranium House, the Camellia House, and the Rose House.<ref>Descriptions of the nursery layout can be found in the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, and Hovey 1835, 203–6, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3: Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4: A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.]]
Buist’s [[nursery]] and seed warehouse were enormously successful during the 1830s and 1840s, allowing him to expand his business. By 1837 he had built a separate camellia house and small stove at South 12th Street [Fig. 4], and by 1849 he had established a [[nursery]] for fruit and ornamental trees southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, where he eventually consolidated all but his seed business in 1850.<ref>[C. M. Hovey], “Notes on Some of the Nurseries and Private Gardens in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia, visited in the early part of the month of March, 1837,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 202, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> During these decades Buist remained an active member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, gaining recognition for helping found the American Pomological Society, as well as for his introduction of verbenas and various types of roses to North America, and for the introduction of the poinsettia to Europe. He is often—if mistakenly—given credit for introducing the poinsettia to the United States as well; however, as Joel T. Fry has observed, it was first cultivated at the [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery]] in 1828.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. For the poinsettia’s introduction to the United States, see Joel T. Fry, “The Introduction of the Poinsettia at Bartram’s Garden,” ''Bartram Broadside'' (Winter 1994–95): 3–7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/GCQJCC4J view on Zotero].</ref> Buist also authored three frequently reprinted gardening manuals—the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' (1832), the ''Rose Manual'' (1844), and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' (1847)—which helped make him one of the most recognizable figures in American horticulture.<ref>All three books went through numerous editions and reprints: ''American Flower Directory'' went through 6 editions and at least 19 reprints between 1832 and 1865; the ''Rose Manual'' went through 4 editions between 1844 and 1854; and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' went through at least 19 reprints between 1847 and 1867. For a discussion of Buist’s importance as an author, see Hedrick 1988, 481–2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref>

Even in the midst of these professional accomplishments, Buist suffered various familial challenges in the 1840s. His wife, Jane Menzies Buist—the mother of his sons, John and Robert Jr.—died from tuberculosis on July 12, 1840, and Buist remarried shortly after to Ellen Chambers (née Stephens), with whom he had one daughter.<ref>Jane Menzies’s death is noted in the July 14, 1840, issue of the ''National Gazette''. Her cause of death was “pthisis pulmonalis”; see “Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKS8-DJM : March 8, 2018), Jane Buist, July 13, 1840; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, PA; FHL microfilm 1,976,401.</ref> During this period he also lodged two lawsuits against his brother William, who had established a nursery in Washington, DC, and who may have tried to bolster his business by trading on Robert’s success.<ref>William Buist’s Washington, DC, nursery was advertised as early as May 1837 and was the subject of a notice in the ''Magazine of Horticulture'' in 1842; see the ''Daily Globe'' (May 3, 1837): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/F9DWFU8Q view on Zotero], and “Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 8, no. 4, ed. C. M. Hovey (April 1842): 123–25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/IRC7B9MN/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Though the court cases remain obscure, the results are not: in September 1847 Alexander Hunter, the marshal of Washington, DC, seized William’s nursery “to satisfy judicials . . . in favor of Robert Buist against said Wm. Buist.” Bankrupt and out of business, William died in July 1850.<ref>“Marshal’s Sale,” ''Daily Union'' (September 22, 1847): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/72GQ8T8E view on Zotero], and “Deaths,” ''Daily National Intelligencer'' (July 6, 1850): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XZ2672NN view on Zotero].</ref> Robert’s home and business, by contrast, was full to brimming at this time: according to the 1850 federal census, taken in July that year, Buist was supporting not only his new wife, stepdaughter, daughter, and son Robert Jr., but also members of his wife’s extended family and about 20 servants, laborers, and gardeners, all from Scotland and Ireland.<ref>“United States Census, 1850,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4CD-WP3 : April 12, 2016), Robert Buist, Kingsessing, Philadelphia, PA, United States; citing family 93, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).</ref>

The number of gardeners and laborers Buist brought over from Britain and Ireland greatly enhanced botanical knowledge in the United States. His service to American horticulture was described as twofold—Colonel Marshall P. Wilder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society noted that “he not only introduced rare plants, but rare men.”<ref>Quoted in Meehan 1880, 374, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Buist remained active in the plant trade throughout the 1850s, 60s, and 70s, and the value of his businesses increased considerably: the 1850 census notes the “value of property owned” as $35,000, and the 1860 census indicates a personal worth estimated at $45,000, exclusive of the impressive $125,000 Buist owned in real estate.<ref>See “United States Census, 1850,” and “United States Census, 1860,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXRX-SZR : December 13, 2017), Robert Buist, 1860.</ref> It may have been his financial success that allowed Buist to relinquish control of the seed warehouse to his younger son, Robert Jr., by September 1861, and to direct his attention largely to floriculture. Robert Buist fully retired from the [[nursery]] business in 1876 and died four years later, at the age of 74.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. By September 1861, the proprietor of 922 Market Street—where Buist had eventually relocated his seed warehouse from Chestnut Street—was identified as Robert Buist Jr. See ''The Press'' (September 2, 1861): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HC94346M view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9)<ref>Robert Buist, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TI7IE55B/q/american%20flower%20garden%20directory view on Zotero].</ref>
“The [[French style|French]] partially adopt the . . . [Italian] system, interspersing it with [[parterre]]s and figures of [[statue|statuary]] work of every character and description. When such is well designed and neatly executed, it has a lively and interesting effect; but now the refined taste says these vagaries are too fantastic, and entirely out of place.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9–10)
“A late writer says of [[Dutch style|Dutch gardening]], that it ‘is rectangular formality’: they take great pride in trimming their trees of yew, holly, and other evergreens, into every variety of form, such as mops, moons, halberds, chairs &c. In such a system it is indispensable to order that the compartments correspond in formality, nothing being more offensive to the eye than incongruous mixtures of character.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 10–11)
“. . . if access to a spring can be obtained, it will prove a desideratum in completing the whole: it can be available for a fish-[[pond]] or an acquariam [''sic''], or can be converted into a swamp for the cultivation of many of our most beautiful and interesting native plants.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11)
“For perspicuity, admit that the area to be enclosed [for a flower garden] should be from one to three acres, a circumambient [[walk]] should be traced at some distance within the [[fence]], buy which the whole is enclosed; the inferior [[walk]]s should partly circumscribe and intersect the general surface in an easy serpentine and sweeping manner, and at such distances as would allow an agreeable view of the flowers when walking for exercise. [[Walk]]s may be in breadth from three to twenty feet, although from four to ten feet is generally adopted . . . covered with gravel, and then firmly rolled with a heavy roller. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11–12)
“But, in commencing these operations, a design [for the flower garden] should be kept in view that will tend to expand, improve, and beautify the situation; not, as we too frequently see it, the [[parterre]] and [[border]]s with narrow [[walk]]s up to the very household entrance: such is decidedly bad taste, unless compelled for want of room. . . . The outer margin of the [flower] garden should be planted with the largest trees and shrubs: the interior arrangement may be in detached groups of [[shrubbery]] and [[parterre]]s.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 12)
“In some secluded spot [[rock-work]] or a [[fountain]], or both, may be erected; the foundation of the former should consist of mounds of earth, which will answer the purpose of more solid erections, and will make the stones go farther: rocks of the same kind and colour should be placed together, and the greatest possible variety of character, size and form, should be studied, the whole showing an evident and well defined connexion. These erections generally are stiff artificial disjointed masses, and often decorated with plants having no affinity to their arid location.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“All the large divisions [of a flower garden] should be intersected by small [[alley]]s, or paths, about one and a half or two feet wide.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“When there is not a [[green-house]] attached to the flower garden, there should be at least a few sashes of framing or a forcing pit to bring forward early annuals, &c., for early blooming. These should be situate [''sic''] in some spot detached from the garden by a [[fence]] of Roses, trained to [[trellis|trellises]], Chinese Arbour Vitae, Privet, or even Maclura makes excellent fences. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 20)
“Thick masses of [[shrubbery]], called [[thicket]]s, are sometimes wanted. In these there should be plenty of evergreens. A mass of deciduous shrubs has no imposing effect during winter.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 31)
“BOX [[edging|EDGINGS]].

“May be planted any time this month [March], or beginning of next, which in most seasons will be preferable. We will give a few simple directions how to accomplish the work. In the first place, dig over the ground deeply where the [[edging]] is intended to be planted, breaking the soil fine, and keeping it to a proper height, namely, about one inch higher than the side of the [[walk]]; but the taste of the operator will best decide, according to the situation.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 32)
Grass verges for [[walk]]s and [[border]]s, although frequently used, are, by no means, desirable, except where variety is required; they are the most laborious to keep in order, and at best are inelegant, and the only object in their favor is, there being everywhere accessible.

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 145, 148)
“ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A [[hothouse|HOT-HOUSE]]. . . .

“''Site and Aspect''.—The house should stand on a situation naturally dry, and, if possible, sheltered from the north-west, and clear from all shade on the south, east, and west, so that the sun may at all times act effectually upon the house. The standard principle, as to aspect, is to set the front directly to the south. Any deviation from that point should incline to the east.

“''Dimensions''.—The length may be from ten feet upward; if beyond forty feet, the number of fires and flues are multiplied. The medium width is from twelve to sixteen feet. . . .

“''Bark Pit''.—We consider such an erection in the centre of a [[hot-house]] a nuisance, and prefer a stage, which may be constructed according to taste. It should be made of the best Carolina pine, leaving a passage all round, to cause free circulation of air.”

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.

File:2167.JPG|“Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:People]]

Robert Buist

2018-08-15T14:20:40Z

E-athens:

'''Robert Buist''' (November 14, 1805–July 13, 1880) was a Scottish-born nursery- and seedsman based in Philadelphia. Through his businesses and his garden manuals, Buist became one of the most influential figures in American horticulture during the 19th century.

==History==
[[File:2167.JPG|thumb|left|Fig. 1, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.]]
Robert Buist was born in Cupar Fyfe, Scotland, on November 14, 1805 [Fig. 1]. Though little is known about his early life, he is believed to have trained as a gardener with William McNab, who served from 1810 until 1848 as the Principal Gardener of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. McNab was known for his careful relocation of the Edinburgh garden to its present site at Inverleith, with much of the transfer of plants occurring between 1821 and 1823, possibly during Buist’s tenure there.<ref>“Principal Gardeners—William McNab,” ''Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh'' 3, part 15 (March 1908): 303, 306–7, 319, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later moved to Derbyshire to work in the gardens of General Charles Stanhope, the 3rd Earl of Harrington, at Elvaston Castle, before immigrating to the United States in August 1828.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. Meehan’s 1880 obituary of Buist is perhaps the most fulsome single description of his life and work. U. P. Hedrick discusses Buist’s relation to other nursery- and seedsmen of the period; see his ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> On arriving in Philadelphia, Buist quickly immersed himself in its horticultural community, working briefly at David Landreth’s [[nursery]] in Moyamensing before becoming the gardener of [[Henry Pratt|Henry Pratt’s]] [[Lemon Hill]] [Fig. 2]. In June 1829 he participated in the first exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, with which he maintained a lifelong affiliation.<ref>James Boyd, ''A History of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1827–1927'' (Philadelphia: Printed for the Society, 1929), 36, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UN9TRH8T/q/boyd view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:2125.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2: J. Albright (illustrator), J. B. Longacre (engraver), Lemon Hill, in ''The Floral Magazine and Botanical Repository'' (1832).]]
By September 1830 Buist had left his post at [[Lemon Hill]] to go into business with the nurseryman Thomas Hibbert, whose [[greenhouse]]s were located on 13th Street between Lombard and Cedar (now South) Streets. As part owner, Buist had a degree of autonomy that he likely lacked in his earlier positions—he described his situation at Landreth’s, where he was relegated to hoeing weeds, as especially dismal.<ref>Meehan 1880, 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Within his first year of joining Hibbert, the pair considerably expanded the [[nursery]] by purchasing [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] former [[botanic garden]], Upsal, and Buist travelled back to Scotland and England “to make arrangements . . . to receive continued supplies of all kinds of new and desirable Plants and Flowers.”<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero].</ref> While abroad, Buist also paid a visit to [[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon]]—the preeminent horticulturist in England—and returned to Philadelphia in November 1831 with his longtime friend, the architect [[John Notman]].<ref>For Buist’s visit to Loudon, see William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero]. Buist would be essential in securing Notman’s 1856 commission for the entrance gate of Philadelphia’s Mount Vernon Cemetery, where Buist was treasurer. Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect: 1810–1865'', exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), 18, 215, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z/q/greiff view on Zotero].</ref> Buist’s travels yielded some fine stock, particularly of dahlias, which was described in the May 15, 1832, issue of the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' as “upwards of fifty of the most distinct [dahlias] in color and the largest in size; some of them Glob[e]-flowered, and Anemone-flowered, which are considered beautiful and rare.”<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>

The partnership of Hibbert & Buist was successful but not long-lived; Thomas Hibbert died on May 11, 1833, just a year after the ''National Gazette''’s report.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert’s widow determined to carry on her husband’s business while Buist struck out on his own, using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock to open his own independent nursery on 12th Street [Fig. 3] and a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street.<ref>C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero]. Buist’s nursery extended from 12th Street along Cedar, abutting the Hibbert nursery on 13th Street.</ref> [[Nursery of Robert Buist|“R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery”]] featured a [[greenhouse]] 150 feet in length, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, that was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different plants he stocked. The front compartment was referred to as the “New-Holland House” and featured various plants from Australia, including species of ''Banksia''—which Buist likely learned to cultivate while working with McNab, who specialized in the plant<ref>“Principal Gardeners” 1908, 303, 307–8, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref>—and was followed by the [[hothouse]], which featured the canary bird flower (''Tropaeolum peregrinum''), petunias, ficuses, and other rare plants. Toward the rear Buist created compartments dedicated to specific types of flower, including the Geranium House, the Camellia House, and the Rose House.<ref>Descriptions of the nursery layout can be found in the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, and Hovey 1835, 203–6, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3: Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4: A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.]]
Buist’s [[nursery]] and seed warehouse throve finely during the 1830s and 1840s, allowing him to expand his business. By 1837 he had built a separate camellia house and small stove at South 12th Street [Fig. 4], and by 1849 he had established a [[nursery]] for fruit and ornamental trees southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, where he eventually consolidated all but his seed business in 1850.<ref>[C. M. Hovey], “Notes on Some of the Nurseries and Private Gardens in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia, visited in the early part of the month of March, 1837,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 202, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> During these decades Buist remained an active member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, gaining recognition for helping found the American Pomological Society, as well as for his introduction of verbenas and various types of roses to North America, and for the introduction of the poinsettia to Europe. He is often—if mistakenly—given credit for introducing the poinsettia to the United States as well; however, as Joel T. Fry has observed, it was first cultivated at the [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery]] in 1828.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. For the poinsettia’s introduction to the United States, see Joel T. Fry, “The Introduction of the Poinsettia at Bartram’s Garden,” ''Bartram Broadside'' (Winter 1994–95): 3–7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/GCQJCC4J view on Zotero].</ref> Buist also authored three frequently reprinted gardening manuals—the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' (1832), the ''Rose Manual'' (1844), and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' (1847)—which helped make him one of the most recognizable figures in American horticulture.<ref>All three books went through numerous editions and reprints: ''American Flower Directory'' went through 6 editions and at least 19 reprints between 1832 and 1865; the ''Rose Manual'' went through 4 editions between 1844 and 1854; and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' went through at least 19 reprints between 1847 and 1867. For a discussion of Buist’s importance as an author, see Hedrick 1988, 481–2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref>

Even in the midst of these professional accomplishments, Buist suffered various familial challenges in the 1840s. His wife, Jane Menzies Buist—the mother of his sons, John and Robert Jr.—died from tuberculosis on July 12, 1840, and Buist remarried shortly after to Ellen Chambers (née Stephens), with whom he had one daughter.<ref>Jane Menzies’s death is noted in the July 14, 1840, issue of the ''National Gazette''. Her cause of death was “pthisis pulmonalis”; see “Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKS8-DJM : March 8, 2018), Jane Buist, July 13, 1840; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, PA; FHL microfilm 1,976,401.</ref> During this period he also lodged two lawsuits against his brother William, who had established a nursery in Washington, DC, and who may have tried to bolster his business by trading on Robert’s success.<ref>William Buist’s Washington, DC, nursery was advertised as early as May 1837 and was the subject of a notice in the ''Magazine of Horticulture'' in 1842; see the ''Daily Globe'' (May 3, 1837): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/F9DWFU8Q view on Zotero], and “Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 8, no. 4, ed. C. M. Hovey (April 1842): 123–25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/IRC7B9MN/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Though the court cases remain obscure, the results are not: in September 1847 Alexander Hunter, the marshal of Washington, DC, seized William’s nursery “to satisfy judicials . . . in favor of Robert Buist against said Wm. Buist.” Bankrupt and out of business, William died in July 1850.<ref>“Marshal’s Sale,” ''Daily Union'' (September 22, 1847): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/72GQ8T8E view on Zotero], and “Deaths,” ''Daily National Intelligencer'' (July 6, 1850): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XZ2672NN view on Zotero].</ref> Robert’s home and business, by contrast, was full to brimming at this time: according to the 1850 federal census, taken in July that year, Buist was supporting not only his new wife, stepdaughter, daughter, and son Robert Jr., but also members of his wife’s extended family and about 20 servants, laborers, and gardeners, all from Scotland and Ireland.<ref>“United States Census, 1850,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4CD-WP3 : April 12, 2016), Robert Buist, Kingsessing, Philadelphia, PA, United States; citing family 93, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).</ref>

The number of gardeners and laborers Buist brought over from Britain and Ireland greatly enhanced botanical knowledge in the United States. His service to American horticulture was described as twofold—Colonel Marshall P. Wilder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society noted that “he not only introduced rare plants, but rare men.”<ref>Quoted in Meehan 1880, 374, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Buist remained active in the plant trade throughout the 1850s, 60s, and 70s, and the value of his businesses increased considerably: the 1850 census notes the “value of property owned” as $35,000, and the 1860 census indicates a personal worth estimated at $45,000, exclusive of the impressive $125,000 Buist owned in real estate.<ref>See “United States Census, 1850,” and “United States Census, 1860,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXRX-SZR : December 13, 2017), Robert Buist, 1860.</ref> It may have been his financial success that allowed Buist to relinquish control of the seed warehouse to his younger son, Robert Jr., by September 1861, and to direct his attention largely to floriculture. Robert Buist fully retired from the [[nursery]] business in 1876 and died four years later, at the age of 74.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. By September 1861, the proprietor of 922 Market Street—where Buist had eventually relocated his seed warehouse from Chestnut Street—was identified as Robert Buist Jr. See ''The Press'' (September 2, 1861): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HC94346M view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9)<ref>Robert Buist, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TI7IE55B/q/american%20flower%20garden%20directory view on Zotero].</ref>
“The [[French style|French]] partially adopt the . . . [Italian] system, interspersing it with [[parterre]]s and figures of [[statue|statuary]] work of every character and description. When such is well designed and neatly executed, it has a lively and interesting effect; but now the refined taste says these vagaries are too fantastic, and entirely out of place.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9–10)
“A late writer says of [[Dutch style|Dutch gardening]], that it ‘is rectangular formality’: they take great pride in trimming their trees of yew, holly, and other evergreens, into every variety of form, such as mops, moons, halberds, chairs &c. In such a system it is indispensable to order that the compartments correspond in formality, nothing being more offensive to the eye than incongruous mixtures of character.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 10–11)
“. . . if access to a spring can be obtained, it will prove a desideratum in completing the whole: it can be available for a fish-[[pond]] or an acquariam [''sic''], or can be converted into a swamp for the cultivation of many of our most beautiful and interesting native plants.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11)
“For perspicuity, admit that the area to be enclosed [for a flower garden] should be from one to three acres, a circumambient [[walk]] should be traced at some distance within the [[fence]], buy which the whole is enclosed; the inferior [[walk]]s should partly circumscribe and intersect the general surface in an easy serpentine and sweeping manner, and at such distances as would allow an agreeable view of the flowers when walking for exercise. [[Walk]]s may be in breadth from three to twenty feet, although from four to ten feet is generally adopted . . . covered with gravel, and then firmly rolled with a heavy roller. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11–12)
“But, in commencing these operations, a design [for the flower garden] should be kept in view that will tend to expand, improve, and beautify the situation; not, as we too frequently see it, the [[parterre]] and [[border]]s with narrow [[walk]]s up to the very household entrance: such is decidedly bad taste, unless compelled for want of room. . . . The outer margin of the [flower] garden should be planted with the largest trees and shrubs: the interior arrangement may be in detached groups of [[shrubbery]] and [[parterre]]s.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 12)
“In some secluded spot [[rock-work]] or a [[fountain]], or both, may be erected; the foundation of the former should consist of mounds of earth, which will answer the purpose of more solid erections, and will make the stones go farther: rocks of the same kind and colour should be placed together, and the greatest possible variety of character, size and form, should be studied, the whole showing an evident and well defined connexion. These erections generally are stiff artificial disjointed masses, and often decorated with plants having no affinity to their arid location.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“All the large divisions [of a flower garden] should be intersected by small [[alley]]s, or paths, about one and a half or two feet wide.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“When there is not a [[green-house]] attached to the flower garden, there should be at least a few sashes of framing or a forcing pit to bring forward early annuals, &c., for early blooming. These should be situate [''sic''] in some spot detached from the garden by a [[fence]] of Roses, trained to [[trellis|trellises]], Chinese Arbour Vitae, Privet, or even Maclura makes excellent fences. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 20)
“Thick masses of [[shrubbery]], called [[thicket]]s, are sometimes wanted. In these there should be plenty of evergreens. A mass of deciduous shrubs has no imposing effect during winter.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 31)
“BOX [[edging|EDGINGS]].

“May be planted any time this month [March], or beginning of next, which in most seasons will be preferable. We will give a few simple directions how to accomplish the work. In the first place, dig over the ground deeply where the [[edging]] is intended to be planted, breaking the soil fine, and keeping it to a proper height, namely, about one inch higher than the side of the [[walk]]; but the taste of the operator will best decide, according to the situation.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 32)
Grass verges for [[walk]]s and [[border]]s, although frequently used, are, by no means, desirable, except where variety is required; they are the most laborious to keep in order, and at best are inelegant, and the only object in their favor is, there being everywhere accessible.

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 145, 148)
“ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A [[hothouse|HOT-HOUSE]]. . . .

“''Site and Aspect''.—The house should stand on a situation naturally dry, and, if possible, sheltered from the north-west, and clear from all shade on the south, east, and west, so that the sun may at all times act effectually upon the house. The standard principle, as to aspect, is to set the front directly to the south. Any deviation from that point should incline to the east.

“''Dimensions''.—The length may be from ten feet upward; if beyond forty feet, the number of fires and flues are multiplied. The medium width is from twelve to sixteen feet. . . .

“''Bark Pit''.—We consider such an erection in the centre of a [[hot-house]] a nuisance, and prefer a stage, which may be constructed according to taste. It should be made of the best Carolina pine, leaving a passage all round, to cause free circulation of air.”

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.

File:2167.JPG|“Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:People]]

Nursery of Robert Buist

2018-08-15T14:04:57Z

E-athens:

'''The nursery of Robert Buist''' was a key source of exotic flowers in Philadelphia in the 1830s and 40s. Robert Buist knew many of the gardeners and seedsmen from his native Britain, from whom he often procured rare species of camellias, dahlias, geraniums, and roses to sell at his city nursery on South 12th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>U. P. Hedrick, ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> Local naturalists, such as the botanist Thomas Nuttall, also provided plants collected on travels to different regions of the North American continent.

==Overview==
'''Alternative Names:''' Buist’s Nursery; R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery; Robert Buist’s City Nursery & Greenhouses 
'''Site Dates:''' 1833–c. 1850 
'''Site Owner:''' [[Robert Buist]] (1805–1880) 
'''Associated People:''' Mr. Scott (dates unknown; originally gardener at Knight’s Exotic Nursery in London) 
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA; Demolished 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lombard+St+%26+S+12th+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19147/@39.9442089,-75.1637345,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c6c6240bf4bb61:0x813489c0d3bbcdf9!8m2!3d39.9442048!4d-75.1615458 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[Robert Buist]] first entered the nursery business in 1830 as partner to Thomas Hibbert, whose garden and [[greenhouse]]s were located at South 13th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert was likely eager to join with Buist, a Scottish émigré, due to his familiarity with nurserymen in Scotland and England—one of Buist’s first tasks after partnering with Hibbert was to travel to Britain to import exotics not available in the United States.<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero], and William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero].</ref> According to an 1832 notice in the ''Gardener’s Magazine'', he brought back to Philadelphia “large collections of Chinese, Cape, and Botany Bay plants” to sell at Hibbert & Buist.<ref>Alexander Gordon, “Notices of Some of the Principal Nurseries and Private Gardens in the United States,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 283, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/2TVP4JIX/q/gordon view on Zotero].</ref> Unfortunately, their collaboration was brief due to Hibbert’s sudden illness and death in May 1833.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1734.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.]]

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]
Buist quickly established a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street and an independent [[nursery]] at 140 South 12th Street, which he opened by December 1833 [Fig. 1], using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> It was often referred to as “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” for the rich variety of rare plants it offered, both from abroad and from the Pacific Northwest, the latter of which had been collected by Thomas Nuttall during his 1834 expedition along the Columbia River.<ref>C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey, “Notes on Nurseries and Private Gardens, visited in the early part of March,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 205, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Descriptions of the [[nursery]] from 1833 and 1835 describe the layout and contents of his [[greenhouse]], which was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different climates his exotic plants required [Fig. 2]. The front compartment was the “New-Holland House” and featured various heaths, ''Banksia'', diosma (''Coleonema pulchellum''), and other plants then uncommon in the United States. A [[hothouse]] or stove occupied the second compartment, and the final three compartments were each dedicated to a specific flower: the geranium, the camellia, and the rose.<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZBUNJMGX view on Zotero], and C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later expanded his nursery in order to build an additional stove and an entirely separate, north-facing camellia house [Fig. 3]. He noted that camellias benefited when partially shaded, and advised patrons to white-wash the glass of their [[greenhouse]]s or place them in north-facing situations to protect the flowers.<ref>Hovey 1837, 202–3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846. A comparison with Buist’s calling card reveals the nursery’s expansion.]]
Camellias were not the only plant that was subject to Buist’s careful study; roses also received his focused attention, and he is known to have introduced the Jaune Desprez—a yellow climbing rose with a strong fragrance—to the American market.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, in 1844 Buist published the ''Rose Manual'', which described different types of roses and their cultivation and care. The book followed his 1832 publication of the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' that, along with the ''Rose Manual'', were important adjuncts to his [[nursery]] business. His publishing efforts allowed him to sell his customers exotic flowers, as well as directions for their proper maintenance, adding to his professional success.

By 1848 his business had outgrown 140 South 12th Street, and Buist purchased a [[plot]] of land southwest of Philadelphia, not far from the [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery]], to accommodate its expansion. Called “Rosedale,” it was considered the largest nursery in the United States at the time; a period description of the site indicated that it comprised about 100 acres of land and more that 20,000 feet of [[greenhouse]]s featuring “everything in the plant way.”<ref>“A Visit to Rosedale,” ''Florist and Horticultural Journal'' 4 (1854): 152–53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35KZG677 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1850 Buist ultimately gave up his city nursery in order to consolidate all of but his seed warehouse at Rosedale.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> According to Joel T. Fry, the expansion of Buist’s horticultural empire may have been one of the factors that led to the bankruptcy and sale of [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]] that year.<ref>Email correspondence with author, August 10, 2018.</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, May 15, 1832, describing the nursery of Robert Buist (''National Gazette and Literary Register'')<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>
The [[greenhouse|Green House]] of [[Robert Buist]] is 150 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with correspondent glass framing. It is divided into five compartments, each appropriated to plants requiring the same treatment. In the New-Holland house there are several fine specimens of Banksias, such as speciosa, grandis, cunninghamia and verticillata. There is likewise a beautiful plant of dryandra; some of the heaths are very fine; erica rubida is a great picture; diosma is also a conspicuous genus; with plants of epacris, boronia, protea, and many others of more every day observation.

The [[hothouse|Hot House]] also contains some very rare plants, such as ardisia paniculata, justicia picta, dracaena terminalis, latania borbonica, pandanus, astrapaea, myrtus pimentiodes or allspice tree; —cactus are likewise improved with the fine blooming sorts, such as Ackermania, Jenkinsonia, and Buonapartea; — Buonapartea juncea is also a curious looking plant.

The Geranium House is well filled with fresh young and healthy plants: there are upwards of 100 varieties, some of which are very splendid; and a few years ago a single plant cost in London £2 2s sterling.

The Camellia House begins to appear in its glory: the plants are in great luxuriance, and display a profusion of buds. It is said that sixty varieties will bloom during the winter. It would be too tedious to give a detail of their characters—but suffice to say that nivalis, eximia, rosea, reticulata, imbricata, Gray’s invincible and Floyii have a place among seventy other sorts. As for the beautiful speciosa and the pretty fimbriata, they appear to be as plentiful as the common varieties.

The sixth [sic; fifth] is the Rose House, containing about eighty varieties and species of China rose: the yellow and white tea-scented rose is in great abundance. There are also odorata Golconda, odorata grandi and odorata superba, new sorts. Rosa smithii, or yellow noisette, is looked upon as a great treasure.

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1835, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery, 12th, near Lombard street” (''American Gardeners’ Magazine'' 1: 203)<ref>Hovey 1835, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
The range of [[greenhouse|green-houses]] is upwards of one hundred feet in length; it is built with a span roof, though in some places it is not glazed, and is divided into five compartments; he intends enlarging it the present summer, and also to build a house purposely for his Caméllias, of which he has a very fine collection. . . .

The arrangement of the plants throughout the whole range, is highly creditable to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] taste; and the general good order which exists throughout his establishment, where propagation is continually going on, is to be much commended. Too little attention is paid to neatness by many nurserymen. . . .

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1837, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 3: 202)<ref>Hovey 1837, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
Since the spring of 1835, the time of our last visit to this place, [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has erected a camellia house and a small stove. The former is about fifty feet in length, and twenty in width, and is built with a slope to the north instead of the south, as is usual in the erection of all similar structures. . . . We noticed that [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has the camellias placed at a good distance from the glass; this we much approve of: we know from our own personal experience that camellias, placed upon a stage near the glass, rarely make a healthy growth. . . . No plants will bear growing at a greater distance from the glass than camellias.

The interior of this house is constructed with a front shelf, about four feet in width; between this and the back [[border]] is the [[walk]]. In the [[border]] are planted out several camellias at various distances, and the space between them is filled with plants in [[pot]]s. The front shelf was filled with azaleas and other plants, which prefer a cool temperature and shady situation. . . .

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], June 1849, “Visit to Buist’s Nursery” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 43–4)<ref>“Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1, ed. Andrew Jackson Downing (July 1849): 43–4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WIF29SDV view on Zotero].</ref>
While we were in Philadelphia, early last month, we had a great deal of pleasure in visiting the exotic department of '''Buist’s nursery''' establishment. [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has for a long time, we believe, employed more capital in exotic floriculture than any other commercial grower in the country. His extensive trade, especially with the southern and western states has enabled him to introduce immediately every new species, and to maintain an immense stock of all the finest exotics in cultivation.

[[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] establishment consists at the present moment of three distinct departments—1st. An extensive seed warehouse, No. 99 Chestnut St.; —2d. The '''city Green-houses''' or '''exotic nursery''', 140 South Twelfth St.; —3d. The general hardy nursery of fruit and ornamental trees, and seed farm on the Darby road. The buildings have now so completely surrounded the city establishment, that [[Robert Buist|Mr. B.]] informed us it is his intention to remove all the exotic department next year to his general [[nursery]] and seed farm on the Darby road—thus consolidating the whole establishment as much as possible. Either the amateur or the professional horticulturist who wishes to see all the garden novelties of the day, will find a great deal to interest him in a visit to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]].

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
39.944208, -75.1637345
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Robert Buist

2018-08-15T13:57:06Z

E-athens:

'''Robert Buist''' (November 14, 1805–July 13, 1880) was a Scottish-born nursery- and seedsman based in Philadelphia. Through his businesses and his garden manuals, Buist became one of the most influential figures in American horticulture during the 19th century.

==History==
[[File:2167.JPG|thumb|left|Fig. 1, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.]]
Robert Buist was born in Cupar Fyfe, Scotland, on November 14, 1805 [Fig. 1]. Though little is known about his early life, he is believed to have trained as a gardener with William McNab, who served from 1810 until 1848 as the Principal Gardener of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. McNab was known for his careful relocation of the Edinburgh garden to its present site at Inverleith, with much of the transfer of plants occurring between 1821 and 1823, possibly during Buist’s tenure there.<ref>“Principal Gardeners—William McNab,” ''Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh'' 3, part 15 (March 1908): 303, 306–7, 319, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later moved to Derbyshire to work in the gardens of General Charles Stanhope, the 3rd Earl of Harrington, at Elvaston Castle, before immigrating to the United States in August 1828.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. Meehan’s 1880 obituary of Buist is perhaps the most fulsome single description of his life and work. U. P. Hedrick discusses Buist’s relation to other nursery- and seedsmen of the period; see his ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> On arriving in Philadelphia, Buist quickly immersed himself in its horticultural community, working briefly at David Landreth’s [[nursery]] in Moyamensing before becoming the gardener of [[Henry Pratt|Henry Pratt’s]] [[Lemon Hill]] [Fig. 2]. In June 1829 he participated in the first exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, with which he maintained a lifelong affiliation.<ref>James Boyd, ''A History of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1827–1927'' (Philadelphia: Printed for the Society, 1929), 36, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UN9TRH8T/q/boyd view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:2125.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2: J. Albright (illustrator), J. B. Longacre (engraver), Lemon Hill, in ''The Floral Magazine and Botanical Repository'' (1832).]]
By September 1830 Buist had left his post at [[Lemon Hill]] to go into business with the nurseryman Thomas Hibbert, whose [[greenhouse]]s were located on 13th Street between Lombard and Cedar (now South) Streets. As part owner, Buist had a degree of autonomy that he likely lacked in his earlier positions—he described his situation at Landreth’s, where he was relegated to hoeing weeds, as especially dismal.<ref>Meehan 1880, 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Within his first year of joining Hibbert, the pair considerably expanded the [[nursery]] by purchasing [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] former [[botanic garden]], Upsal, and Buist travelled back to Scotland and England “to make arrangements . . . to receive continued supplies of all kinds of new and desirable Plants and Flowers.”<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero].</ref> While abroad, Buist also paid a visit to [[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon]]—the preeminent horticulturist in England—and returned to Philadelphia in November 1831 with his longtime friend, the architect [[John Notman]].<ref>For Buist’s visit to Loudon, see William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero]. Buist would be essential in securing Notman’s 1856 commission for the entrance gate of Philadelphia’s Mount Vernon Cemetery, where Buist was treasurer. Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect: 1810–1865'', exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), 18, 215, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z/q/greiff view on Zotero].</ref> Buist’s travels yielded some fine stock, particularly of dahlias, which was described in the May 15, 1832, issue of the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' as “upwards of fifty of the most distinct [dahlias] in color and the largest in size; some of them Glob[e]-flowered, and Anemone-flowered, which are considered beautiful and rare.”<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>

The partnership of Hibbert & Buist was successful but not long-lived; Thomas Hibbert died on May 11, 1833, just a year after the ''National Gazette''’s report.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert’s widow determined to carry on her husband’s business while Buist struck out on his own, using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock to open his own independent nursery on 12th Street [Fig. 3] and a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street.<ref>C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero]. Buist’s nursery extended from 12th Street along Cedar, abutting the Hibbert nursery on 13th Street.</ref> [[Nursery of Robert Buist|“R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery”]] featured a [[greenhouse]] 150 feet in length, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, that was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different plants he stocked. The front compartment was referred to as the “New-Holland House” and featured various plants from Australia, including species of ''Banksia''—which Buist likely learned to cultivate while working with McNab, who specialized in the plant<ref>“Principal Gardeners” 1908, 303, 307–8, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref>—and was followed by the [[hothouse]], which featured the canary bird flower (''Tropaeolum peregrinum''), petunias, ficuses, and other rare plants. Toward the rear Buist created compartments dedicated to specific types of flower, including the Geranium House, the Camellia House, and the Rose House.<ref>Descriptions of the nursery layout can be found in the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, and Hovey 1835, 203–6, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3: Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4: A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.]]
Buist’s [[nursery]] and seed warehouse throve finely during the 1830s and 1840s, allowing him to expand his business. By 1837 he had built a separate camellia house and small stove at South 12th Street [Fig. 4], and by 1849 he had established a [[nursery]] for fruit and ornamental trees southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, where he eventually consolidated all but his seed business in 1850.<ref>[C. M. Hovey], “Notes on Some of the Nurseries and Private Gardens in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia, visited in the early part of the month of March, 1837,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 202, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> During these decades Buist remained an active member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, gaining recognition for helping found the American Pomological Society, as well as for his introduction of verbenas and various types of roses to North America, and for the introduction of the poinsettia to Europe. Buist is often—if mistakenly—given credit for introducing the poinsettia to the United States as well; however, as Joel T. Fry has observed, it was in fact first cultivated at the [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery]] in 1828.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. For the poinsettia’s introduction to the United States, see Joel T. Fry, “The Introduction of the Poinsettia at Bartram’s Garden,” ''Bartram Broadside'' (Winter 1994–95): 3–7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/GCQJCC4J view on Zotero].</ref> He also authored three frequently reprinted gardening manuals—the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' (1832), the ''Rose Manual'' (1844), and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' (1847)—which helped make him one of the most recognizable figures in American horticulture.<ref>All three books went through numerous editions and reprints: ''American Flower Directory'' went through 6 editions and at least 19 reprints between 1832 and 1865; the ''Rose Manual'' went through 4 editions between 1844 and 1854; and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' went through at least 19 reprints between 1847 and 1867. For a discussion of Buist’s importance as an author, see Hedrick 1988, 481–2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref>

Even in the midst of these professional accomplishments, Buist suffered various familial challenges in the 1840s. His wife, Jane Menzies Buist—the mother of his sons, John and Robert Jr.—died from tuberculosis on July 12, 1840, and Buist remarried shortly after to Ellen Chambers (née Stephens), with whom he had one daughter.<ref>Jane Menzies’s death is noted in the July 14, 1840, issue of the ''National Gazette''. Her cause of death was “pthisis pulmonalis”; see “Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKS8-DJM : March 8, 2018), Jane Buist, July 13, 1840; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, PA; FHL microfilm 1,976,401.</ref> During this period he also lodged two lawsuits against his brother William, who had established a nursery in Washington, DC, and who may have tried to bolster his business by trading on Robert’s success.<ref>William Buist’s Washington, DC, nursery was advertised as early as May 1837 and was the subject of a notice in the ''Magazine of Horticulture'' in 1842; see the ''Daily Globe'' (May 3, 1837): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/F9DWFU8Q view on Zotero], and “Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 8, no. 4, ed. C. M. Hovey (April 1842): 123–25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/IRC7B9MN/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Though the court cases remain obscure, the results are not: in September 1847 Alexander Hunter, the marshal of Washington, DC, seized William’s nursery “to satisfy judicials . . . in favor of Robert Buist against said Wm. Buist.” Bankrupt and out of business, William died in July 1850.<ref>“Marshal’s Sale,” ''Daily Union'' (September 22, 1847): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/72GQ8T8E view on Zotero], and “Deaths,” ''Daily National Intelligencer'' (July 6, 1850): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XZ2672NN view on Zotero].</ref> Robert’s home and business, by contrast, was full to brimming at this time: according to the 1850 federal census, taken in July that year, Buist was supporting not only his new wife, stepdaughter, daughter, and son Robert Jr., but also members of his wife’s extended family and about 20 servants, laborers, and gardeners, all from Scotland and Ireland.<ref>“United States Census, 1850,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4CD-WP3 : April 12, 2016), Robert Buist, Kingsessing, Philadelphia, PA, United States; citing family 93, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).</ref>

The number of gardeners and laborers Buist brought over from Britain and Ireland greatly enhanced botanical knowledge in the United States. His service to American horticulture was described as twofold—Colonel Marshall P. Wilder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society noted that “he not only introduced rare plants, but rare men.”<ref>Quoted in Meehan 1880, 374, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Buist remained active in the plant trade throughout the 1850s, 60s, and 70s, and the value of his businesses increased considerably: the 1850 census notes the “value of property owned” as $35,000, and the 1860 census indicates a personal worth estimated at $45,000, exclusive of the impressive $125,000 Buist owned in real estate.<ref>See “United States Census, 1850,” and “United States Census, 1860,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXRX-SZR : December 13, 2017), Robert Buist, 1860.</ref> It may have been his financial success that allowed Buist to relinquish control of the seed warehouse to his younger son, Robert Jr., by September 1861, and to direct his attention largely to floriculture. Robert Buist fully retired from the [[nursery]] business in 1876 and died four years later, at the age of 74.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. By September 1861, the proprietor of 922 Market Street—where Buist had eventually relocated his seed warehouse from Chestnut Street—was identified as Robert Buist Jr. See ''The Press'' (September 2, 1861): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HC94346M view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9)<ref>Robert Buist, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TI7IE55B/q/american%20flower%20garden%20directory view on Zotero].</ref>
“The [[French style|French]] partially adopt the . . . [Italian] system, interspersing it with [[parterre]]s and figures of [[statue|statuary]] work of every character and description. When such is well designed and neatly executed, it has a lively and interesting effect; but now the refined taste says these vagaries are too fantastic, and entirely out of place.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9–10)
“A late writer says of [[Dutch style|Dutch gardening]], that it ‘is rectangular formality’: they take great pride in trimming their trees of yew, holly, and other evergreens, into every variety of form, such as mops, moons, halberds, chairs &c. In such a system it is indispensable to order that the compartments correspond in formality, nothing being more offensive to the eye than incongruous mixtures of character.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 10–11)
“. . . if access to a spring can be obtained, it will prove a desideratum in completing the whole: it can be available for a fish-[[pond]] or an acquariam [''sic''], or can be converted into a swamp for the cultivation of many of our most beautiful and interesting native plants.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11)
“For perspicuity, admit that the area to be enclosed [for a flower garden] should be from one to three acres, a circumambient [[walk]] should be traced at some distance within the [[fence]], buy which the whole is enclosed; the inferior [[walk]]s should partly circumscribe and intersect the general surface in an easy serpentine and sweeping manner, and at such distances as would allow an agreeable view of the flowers when walking for exercise. [[Walk]]s may be in breadth from three to twenty feet, although from four to ten feet is generally adopted . . . covered with gravel, and then firmly rolled with a heavy roller. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11–12)
“But, in commencing these operations, a design [for the flower garden] should be kept in view that will tend to expand, improve, and beautify the situation; not, as we too frequently see it, the [[parterre]] and [[border]]s with narrow [[walk]]s up to the very household entrance: such is decidedly bad taste, unless compelled for want of room. . . . The outer margin of the [flower] garden should be planted with the largest trees and shrubs: the interior arrangement may be in detached groups of [[shrubbery]] and [[parterre]]s.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 12)
“In some secluded spot [[rock-work]] or a [[fountain]], or both, may be erected; the foundation of the former should consist of mounds of earth, which will answer the purpose of more solid erections, and will make the stones go farther: rocks of the same kind and colour should be placed together, and the greatest possible variety of character, size and form, should be studied, the whole showing an evident and well defined connexion. These erections generally are stiff artificial disjointed masses, and often decorated with plants having no affinity to their arid location.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“All the large divisions [of a flower garden] should be intersected by small [[alley]]s, or paths, about one and a half or two feet wide.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“When there is not a [[green-house]] attached to the flower garden, there should be at least a few sashes of framing or a forcing pit to bring forward early annuals, &c., for early blooming. These should be situate [''sic''] in some spot detached from the garden by a [[fence]] of Roses, trained to [[trellis|trellises]], Chinese Arbour Vitae, Privet, or even Maclura makes excellent fences. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 20)
“Thick masses of [[shrubbery]], called [[thicket]]s, are sometimes wanted. In these there should be plenty of evergreens. A mass of deciduous shrubs has no imposing effect during winter.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 31)
“BOX [[edging|EDGINGS]].

“May be planted any time this month [March], or beginning of next, which in most seasons will be preferable. We will give a few simple directions how to accomplish the work. In the first place, dig over the ground deeply where the [[edging]] is intended to be planted, breaking the soil fine, and keeping it to a proper height, namely, about one inch higher than the side of the [[walk]]; but the taste of the operator will best decide, according to the situation.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 32)
Grass verges for [[walk]]s and [[border]]s, although frequently used, are, by no means, desirable, except where variety is required; they are the most laborious to keep in order, and at best are inelegant, and the only object in their favor is, there being everywhere accessible.

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 145, 148)
“ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A [[hothouse|HOT-HOUSE]]. . . .

“''Site and Aspect''.—The house should stand on a situation naturally dry, and, if possible, sheltered from the north-west, and clear from all shade on the south, east, and west, so that the sun may at all times act effectually upon the house. The standard principle, as to aspect, is to set the front directly to the south. Any deviation from that point should incline to the east.

“''Dimensions''.—The length may be from ten feet upward; if beyond forty feet, the number of fires and flues are multiplied. The medium width is from twelve to sixteen feet. . . .

“''Bark Pit''.—We consider such an erection in the centre of a [[hot-house]] a nuisance, and prefer a stage, which may be constructed according to taste. It should be made of the best Carolina pine, leaving a passage all round, to cause free circulation of air.”

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.

File:2167.JPG|“Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:People]]

Robert Buist

2018-08-15T13:56:22Z

E-athens:

'''Robert Buist''' (November 14, 1805–July 13, 1880) was a Scottish-born nursery- and seedsman based in Philadelphia. Through his businesses and his garden manuals, Buist became one of the most influential figures in American horticulture during the 19th century.

==History==
[[File:2167.JPG|thumb|left|Fig. 1, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.]]
Robert Buist was born in Cupar Fyfe, Scotland, on November 14, 1805 [Fig. 1]. Though little is known about his early life, he is believed to have trained as a gardener with William McNab, who served from 1810 until 1848 as the Principal Gardener of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. McNab was known for his careful relocation of the Edinburgh garden to its present site at Inverleith, with much of the transfer of plants occurring between 1821 and 1823, possibly during Buist’s tenure there.<ref>“Principal Gardeners—William McNab,” ''Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh'' 3, part 15 (March 1908): 303, 306–7, 319, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later moved to Derbyshire to work in the gardens of General Charles Stanhope, the 3rd Earl of Harrington, at Elvaston Castle, before immigrating to the United States in August 1828.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. Meehan’s 1880 obituary of Buist is perhaps the most fulsome single description of his life and work. U. P. Hedrick discusses Buist’s relation to other nursery- and seedsmen of the period; see his ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> On arriving in Philadelphia, Buist quickly immersed himself in its horticultural community, working briefly at David Landreth’s [[nursery]] in Moyamensing before becoming the gardener of [[Henry Pratt|Henry Pratt’s]] [[Lemon Hill]] [Fig. 2]. In June 1829 he participated in the first exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, with which he maintained a lifelong affiliation.<ref>James Boyd, ''A History of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1827–1927'' (Philadelphia: Printed for the Society, 1929), 36, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UN9TRH8T/q/boyd view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:2125.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2: J. Albright (illustrator), J. B. Longacre (engraver), Lemon Hill, in ''The Floral Magazine and Botanical Repository'' (1832).]]
By September 1830 Buist had left his post at [[Lemon Hill]] to go into business with the nurseryman Thomas Hibbert, whose [[greenhouse]]s were located on 13th Street between Lombard and Cedar (now South) Streets. As part owner, Buist had a degree of autonomy that he likely lacked in his earlier positions—he described his situation at Landreth’s, where he was relegated to hoeing weeds, as especially dismal.<ref>Meehan 1880, 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Within his first year of joining Hibbert, the pair considerably expanded the [[nursery]] by purchasing [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] former [[botanic garden]], Upsal, and Buist travelled back to Scotland and England “to make arrangements . . . to receive continued supplies of all kinds of new and desirable Plants and Flowers.”<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero].</ref> While abroad, Buist also paid a visit to [[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon]]—the preeminent horticulturist in England—and returned to Philadelphia in November 1831 with his longtime friend, the architect [[John Notman]].<ref>For Buist’s visit to Loudon, see William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero]. Buist would be essential in securing Notman’s 1856 commission for the entrance gate of Philadelphia’s Mount Vernon Cemetery, where Buist was treasurer. Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect: 1810–1865'', exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), 18, 215, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z/q/greiff view on Zotero].</ref> Buist’s travels yielded some fine stock, particularly of dahlias, which was described in the May 15, 1832, issue of the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' as “upwards of fifty of the most distinct [dahlias] in color and the largest in size; some of them Glob[e]-flowered, and Anemone-flowered, which are considered beautiful and rare.”<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>

The partnership of Hibbert & Buist was successful but not long-lived; Thomas Hibbert died on May 11, 1833, just a year after the ''National Gazette''’s report.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert’s widow determined to carry on her husband’s business while Buist struck out on his own, using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock to open his own independent nursery on 12th Street [Fig. 3] and a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street.<ref>C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero]. Buist’s nursery extended from 12th Street along Cedar, abutting the Hibbert nursery on 13th Street.</ref> [[Nursery of Robert Buist|“R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery”]] featured a [[greenhouse]] 150 feet in length, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, that was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different plants he stocked. The front compartment was referred to as the “New-Holland House” and featured various plants from Australia, including species of ''Banksia''—which Buist likely learned to cultivate while working with McNab, who specialized in the plant<ref>“Principal Gardeners” 1908, 303, 307–8, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref>—and was followed by the [[hothouse]], which featured the canary bird flower (''Tropaeolum peregrinum''), petunias, ficuses, and other rare plants. Toward the rear Buist created compartments dedicated to specific types of flower, including the Geranium House, the Camellia House, and the Rose House.<ref>Descriptions of the nursery layout can be found in the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, and Hovey 1835, 203–6, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3: Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4: A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.]]
Buist’s [[nursery]] and seed warehouse throve finely during the 1830s and 1840s, allowing him to expand his business. By 1837 he had built a separate camellia house and small stove at South 12th Street [Fig. 4], and by 1849 he had established a [[nursery]] for fruit and ornamental trees southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, where he eventually consolidated all but his seed business in 1850.<ref>[C. M. Hovey], “Notes on Some of the Nurseries and Private Gardens in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia, visited in the early part of the month of March, 1837,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 202, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> During these decades Buist remained an active member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, gaining recognition for helping found the American Pomological Society, as well as for his introduction of verbenas and various types of roses to North America, and for the introduction of the poinsettia to Europe. Buist is often—if mistakenly—given credit for introducing the poinsettia to the United States as well but, as Joel T. Fry has observed, it was in fact first cultivated at the [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery]] in 1828.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. For the poinsettia’s introduction to the United States, see Joel T. Fry, “The Introduction of the Poinsettia at Bartram’s Garden,” ''Bartram Broadside'' (Winter 1994–95): 3–7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/GCQJCC4J view on Zotero].</ref> He also authored three frequently reprinted gardening manuals—the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' (1832), the ''Rose Manual'' (1844), and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' (1847)—which helped make him one of the most recognizable figures in American horticulture.<ref>All three books went through numerous editions and reprints: ''American Flower Directory'' went through 6 editions and at least 19 reprints between 1832 and 1865; the ''Rose Manual'' went through 4 editions between 1844 and 1854; and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' went through at least 19 reprints between 1847 and 1867. For a discussion of Buist’s importance as an author, see Hedrick 1988, 481–2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref>

Even in the midst of these professional accomplishments, Buist suffered various familial challenges in the 1840s. His wife, Jane Menzies Buist—the mother of his sons, John and Robert Jr.—died from tuberculosis on July 12, 1840, and Buist remarried shortly after to Ellen Chambers (née Stephens), with whom he had one daughter.<ref>Jane Menzies’s death is noted in the July 14, 1840, issue of the ''National Gazette''. Her cause of death was “pthisis pulmonalis”; see “Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKS8-DJM : March 8, 2018), Jane Buist, July 13, 1840; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, PA; FHL microfilm 1,976,401.</ref> During this period he also lodged two lawsuits against his brother William, who had established a nursery in Washington, DC, and who may have tried to bolster his business by trading on Robert’s success.<ref>William Buist’s Washington, DC, nursery was advertised as early as May 1837 and was the subject of a notice in the ''Magazine of Horticulture'' in 1842; see the ''Daily Globe'' (May 3, 1837): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/F9DWFU8Q view on Zotero], and “Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 8, no. 4, ed. C. M. Hovey (April 1842): 123–25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/IRC7B9MN/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Though the court cases remain obscure, the results are not: in September 1847 Alexander Hunter, the marshal of Washington, DC, seized William’s nursery “to satisfy judicials . . . in favor of Robert Buist against said Wm. Buist.” Bankrupt and out of business, William died in July 1850.<ref>“Marshal’s Sale,” ''Daily Union'' (September 22, 1847): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/72GQ8T8E view on Zotero], and “Deaths,” ''Daily National Intelligencer'' (July 6, 1850): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XZ2672NN view on Zotero].</ref> Robert’s home and business, by contrast, was full to brimming at this time: according to the 1850 federal census, taken in July that year, Buist was supporting not only his new wife, stepdaughter, daughter, and son Robert Jr., but also members of his wife’s extended family and about 20 servants, laborers, and gardeners, all from Scotland and Ireland.<ref>“United States Census, 1850,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4CD-WP3 : April 12, 2016), Robert Buist, Kingsessing, Philadelphia, PA, United States; citing family 93, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).</ref>

The number of gardeners and laborers Buist brought over from Britain and Ireland greatly enhanced botanical knowledge in the United States. His service to American horticulture was described as twofold—Colonel Marshall P. Wilder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society noted that “he not only introduced rare plants, but rare men.”<ref>Quoted in Meehan 1880, 374, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Buist remained active in the plant trade throughout the 1850s, 60s, and 70s, and the value of his businesses increased considerably: the 1850 census notes the “value of property owned” as $35,000, and the 1860 census indicates a personal worth estimated at $45,000, exclusive of the impressive $125,000 Buist owned in real estate.<ref>See “United States Census, 1850,” and “United States Census, 1860,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXRX-SZR : December 13, 2017), Robert Buist, 1860.</ref> It may have been his financial success that allowed Buist to relinquish control of the seed warehouse to his younger son, Robert Jr., by September 1861, and to direct his attention largely to floriculture. Robert Buist fully retired from the [[nursery]] business in 1876 and died four years later, at the age of 74.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. By September 1861, the proprietor of 922 Market Street—where Buist had eventually relocated his seed warehouse from Chestnut Street—was identified as Robert Buist Jr. See ''The Press'' (September 2, 1861): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HC94346M view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9)<ref>Robert Buist, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TI7IE55B/q/american%20flower%20garden%20directory view on Zotero].</ref>
“The [[French style|French]] partially adopt the . . . [Italian] system, interspersing it with [[parterre]]s and figures of [[statue|statuary]] work of every character and description. When such is well designed and neatly executed, it has a lively and interesting effect; but now the refined taste says these vagaries are too fantastic, and entirely out of place.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9–10)
“A late writer says of [[Dutch style|Dutch gardening]], that it ‘is rectangular formality’: they take great pride in trimming their trees of yew, holly, and other evergreens, into every variety of form, such as mops, moons, halberds, chairs &c. In such a system it is indispensable to order that the compartments correspond in formality, nothing being more offensive to the eye than incongruous mixtures of character.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 10–11)
“. . . if access to a spring can be obtained, it will prove a desideratum in completing the whole: it can be available for a fish-[[pond]] or an acquariam [''sic''], or can be converted into a swamp for the cultivation of many of our most beautiful and interesting native plants.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11)
“For perspicuity, admit that the area to be enclosed [for a flower garden] should be from one to three acres, a circumambient [[walk]] should be traced at some distance within the [[fence]], buy which the whole is enclosed; the inferior [[walk]]s should partly circumscribe and intersect the general surface in an easy serpentine and sweeping manner, and at such distances as would allow an agreeable view of the flowers when walking for exercise. [[Walk]]s may be in breadth from three to twenty feet, although from four to ten feet is generally adopted . . . covered with gravel, and then firmly rolled with a heavy roller. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11–12)
“But, in commencing these operations, a design [for the flower garden] should be kept in view that will tend to expand, improve, and beautify the situation; not, as we too frequently see it, the [[parterre]] and [[border]]s with narrow [[walk]]s up to the very household entrance: such is decidedly bad taste, unless compelled for want of room. . . . The outer margin of the [flower] garden should be planted with the largest trees and shrubs: the interior arrangement may be in detached groups of [[shrubbery]] and [[parterre]]s.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 12)
“In some secluded spot [[rock-work]] or a [[fountain]], or both, may be erected; the foundation of the former should consist of mounds of earth, which will answer the purpose of more solid erections, and will make the stones go farther: rocks of the same kind and colour should be placed together, and the greatest possible variety of character, size and form, should be studied, the whole showing an evident and well defined connexion. These erections generally are stiff artificial disjointed masses, and often decorated with plants having no affinity to their arid location.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“All the large divisions [of a flower garden] should be intersected by small [[alley]]s, or paths, about one and a half or two feet wide.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“When there is not a [[green-house]] attached to the flower garden, there should be at least a few sashes of framing or a forcing pit to bring forward early annuals, &c., for early blooming. These should be situate [''sic''] in some spot detached from the garden by a [[fence]] of Roses, trained to [[trellis|trellises]], Chinese Arbour Vitae, Privet, or even Maclura makes excellent fences. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 20)
“Thick masses of [[shrubbery]], called [[thicket]]s, are sometimes wanted. In these there should be plenty of evergreens. A mass of deciduous shrubs has no imposing effect during winter.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 31)
“BOX [[edging|EDGINGS]].

“May be planted any time this month [March], or beginning of next, which in most seasons will be preferable. We will give a few simple directions how to accomplish the work. In the first place, dig over the ground deeply where the [[edging]] is intended to be planted, breaking the soil fine, and keeping it to a proper height, namely, about one inch higher than the side of the [[walk]]; but the taste of the operator will best decide, according to the situation.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 32)
Grass verges for [[walk]]s and [[border]]s, although frequently used, are, by no means, desirable, except where variety is required; they are the most laborious to keep in order, and at best are inelegant, and the only object in their favor is, there being everywhere accessible.

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 145, 148)
“ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A [[hothouse|HOT-HOUSE]]. . . .

“''Site and Aspect''.—The house should stand on a situation naturally dry, and, if possible, sheltered from the north-west, and clear from all shade on the south, east, and west, so that the sun may at all times act effectually upon the house. The standard principle, as to aspect, is to set the front directly to the south. Any deviation from that point should incline to the east.

“''Dimensions''.—The length may be from ten feet upward; if beyond forty feet, the number of fires and flues are multiplied. The medium width is from twelve to sixteen feet. . . .

“''Bark Pit''.—We consider such an erection in the centre of a [[hot-house]] a nuisance, and prefer a stage, which may be constructed according to taste. It should be made of the best Carolina pine, leaving a passage all round, to cause free circulation of air.”

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.

File:2167.JPG|“Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:People]]

Vauxhall Garden

2018-08-14T18:23:04Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' 
'''Site Dates:''' 
'''Site Owner(s):''' 
'''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished 

<hr>

==History==

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')
:“To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of '''VAUXHALL'''; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a pleasure, and [[kitchen garden]], well stock’d with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c. and several [[summerhouse|summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a [[public garden]], &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come.”

*Anonymous, July 6, 1799, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''' in ''Spectator'', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 171)<ref name="Eberlein">Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68 (1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At 5 o’clock in the evening, the sixteen colours of each [[Summer-house]] were carried, at the sound of the music, to the Grand [[Temple]] of Independence, which is 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet high . . . in the middle of which was presented, the Bust of the great Washington as large as life, and near him a Grand Gold [[Column]], representing the Constitution, and below the said [[Column]] the Figure of Fame, 6 feet high, presenting to him with one hand a Crown of Laurel, and with the other holding a Trumpet, announcing to the public that she crowns Real Merit.”

*Anonymous, July 2, 1804, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“At 8 o’clock will commence the most complete illumination, consisting of upwards of four thousand Colored Lamps, and decorated . . . with Pyramids, [[Obelisk]]s, [[Arch]]es, &c.”

*Anonymous, June 25, 1805, describing in the ''New York Daily Advertiser'' '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 172)<ref>Harold Eberlein and Hubbard 1944, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The labour and expence of this establishment has exceeded that of any similar one in the United States . . . [that] he has at a very considerable risk and expence, procured from Europe a choice selection of [[Statue]]s and Busts, mostly from the first models of Antiquity . . . the [[walk]]s are ornamented with [[Pillar]]s, [[Arches]], Pedestals, Figures, &c. the whole of which when illuminated, cannot fail to create pleasure.”

*[[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (1816: 2:61)<ref name="Lambert">John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), 61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>
:“New York has its '''Vauxhall''' and Ranelah; but they are poor imitations of those near London. They are, however, pleasant places of recreation for the inhabitants. The '''Vauxhall garden''' is situated in the [[Bowery]] Road about two miles from the City Hall. It is a neat [[plantation]], with gravel [[walk]]s adorned with [[shrub]]s, trees, busts, and [[statue]]s.”

*Mathews, Cornelius, 1842, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 391)<ref>Thomas Myers Garrett. “A History of Pleasure Gardens in New York City, 1700–1865” (PhD diss, New York University, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WRUT2RIC/q/garrett view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Puffer entering, was overwhelmed with the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle that broke upon him. In the first place, the Garden, to which he was a stranger, was filled with trees— which was a novelty in a New-York [[public garden]]—some short and bushy, others tall and trim, but actual trees; then there were a thousand eyes or better lurking and glaring out in every direction, in the shape of blue and yellow and red and white lamps, fixed among the trees and against the stalls; then there was a [[fountain]]; and then, through two rows of poplars, commanding a noble prospective of two white chimney-tops in the rear, there stretched a floor—the ball-room floor itself.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0474.jpg|Joseph DeLacroix’s Trade Card depicting his Ice-House Garden at 112 Broadway, c. 1796.

File:0471.jpg|George Hayward (lithographer), ''Vauxhall Garden 1803'', 1856.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

<hr>

==Other Resources==

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Vauxhall Garden

2018-08-14T18:06:30Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' 
'''Site Dates:''' 
'''Site Owner(s):''' 
'''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished 

<hr>

==History==

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')
:“To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of '''VAUXHALL'''; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a pleasure, and [[kitchen garden]], well stock’d with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c. and several [[summerhouse|summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a [[public garden]], &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come.”

*Anonymous, July 6, 1799, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''' in ''Spectator'', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 171)<ref name="Eberlein">Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68 (1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At 5 o’clock in the evening, the sixteen colours of each [[Summer-house]] were carried, at the sound of the music, to the Grand [[Temple]] of Independence, which is 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet high . . . in the middle of which was presented, the Bust of the great Washington as large as life, and near him a Grand Gold [[Column]], representing the Constitution, and below the said [[Column]] the Figure of Fame, 6 feet high, presenting to him with one hand a Crown of Laurel, and with the other holding a Trumpet, announcing to the public that she crowns Real Merit.”

*Anonymous, July 2, 1804, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“At 8 o’clock will commence the most complete illumination, consisting of upwards of four thousand Colored Lamps, and decorated . . . with Pyramids, [[Obelisk]]s, [[Arch]]es, &c.”

*Anonymous, June 25, 1805, describing in the ''New York Daily Advertiser'' '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 172)<ref>Harold Eberlein and Hubbard 1944, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The labour and expence of this establishment has exceeded that of any similar one in the United States . . . [that] he has at a very considerable risk and expence, procured from Europe a choice selection of [[Statue]]s and Busts, mostly from the first models of Antiquity . . . the [[walk]]s are ornamented with [[Pillar]]s, [[Arches]], Pedestals, Figures, &c. the whole of which when illuminated, cannot fail to create pleasure.”

*[[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (1816: 2:61)<ref name="Lambert">John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), 61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>
:“New York has its '''Vauxhall''' and Ranelah; but they are poor imitations of those near London. They are, however, pleasant places of recreation for the inhabitants. The '''Vauxhall garden''' is situated in the [[Bowery]] Road about two miles from the City Hall. It is a neat [[plantation]], with gravel [[walk]]s adorned with [[shrub]]s, trees, busts, and [[statue]]s.”

*Mathews, Cornelius, 1842, describing '''Vauxhall Garden''', New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 391)
:“Puffer entering, was overwhelmed with the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle that broke upon him. In the first place, the Garden, to which he was a stranger, was filled with trees— which was a novelty in a New-York [[public garden]]—some short and bushy, others tall and trim, but actual trees; then there were a thousand eyes or better lurking and glaring out in every direction, in the shape of blue and yellow and red and white lamps, fixed among the trees and against the stalls; then there was a [[fountain]]; and then, through two rows of poplars, commanding a noble prospective of two white chimney-tops in the rear, there stretched a floor—the ball-room floor itself.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0474.jpg|Joseph DeLacroix’s Trade Card depicting his Ice-House Garden at 112 Broadway, c. 1796.

File:0471.jpg|George Hayward (lithographer), ''Vauxhall Garden 1803'', 1856.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

<hr>

==Other Resources==

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Vauxhall Garden

2018-08-14T18:01:19Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' 
'''Site Dates:''' 
'''Site Owner(s):''' 
'''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished 

<hr>

==History==

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')
:“To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of [[Vauxhall Garden|VAUXHALL]]; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a pleasure, and '''kitchen garden''', well stock’d with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c. and several [[summerhouse|summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a [[public garden]], &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come.”

*Anonymous, July 6, 1799, describing Vauxhall Garden in ''Spectator'', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 171)<ref name="Eberlein">Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68 (1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At 5 o’clock in the evening, the sixteen colours of each [[Summer-house]] were carried, at the sound of the music, to the Grand Temple of Independence, which is 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet high . . . in the middle of which was presented, the Bust of the great Washington as large as life, and near him a Grand Gold '''Column''', representing the Constitution, and below the said '''Column''' the Figure of Fame, 6 feet high, presenting to him with one hand a Crown of Laurel, and with the other holding a Trumpet, announcing to the public that she crowns Real Merit.”

* Anonymous, July 2, 1804, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“At 8 o’clock will commence the most complete illumination, consisting of upwards of four thousand Colored Lamps, and decorated . . . with Pyramids, '''Obelisks''', [[Arch]]es, &c.”

*Anonymous, June 25, 1805, describing in the ''New York Daily Advertiser'' Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 172)<ref>Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68, no. 2 (April 1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The labour and expence of this establishment has exceeded that of any similar one in the United States . . . [that] he has at a very considerable risk and expence, procured from Europe a choice selection of [[Statue]]s and Busts, mostly from the first models of Antiquity . . . the [[walk]]s are ornamented with [[Pillar]]s, '''Arches''', Pedestals, Figures, &c. the whole of which when illuminated, cannot fail to create pleasure.”

*[[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (1816: 2:61)<ref name="Lambert">John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), 61 [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>
:“New York has its [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall]] and Ranelah; but they are poor imitations of those near London. They are, however, pleasant places of recreation for the inhabitants. The [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall garden]] is situated in the [[Bowery]] Road about two miles from the City Hall. It is a neat '''plantation''', with gravel [[walk]]s adorned with [[shrub]]s, trees, busts, and [[statue]]s.”

*Mathews, Cornelius, 1842, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 391)<ref name="Garrett"></ref>
:“Puffer entering, was overwhelmed with the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle that broke upon him. In the first place, the Garden, to which he was a stranger, was filled with trees— which was a novelty in a New-York '''public garden'''—some short and bushy, others tall and trim, but actual trees; then there were a thousand eyes or better lurking and glaring out in every direction, in the shape of blue and yellow and red and white lamps, fixed among the trees and against the stalls; then there was a [[fountain]]; and then, through two rows of poplars, commanding a noble prospective of two white chimney-tops in the rear, there stretched a floor—the ball-room floor itself.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0474.jpg|Joseph DeLacroix’s Trade Card depicting his Ice-House Garden at 112 Broadway, c. 1796.

File:0471.jpg|George Hayward (lithographer), ''Vauxhall Garden 1803'', 1856.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

<hr>

==Other Resources==

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Vauxhall Garden

2018-08-14T18:00:13Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' 
'''Site Dates:''' 
'''Site Owner(s):''' 
'''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished 

<hr>

==History==

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')
:“To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of [[Vauxhall Garden|VAUXHALL]]; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a pleasure, and '''kitchen garden''', well stock’d with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c. and several [[summerhouse|summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a [[public garden]], &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come.”

*Anonymous, July 6, 1799, describing Vauxhall Garden in ''Spectator'', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 171)<ref name="Eberlein">Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68 (1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At 5 o’clock in the evening, the sixteen colours of each [[Summer-house]] were carried, at the sound of the music, to the Grand Temple of Independence, which is 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet high . . . in the middle of which was presented, the Bust of the great Washington as large as life, and near him a Grand Gold '''Column''', representing the Constitution, and below the said '''Column''' the Figure of Fame, 6 feet high, presenting to him with one hand a Crown of Laurel, and with the other holding a Trumpet, announcing to the public that she crowns Real Merit.”

* Anonymous, July 2, 1804, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“At 8 o’clock will commence the most complete illumination, consisting of upwards of four thousand Colored Lamps, and decorated . . . with Pyramids, '''Obelisks''', [[Arch]]es, &c.”

*Anonymous, June 25, 1805, describing in the ''New York Daily Advertiser'' Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 172)<ref>Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68, no. 2 (April 1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The labour and expence of this establishment has exceeded that of any similar one in the United States . . . [that] he has at a very considerable risk and expence, procured from Europe a choice selection of [[Statue]]s and Busts, mostly from the first models of Antiquity . . . the [[walk]]s are ornamented with [[Pillar]]s, '''Arches''', Pedestals, Figures, &c. the whole of which when illuminated, cannot fail to create pleasure.”

*[[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (1816: 2:61)<ref name="Lambert">John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), 61 [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>
:“New York has its [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall]] and Ranelah; but they are poor imitations of those near London. They are, however, pleasant places of recreation for the inhabitants. The [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall garden]] is situated in the [[Bowery]] Road about two miles from the City Hall. It is a neat '''plantation''', with gravel [[walk]]s adorned with [[shrub]]s, trees, busts, and [[statue]]s.”

*Mathews, Cornelius, 1842, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 391)<ref name="Garrett"></ref>
:“Puffer entering, was overwhelmed with the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle that broke upon him. In the first place, the Garden, to which he was a stranger, was filled with trees— which was a novelty in a New-York '''public garden'''—some short and bushy, others tall and trim, but actual trees; then there were a thousand eyes or better lurking and glaring out in every direction, in the shape of blue and yellow and red and white lamps, fixed among the trees and against the stalls; then there was a [[fountain]]; and then, through two rows of poplars, commanding a noble prospective of two white chimney-tops in the rear, there stretched a floor—the ball-room floor itself.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0471.jpg|George Hayward (lithographer), ''Vauxhall Garden, 1803'', 1803.

File:0474.jpg|Joseph DeLacroix’s Trade Card depicting his Ice-House Garden at 112 Broadway, c. 1796.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

<hr>

==Other Resources==

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Vauxhall Garden

2018-08-14T17:54:08Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' 
'''Site Dates:''' 
'''Site Owner(s):''' 
'''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished 

<hr>

==History==

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')
:“To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of [[Vauxhall Garden|VAUXHALL]]; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a pleasure, and '''kitchen garden''', well stock’d with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c. and several [[summerhouse|summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a [[public garden]], &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come.”

*Anonymous, July 6, 1799, describing Vauxhall Garden in ''Spectator'', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 171)<ref name="Eberlein">Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68 (1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At 5 o’clock in the evening, the sixteen colours of each [[Summer-house]] were carried, at the sound of the music, to the Grand Temple of Independence, which is 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet high . . . in the middle of which was presented, the Bust of the great Washington as large as life, and near him a Grand Gold '''Column''', representing the Constitution, and below the said '''Column''' the Figure of Fame, 6 feet high, presenting to him with one hand a Crown of Laurel, and with the other holding a Trumpet, announcing to the public that she crowns Real Merit.”

* Anonymous, July 2, 1804, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“At 8 o’clock will commence the most complete illumination, consisting of upwards of four thousand Colored Lamps, and decorated . . . with Pyramids, '''Obelisks''', [[Arch]]es, &c.”

*Anonymous, June 24, 1805, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“[Joseph Delacroix has] procured from Europe a choice selection of '''Statues''' and Busts. mostly from the finest models of Antiquity, and worthy the attention of Amateurs. . . .

:“The BUSTS and '''STATUES'''. . . .

:{|
|“Gen. Washington,
|Gen. Hamilton,
|Addison
|-
|“Cicero,
|Demosthenes
|Antinous
|-
|“Ajax,
|Apollo B.
|Cleopatra
|-
|“Antinious,
|Plenty
|Niobe
|-
|“Hannibal,
|Hercules
|Pompey
|-
|“Apollo di Belvedere
|Time
|Pope
|-
|“[different sizes]
|Ceres
|-
|“Venus,
|Serenity
|-
|“Hebe,
|Modesty
|-
|“Apollo di Medicis—THALIA, Comic Muse.”
|}

*Anonymous, June 25, 1805, describing in the ''New York Daily Advertiser'' Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 172)<ref>Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68, no. 2 (April 1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The labour and expence of this establishment has exceeded that of any similar one in the United States . . . [that] he has at a very considerable risk and expence, procured from Europe a choice selection of [[Statue]]s and Busts, mostly from the first models of Antiquity . . . the [[walk]]s are ornamented with [[Pillar]]s, '''Arches''', Pedestals, Figures, &c. the whole of which when illuminated, cannot fail to create pleasure.”

*[[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (1816: 2:61)<ref name="Lambert">John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), 61 [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>
:“New York has its [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall]] and Ranelah; but they are poor imitations of those near London. They are, however, pleasant places of recreation for the inhabitants. The [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall garden]] is situated in the [[Bowery]] Road about two miles from the City Hall. It is a neat '''plantation''', with gravel [[walk]]s adorned with [[shrub]]s, trees, busts, and [[statue]]s.”

*Mathews, Cornelius, 1842, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 391)<ref name="Garrett"></ref>
:“Puffer entering, was overwhelmed with the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle that broke upon him. In the first place, the Garden, to which he was a stranger, was filled with trees— which was a novelty in a New-York '''public garden'''—some short and bushy, others tall and trim, but actual trees; then there were a thousand eyes or better lurking and glaring out in every direction, in the shape of blue and yellow and red and white lamps, fixed among the trees and against the stalls; then there was a [[fountain]]; and then, through two rows of poplars, commanding a noble prospective of two white chimney-tops in the rear, there stretched a floor—the ball-room floor itself.”

<hr>

==Images==

<hr>

==Map==

<hr>

==Other Resources==

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Vauxhall Garden

2018-08-14T17:53:35Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' 
'''Site Dates:''' 
'''Site Owner(s):''' 
'''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished 

<hr>

==History==

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')
:“To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of [[Vauxhall Garden|VAUXHALL]]; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a pleasure, and '''kitchen garden''', well stock’d with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c. and several [[summerhouse|summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a [[public garden]], &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come.”

*Anonymous, July 6, 1799, describing Vauxhall Garden in ''Spectator'', New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 171)<ref name="Eberlein">Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68 (1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At 5 o’clock in the evening, the sixteen colours of each [[Summer-house]] were carried, at the sound of the music, to the Grand Temple of Independence, which is 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet high . . . in the middle of which was presented, the Bust of the great Washington as large as life, and near him a Grand Gold '''Column''', representing the Constitution, and below the said '''Column''' the Figure of Fame, 6 feet high, presenting to him with one hand a Crown of Laurel, and with the other holding a Trumpet, announcing to the public that she crowns Real Merit.”

* Anonymous, July 2, 1804, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“At 8 o’clock will commence the most complete illumination, consisting of upwards of four thousand Colored Lamps, and decorated . . . with Pyramids, '''Obelisks''', [[Arch]]es, &c.”

*Anonymous, June 24, 1805, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (''New York Daily Advertiser'')
:“[Joseph Delacroix has] procured from Europe a choice selection of '''Statues''' and Busts. mostly from the finest models of Antiquity, and worthy the attention of Amateurs. . . .

:“The BUSTS and '''STATUES'''. . . .

:{|
|“Gen. Washington,
|Gen. Hamilton,
|Addison
|-
|“Cicero,
|Demosthenes
|Antinous
|-
|“Ajax,
|Apollo B.
|Cleopatra
|-
|“Antinious,
|Plenty
|Niobe
|-
|“Hannibal,
|Hercules
|Pompey
|-
|“Apollo di Belvedere
|Time
|Pope
|-
|“[different sizes]
|Ceres
|-
|“Venus,
|Serenity
|-
|“Hebe,
|Modesty
|-
|“Apollo di Medicis—THALIA, Comic Muse.”
|}

*Anonymous, June 25, 1805, describing in the ''New York Daily Advertiser'' Vauxhall Garden, New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 172)<ref>Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68, no. 2 (April 1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The labour and expence of this establishment has exceeded that of any similar one in the United States . . . [that] he has at a very considerable risk and expence, procured from Europe a choice selection of [[Statue]]s and Busts, mostly from the first models of Antiquity . . . the [[walk]]s are ornamented with [[Pillar]]s, '''Arches''', Pedestals, Figures, &c. the whole of which when illuminated, cannot fail to create pleasure.”

*[[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (1816: 2:61)<ref name="Lambert">John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), 61 [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>
:“New York has its [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall]] and Ranelah; but they are poor imitations of those near London. They are, however, pleasant places of recreation for the inhabitants. The [[Vauxhall Garden|Vauxhall garden]] is situated in the [[Bowery]] Road about two miles from the City Hall. It is a neat '''plantation''', with gravel [[walk]]s adorned with [[shrub]]s, trees, busts, and [[statue]]s.”

*Mathews, Cornelius, 1842, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 391)<ref name="Garrett"></ref>
:“Puffer entering, was overwhelmed with the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle that broke upon him. In the first place, the Garden, to which he was a stranger, was filled with trees— which was a novelty in a New-York '''public garden'''—some short and bushy, others tall and trim, but actual trees; then there were a thousand eyes or better lurking and glaring out in every direction, in the shape of blue and yellow and red and white lamps, fixed among the trees and against the stalls; then there was a [[fountain]]; and then, through two rows of poplars, commanding a noble prospective of two white chimney-tops in the rear, there stretched a floor—the ball-room floor itself.”

<hr>

==Images==

<hr>

==Map==

<hr>

==Other Resources==

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T17:50:21Z

E-athens:

'''Boston Common''' is the oldest public park in the United States. Over time it has served as pastureland, [[burying ground]], military encampment, theater for political action, and [[public ground]], sometimes filling these various roles concurrently. Its history tracks the increasing levels of intervention in American landscape as its more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to its use for recreation and leisure.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common; The Park; Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html National Park Service]

[https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common City of Boston]

[http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml The Freedom Trail Foundation]

[http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common Friends of the Public Garden]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

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[[Category:Places]]

Public garden/Public ground

2018-08-14T17:49:59Z

E-athens:

(Publick garden)

==History==
[[File:0468.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, George Hayward, ''Contoit’s Garden, Broadway, New York, 1830'', 1855.]]
[[File:1140.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Hugh Bridport, ''The Pagoda and Labyrinth Garden'', c. 1828.]]
[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|J. C. Loudon's]] 1834 definition of the public garden neatly covers the history of these spaces in the colonial and federal period: the feature served recreational, educational, and commercial functions. Whether publicly or privately owned, the public garden was a space made available to the general populace. The public garden, or public ground, phrases used synonymously, could be privately owned with access regulated by race, gender, and price, as was the case at Contoit’s Garden [Fig. 1] and Castle Garden in New York, and the Pagoda and Labyrinth Garden in Philadelphia [Fig. 2]. The government-owned public garden or public ground was land that had been removed from the real estate market. For this kind of public garden, the government determined who had access to public property and under what conditions. For example, when Castle Garden [Fig. 3] was turned over to the city, its interior was planted with flowers and shrubs; later, public baths were added (see [[Bath]]). The [[national Mall]] in Washington, DC, was the quintessential example of the public garden, as seen in an idealized view of the [[A. J. Downing]] plan from 1852 [Fig. 4]. As a symbol of democratic process, the [[National Mall|Mall]] has served since its inception in 1791 as the seat of public celebration, as well as a place of public garden/public ground public protest. Common property, yet another version of public ground, was land to which all members of a community had unrestricted access, as was the case with the vernacular public garden or the unstructured playground.<ref>For the vernacular tradition of public parks and gardens see the following: John Brinckerhoff Jackson, “The Origin of Parks,” in ''Discovering the Vernacular Landscape'' (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1984), 125–30, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KT33Q7SF view on Zotero]; John Brinckerhoff Jackson, “The Public Landscape,” in ''Landscapes: Selected Writings of J. B. Jackson'' (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1970), 153–60, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K4IK4SK6 view on Zotero]; and Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar, ''The Park and the People: A History of Central Park'' (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992), 59–91, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GFRVMGF9 view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0487.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Wade, ''Castle Garden: From the Battery'', 1848. This view shows two public gardens. The Battery, an open, free promenade, and Castle Gardens, a commercial garden with bathing facilities.]]
[[File:0042.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''Washington, D.C. with projected improvements'', c. 1852.]]
Although the great age of public [[park]]s in America did not begin until after the mid-19th century, there were numerous early examples of the ornamentation of public space and the dedication of open ground for use by the citizenry. Several early town plans had public [[square]]s or gardens incorporated into the street plan. The [[green]] in New Haven, Connecticut [Fig. 5], the public circle in Annapolis, Maryland, the palace [[green]] in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the city of Savannah, Georgia, are examples of 17th- and 18th-century town plans that featured public gardens and public grounds in their original designs.

[[File:1856.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, Jeromes, Gilbert, Grant and Company, Shelf Clock, 1839–40. “Public Square New Haven.”]]
[[File:1996.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Thomas Holme, “A Mapp of Ye Improved Part of Pensilvania in America, Divided into Countyes Townships and Lotts,” c. 1687.]]
Philadelphia, laid out in 1682 [Fig. 6], was the site of some of the earliest public gardens, dating from [[William Penn|William Penn’s]] original conception for a “Green Countrie Towne,” which provided five squares kept open for public use. In 1732 the City Assembly of Philadelphia first discussed creating a new public garden by leveling the area behind the city’s State House, the colonial seat of the Pennsylvania colony, and enclosing it “in order that [[Walk]]s be laid out, and Trees planted to render the same more beautiful and commodious.” It was to “remain a public open [[green]] and [[walk]]s forever.”<ref>Edward M. Riley, “The Independence Hall Group,” in ''Historic Philadelphia: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' 43, part 1 (1953): 7–8, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/P7Q9CZP2 view on Zotero]. See also Elizabeth Milroy, “‘For the like Uses, as the Moore-fields’: The Politics of Penn’s Squares,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 130, no. 3 (July 2006): 258–82, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BT5GGTZE view on Zotero].</ref> Like many public gardens, the [[State House Yard]] derived its significance from its proximity to an important public building. Numerous images, particularly in prints, were circulated that depicted public gardens surrounding city halls, historic sites, churches, and civic monuments. In some cases, the [[view]] or [[prospect]] influenced the siting of a public garden. Castle Garden and the battery in Charleston, South Carolina, were both situated at the water’s edge, providing [[view]]s of the harbor. In other cases, public gardens were located at sites that were already known as popular informal gathering places. In this way, authorities transformed uncontrolled public assembly places into controlled, “improved” open spaces.

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, FitzHugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
An important public ground in New England was the [[Boston Common]], which was set aside as a community property in 1640 (see [[Common]] and [[Square]]). It was repeatedly improved and ornamented as a public garden. The development of [[Boston Common]] followed a typical pattern: open public space that had been used as military training grounds or grazing land in the 17th and early 18th centuries was ceded and transformed into a public garden.<ref>Joseph S. Wood, ''The New England Village'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), 128–29, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PNBEMHX6/ view on Zotero].</ref> This was also true of areas that had previously been used as meeting house lots. Charles Hubbard’s view of [[Boston Common]] depicts several of the traditional uses of a public ground, including promenading and military training and display [Fig. 7]. In 1834, a landscaped [[park]], which was designated as the Public Garden, was added to the Common [Fig. 8].

[[File:0071.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Thomas Jefferson]], Plan for the City of Washington, March 1791.]]
[[File:1803.jpg|thumb|Fig. 10, Benjamin R. Evans, ''Lemon Hill'', 1852.]]
Following the American Revolution, the improvement and ornamentation of public spaces increased with a frequency that amounted to a beautification campaign.<ref>Rudy J. Favretti, “The Ornamentation of New England Towns: 1650–1850,” ''Journal of Garden History'' 2 (October 1982): 325–42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KZTAFJCI view on Zotero]. See also Neil Harris, ''The Artist in American Society: The Formative Years 1790–1860'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1970), 209, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TQBN48KB view on Zotero].</ref> Plans for Washington, DC, have included public gardens since the founding of the new federal capital in 1791. The [[national Mall]], which was described as “public [[walk]]s” on [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson’s]] sketch of that year [Fig. 9], was sited at the ceremonial and legislative center of the city. Its purpose, to provide a symbolic public space at the center of the federal capital, was reaffirmed with each successive design. In 1832, Congress rejected a proposal to turn over the public gardens of the [[National Mall|Mall]] to an entrepreneur who wanted to charge admission. This plan was vehemently opposed by those who felt that even in its unkempt condition, the publicly owned National Mall|Mall]] was more worthy of the nation than a commercial public garden with its reputed scenes of debauchery could ever be.<ref>Richard Rathburn, “The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences,” ''United States National Museum’s Bulletin'' 101 (1917): 45–46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VKURU987 view on Zotero].</ref> This example clearly illustrates the differences between the two senses of the phrase “public garden,” one indicating an improved site open to the citizenry, the other referring to a commercial establishment designed for entertainment.

[[File:1193.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, David J. Kennedy, ''McAran’s Garden'', 1840.]]
The type of public garden that provided entertainment in exchange for an admission fee took as its model the successful [[pleasure garden]]s of London, sometimes copying the names of the most famous. In the early 19th century, a Vauxhall could be found in nearly every big city in America. Joseph Delacroix wrote of a celebration at the [[Vauxhall Garden]] in New York on July 4, 1799:“[The] beautiful garden was opened at 6 o’clock in the morning, and the colours were hoisted under a discharge of 16 guns. The 16 [[summer house]]s being the names of the Sixteen United States, each were decorated with the Emblematical Colours belonging to each State, and ornamented with Flowers and Garlands. At 5 o’clock in the evening, the sixteen colours of each [[Summer-house]] were carried, at the sound of the musick, to the Grand [[Temple]] of Independence, which is 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet high.”<ref>Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era,” ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68 (April 1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>

As cities grew larger and more densely populated, citizens sought refuge outside the urban center, seeking “a breathing place to a thickly inhabited city,” as one observer wrote in 1835. In lieu of [[park]]s, many colonial estates were transformed into public [[pleasure garden]]s, taking advantage of the fine stock of plants that had been cultivated in older private gardens. The 18th-century country [[seat]] [[Lemon Hill]] in Philadelphia [Fig. 10], for example, was turned into a commercial public garden in the 1830s.

A tension often existed between the marketing of the public gardens as a moral, salubrious “breathing place” and its competing financial goals. The advertising for commercial public gardens promoted them as places of rational amusement, wholesome air, and public taste. In practice, however, the ice cream, slide show, and musical entertainments drew in larger crowds than did the promise of an uplifting, educative environment. Occasionally the term “public garden” was used to refer to a commercial [[nursery]] open to the public. That was the case at the McAran Botanic Garden and Nursery in Philadelphia [Fig. 11], which was operated by the former gardener of [[The Woodlands]] and [[Lemon Hill]], two of the most important gardens of the colonial period. His horticultural business also profited from added entertainments, such as a menagerie and the pastries that were offered for sale.

—''Therese O'Malley''

<hr>

==Texts==
===Usage===
*Anonymous, February 6, 1746, describing a bathgarden in Boston, MA (''Boston Weekly New Letter'')
:“TO BE LETT, (exclusive of the [[Bath-House]])
:“The Bath-Garden, at the Westerly Part of the Town, which has for many Years been improv’d as a '''publick Garden''', and contains a Variety of the best Fruit-Trees, a great Quantity of Currant and Gooseberry Bushes, some of the best Grape Vines, a handsome [[Summer-House]], Glasses for Hot-Beds, &c. Enquire of John Welch, and know further.”

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (''New York Gazette'')
:“To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of [[Vauxhall Garden|VAUXHALL]]; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a pleasure, and [[kitchen garden]], well stock’d with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c. and several [[summer house]]s which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a '''public garden''', &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come.”

*Brissot de Warville, J.-P., 1788, describing Philadelphia, PA (1792: 316)<ref>J.-P. (Jacques-Pierre) Brissot de Warville, ''New Travels in the United States of America, Performed in 1788'', ed. Durand Echeverria, trans. Maro S. Vamos and Durand Echeverria (Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RB4EKFVG view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Behind the State-house is a '''public garden'''; it is the only one that exists in Philadelphia. It is not large; but it is agreeable, and one may breathe in it. It is composed of a number of verdant [[square]]s, intersected by [[alley]]s.”

*Anonymous, June 21, 1791, ''Augusta County Order Book'' (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
:“Sheriff to let the erecting of a pillory and stocks on such part of the '''public ground''' as William Bowyer . . . shall direct.”

*Anonymous, July 10, 1805, describing in the ''New York Commercial Advertiser'' a public garden in New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 276)<ref name="Garrett">Thomas Myers Garrett, “A History of Pleasure Gardens in New York City, 1700–1865” (PhD diss., New York University, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/WRUT2RIC view on Zotero].</ref>
:“'''PUBLIC GARDEN'''. . . .
:“MR. PATE, Respectfully informs his friends and the Public in general, that he has taken the GARDEN, formerly Mr. Laight’s near Corlear’s Hook in Walnut-street, two doors from the old Scotch Club House. It will be opened for the reception of company on Sunday, the 15th instant, where they can be accommodated with Ice Cream, Punch, Wine, &c. &c. Ladies and gentlemen may depend upon having their orders executed with the utmost punctuality.”

*Anonymous, 1808, proposal for the creation of a [[botanic garden]], published in the ''Washington Expositor'' (quoted in O’Malley 1989: 102)<ref name="O'Malley">Therese O’Malley, “Art and Science in American Landscape Architecture: The National Mall, Washington, DC, 1791–1852” (PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1989), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TQVME883 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Within the limits of the federal seat there are large and ample reservations for '''public gardens''' and other national objects, which may advantageously be applied to the purposes of a [[botanical garden]], a public [[nursery]] and an agricultural farm.”

*Foster, Sir Augustus John, c. 1811, describing Washington, DC (1954: 104–5)<ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America: Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805–1806–1807 and 1811–1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis (San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/ view on Zotero].</ref>
:“It was a sad defect for a capital city that there was no '''public garden''' whatever in it, tho’ this might so easily have been managed with the palings which surround the presidential house, along the river, or indeed, anywhere within the boundaries at no other cost, in the first instance, than the trouble of cutting through the [[wood]]s, and, afterwards, of planting. [''Note'': Since this was written I have been told that there is a garden attached to the President’s House and that the public buildings which have replaced those damaged by the fire was a great improvement.] And what trees there are for a garden indigenous to the spot! The poppinae, gum wood, Bride of China, from ten to twelve varieties of oak, the liquidambar, sassafras, laurus and numerous kinds of magnolia, and tulip trees with lofty stems, fluted in appearance like [[pillar]]s, and others too many to detail. No city in the world could have a finer [[pleasure ground]], but never was so magnificent a design for a capital so wretchedly and shabbily executed.”

*Anonymous, March 15, 1814, ''Northampton County Order Book'' (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
:“Ordered that Caleb B. Upshur be permitted to enclose the '''public ground''' west of the courthouse, to sow it in clover and use it as his own until further notice of this court.”

*Lane, Samuel, 1820, describing George Bridport’s proposal for Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in O’Gorman et al. 1986: 68)<ref>James F. O’Gorman et al., ''Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1986), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B3XMK8MH view on Zotero].</ref>
:“[I am writing] to ascertain the artist who designed the '''public Garden''' on Chestnut Street [''sic''] at the place (if I am not mistaken) formerly called Potters field; and if he is in your town inquire if he would come on here [Washington, DC] to furnish a design for Improving the Capitol Square.” [Fig. 12]

*Hunt, Henry, William Elliot, and William Thornton, 1826, committee requesting a Memorial to the House of Representatives of the Congress in Washington, DC (U.S. Congress, 19th Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives, doc. 123, book 138)
:“That, with a view to promote the public good, and to ornament and improve the '''public grounds''', they would recommend that the water of Tiber Creek be brought to the Capitol Square; and, after forming a reservoir, be carried in pipes to the [[Botanic Garden]], and thrown up in a [[jet d’eau]] of 30 or 40 feet high, and then be used in watering the surrounding grounds. That a wall five feet high, with a stone coping, be put round the ground appropriated for a [[Botanic Garden]]; and that suitable buildings be erected, and the Garden be properly laid out, and cultivated as a National Garden; to effect which important national objects, a sum not exceeding 30,000 dollars will be required.”

*Bulfinch, Charles, January 21, 1829, proposal to the House Committee on Public Buildings regarding the [[national Mall]], Washington, DC (quoted in Rathburn 1917: 49)<ref> Rathburn 1917, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VKURU987 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The Capitol being now finished with the exception of these particular objects, I beg leave to suggest that the '''public grounds''' immediately adjacent should conform in some degree to the importance and high finish of the building.”

[[File:1193.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, David J. Kennedy, ''McAran’s Garden'', 1840.]]
*Committee of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1830, describing the McAran Botanic Garden and Nursery, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in Boyd 1929: 433)<ref>James Boyd, ''A History of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1827–1927'' (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1929), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UN9TRH8T view on Zotero].</ref>
:“It contains 6 acres, and is the largest '''public garden''' about the city. Here may be seen part of the celebrated collection of plants that formerly belonged to William Hamilton, of [[the Woodlands]], and now the property of Mr. D’Arras [McAran].” [See Fig. 11]

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1835, “Notices of some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia” (''American Gardeners’ Magazine'' 1: 241)<ref>Charles Mason Hovey, “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighbourhood of New York and Philadelphia; Taken from Memoranda Made in the Month of March Last,” ''American Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 7 (July 1835): 241–46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4JGIJ6PI view on Zotero].</ref>
:“There is another class of gardens in Philadelphia, called '''public gardens''', which combine in addition to a [[flower garden]], [[green-house]]s, [[hothouse]]s, &c., a bar-room or tavern; this latter addition we are far from believing useful or needful. Gardens for public amusement and recreation are very desirable in large cities, and we should be happy if our own contained one, layed out with taste, and with some knowledge of Landscape scenery, and properly and judiciously conducted. There is something of the kind much needed; and now that even the few fine private gardens which have heretofore attracted the admiration of the stranger as well as the citizen, and which have beautified the appearance of the city, seeming like rich and fertile fields, in the midst of barren wastes—now, that these (one of which, we had hoped, would have ever remained, if not in private hands, as a '''public garden''', and as a breathing place to a thickly inhabited city) are cut up and destroyed in the tide of ''public'' improvements—to make room for piles of brick and stone—the want of them will be more quickly perceived. There is scarcely a city in England, or upon the continent, but has its '''public gardens''', ‘Tea gardens,’ or something of the kind.”

*Russell, John Lewis, 1837–38, describing Boston, MA (1839: 34–35)<ref>John Lewis Russell, ''Report of the Transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for the Year 1837–8'' (Boston: Tuttle, Dennett & Chisholm, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBTQ2W76 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Efforts have been making, during the past summer to establish a '''public Garden''' in the city of Boston, to consist of a choice collection of [[greenhouse]] and out-door plants, shrubs, trees, &c. The plan may be considered good, and may promise after a few years, valuable to the cause of horticulture, and towards creating a taste for one of the most refined sources of recreation in society.”

*Alcott, William A., 1838, “Embellishment and Improvement of Towns and Villages” (''American Annals of Education'' 8: 341–42)<ref>William A. Alcott, “Embellishment and Improvement of Towns and Villages,” ''American Annals of Education'' 8, no. 8 (August 1838): 337–47, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5K3WRQ2I view on Zotero].</ref>
:“We wish to see not only spacious [[square]]s or [[common]]s interspersed with shade, if not with fruit trees, in every village and town and city, but we wish to see '''public gardens''' on an extensive scale. We wish to see these not only for health’s sake, and for the sake of their moral tone and tendency, but as a means of rational amusement—as a means of promoting the public cheerfulness, the public taste, and of consequence, the public happiness.”

*[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' (1838: 45–46)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“It is gratifying to learn that measures have been taken for the laying out of a '''public garden''' on the lands below the Common. . . .
:“It ought, in a word, to be a permanent repository of whatever is rare, beautiful, new and useful, in the vegetable creation, as well as in the other kingdoms of nature.” [See Fig. 8]

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing New York, NY (1841: 1:38–39)<ref name="Buckingham">James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Of the public places for air and exercise with which the Continental cities of Europe are so abundantly and agreeably furnished, and which London, Bath, and some other of the larger cities of England contain, there is a marked deficiency in New-York. Except the Battery, which is agreeable only in summer—the [[Bowling Green]] is a confined space of 200 feet long by 150 broad; the [[Park]], which is a comparatively small spot of land (about ten acres only) in the heart of the city, and quite a public thoroughfare; Hudson Square, the prettiest of the whole, but small, being only about four acres; and the open space within [[Washington Square]], about nine acres, which is not yet furnished with gravel-[[walk]]s or shady trees—there is no large place in the nature of a [[park]], or '''public garden''', or public [[walk]], where persons of all classes may take air and exercise. This is a defect which, it is hoped, will ere long be remedied, as there is no country, perhaps, in which it would be more advantageous to the health and pleasure of the community than this to encourage, by every possible means, the use of air and exercise to a much greater extent than either is at present enjoyed.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Baltimore, MD (1841: 1:281)<ref name="Buckingham"></ref>
:“There are some '''public gardens''' in Baltimore, the Columbian, Vauxhall, and the Citizen’s Retreat; and public [[bath]]s have been lately introduced on a good scale.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC (1841: 1:198–99)<ref name="Buckingham"></ref>
:“The other front [of the Capitol] is to the west, and overlooks the western portion of the city below it, the slope of the western declivity being ornamented with [[terrace]]s, [[walk]]s, and [[shrubbery]]. The area of the '''public grounds''' thus laid out, and in the centre of which, or nearly so, the Capitol stands, is about thirty acres; the whole of this is enclosed by a low [[wall]] of stone, with good iron railings, and entered by well-built [[gateway]]s, opposite to the different [[avenue]]s leading to and from it as a general centre.”

*[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]], 1842, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, MA (1842: 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The mention of public exhibitions on the [[Boston Common|Common]] brings to mind . . . a source of serious apprehension. The centre of the Common is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the Common. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good influence upon the Common as a '''public ground'''. Our summers are so short, the air of the Common is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the Common has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole Common as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded malls are sufficient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the Common, if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

[[File:0541.jpg|thumb|Fig. 13, John T. Bowen, ''A View of the Fairmount Water-Works with Schuylkill in the distance, taken from the Mount'', 1838.]]
*Dickens, Charles, 1842, describing Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia, PA (1842: 122)<ref>Charles Dickens, ''American Notes'' (Paris: Baudry’s European Library, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TTQMJ9AD view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Philadelphia is most bountifully provided with fresh water, which is showered and jerked about, and turned on, and poured off, everywhere. The Waterworks, which are on a height near the city, are no less ornamental than useful, being tastefully laid out as a '''public garden''', and kept in the best and neatest order.” [Fig. 13]

*Mathews, Cornelius, 1842, describing [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (quoted in Garrett 1978: 391)<ref name="Garrett"></ref>
:“Puffer entering, was overwhelmed with the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle that broke upon him. In the first place, the Garden, to which he was a stranger, was filled with trees— which was a novelty in a New-York '''public garden'''—some short and bushy, others tall and trim, but actual trees; then there were a thousand eyes or better lurking and glaring out in every direction, in the shape of blue and yellow and red and white lamps, fixed among the trees and against the stalls; then there was a [[fountain]]; and then, through two rows of poplars, commanding a noble prospective of two white chimney-tops in the rear, there stretched a floor—the ball-room floor itself.”

*Mudd, Ignatius, 1849, describing the grounds of the United States Capitol and the reconstruction of the [[national Mall]], Washington, DC (U.S. Congress, 31st Congress, 1st Session, doc. 30)
:“A disposition on the part of Congress to make the '''public grounds''' what they were originally designed to be. . . . An ornament and attraction to the capital of the nation.”

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], 1851, describing plans for improving the public grounds of Washington, DC (quoted in Washburn 1967: 54)<ref>Wilcomb E. Washburn, “Vision of Life for the Mall,” ''AIA Journal'' 47 (1967): 52–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TA59MHC7 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The '''Public Grounds''' now to be improved I have arranged so as to form six different and distinct scenes.”

*Sylvanus [pseud.], May 1851, describing a public garden outside New Orleans, LA (''Horticulturist'' 6: 221–22)<ref>Sylvanus [pseud.], “Random Notes on Southern Horticulture,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 6, no. 5 (May 1851): 220–24, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/T86MVX3M view on Zotero].</ref>
:“There is a '''public garden''' about six miles from the city. It is a common resort, particularly on Sundays, when as it is easily accessible by railroad, thousands flock to it to get a little fresh air and a nosegay. It is laid out in the [[English style]], and is a pleasant place of retreat from the heat and stench of this dirtiest of all cities. It, however, possesses no horticultural or botanical attraction. The garden is a source of profit from its flowers, but I suspect more money is made from the sale of liquor in the hotel which is connected with it. It is owned by the railroad company, and is the only attraction at that terminus of the line.”

===Citations===
*Waterhouse, Benjamin, 1811, ''The Botanist'' (quoted in O’Malley 1989: 94)<ref name="O'Malley"></ref>
:“By '''public gardens''', medicinal plants are at the command of the teacher in every lesson, the eye and the mind are perpetually gratified with the succession of curious, scarce and exotic luxuries, here the botanists can compare the doubtful species, and examine them through all the stages of growth, with those to which they are allied, and all these advantages are accumulated in a thousand objects at the same time.”

*Gordon, Alexander, June 1832, “Notices of some of the principle Nurseries and private Gardens in the United States of America,” describing the establishment of James Bloodgood and Co., vicinity of Flushing, NY (''Gardener’s Magazine'' 8: 277–78)<ref>Alexander Gordon, “Notices of Some of the Principal Nurseries and Private Gardens in the United States of America, Made during a Tour through the Country, in the Summer of 1831; with Some Hints on Emigration,” ''Gardener’s Magazine and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 38 (June 1832): 277–89, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2TVP4JIX view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Gardening, in the United States of America, can never arrive at that degree of perfection which it has done in England: the nature of the American government makes this utterly impossible. The abolition of entails, and the repeal of the law of primogeniture, naturally break down into small portions the estates of even the greatest landholders. . . . Still, this may be remedied, by uniting, and forming '''public gardens'''; the only method by which gardening can arrive at perfection in the United States.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1834, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1834: 1206)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1834), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TGQ5WTNR view on Zotero].</ref>
:“6861. '''''Public gardens''''' are designed for recreation, instruction, or commercial purposes. The first include equestrian and pedestrian [[promenade]]s; the second, botanic and experimental gardens; the third, public [[nurseries]], market-gardens, florists’ gardens, [[orchard]]s, seed-gardens, and herb-gardens.”

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], 1844, “Notes and Recollections of a Tour, through part of England, Scotland and France,” describing the Derby Arboretum (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 11: 122)<ref>C. M. Hovey, “Notes and Recollections of a Tour, through part of England, Scotland and France, in the autumn of 1844,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 11, no. 4 (April 1845): 121–34, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/C3VS95KB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Few of our cities or large towns, have done any thing towards establishing places for the health and recreation of the inhabitants. Boston with its beautiful [[Boston Common|Common]], and Philadelphia with its elegant [[square]]s, stand before other cities; but in the newer towns which have recently sprung up, there have been scarcely any which have made any provision for gardens or grounds, where the public could resort and breathe fresh air. We know of no one object so well deserving the attention of men of wealth, who wish to do a noble service to the public, than the formation of '''public gardens''' ''free to all'', in crowded towns or cities.”

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], October 1848, “A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 3: 154, 156)<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, “A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 3, no. 4 (October 1848): 153–58, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VZD8Q6ZN view on Zotero].</ref>
:“I am thinking of '''PUBLIC''' [[PARK]]S and '''GARDENS'''—those salubrious and wholesome breathing places, provided in the midst of, or upon the suburbs of so many towns on the continent—full of really grand and beautiful trees, fresh grass, fountains, and, in many cases, rare plants, shrubs and flowers. . . .
:“Make the public [[parks]] or [[pleasure ground]]s attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of ‘meeting everybody,’ and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily. . . .
:“you must remember that there is no ''forced'' intercourse in the daily reunions in a '''public garden''' or [[park]]. There is room and space enough for pleasant little groups or circles of all tastes and sizes, and no one is necessarily brought into contact with uncongenial spirits; while the daily meeting of families, who ought to sympathise, from natural congeniality, will be more likely to bring them together than any other social gatherings. Then the advantage to our fair countrywomen—health and spirits, of exercise in the pure open air, amid the groups of fresh foliage and flowers, with a chat with friends, and pleasures shared with them, as compared with a listless lounge upon a sofa at home, over the last new novel or pattern of embroidery!”

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], January 1849, “Domestic Notices: Public Parks and Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 3: 348)<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, “Domestic Notices: Kiosques or Summer Houses,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 7, no. 1 (January 1852): 339, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/URTGJE3S view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Upon my life, I believe handsome '''public grounds''', with music, would have the happiest influence in allaying riots and debauchery, crime and secret vices. The workman must have recreation. The rich had better give it than to pay for prisons and penitentiaries.”

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–11)<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I view on Zotero].</ref>
:“. . . in the absence of great '''public gardens''', such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and shrubs to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .
:“But does not this general interest, manifested in these cemeteries, prove that '''public gardens''', established in a liberal and suitable manner, near our large cities, would be equally successful? . . . Would not such gardens educate the public taste more rapidly than anything else? And would not the progress of horticulture, as a science and an art, be equally benefitted by such establishments? The passion for rural pleasures is destined to be the predominant passion of all the more thoughtful and educated portion of our people; and any means of gratifying their love for ornamental or useful gardening, will be eagerly seized by hundreds of thousands of our countrymen.”

<hr>

==Images==
===Inscribed===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1856.jpg|Jeromes, Gilbert, Grant and Company, Shelf Clock, 1839–40. “Public Square New Haven.”

File:1967.jpg|[[A. J. Downing]], ''Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington'', 1851.

File:0023.jpg|[[A. J. Downing]], ''Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington'', 1851. Manuscript copy by Nathaniel Michler, 1867.
</gallery>

===Associated===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1996.jpg|Thomas Holme, “A Mapp of Ye Improved Part of Pensilvania in America, Divided into Countyes Townships and Lotts,” c. 1687.

File:0134.jpg|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0071.jpg|[[Thomas Jefferson]], Plan for the City of Washington, March 1791.

File:0300.jpg|Thomas Birch, ''Fairmount Water Works'', 1821.

File:0539.jpg|John Henry Bufford, “Fairmount from the first Landing,” sheet music cover for ''The Fairmount Quadrilles'', 1836.

File:0541.jpg|John T. Bowen, ''A View of the Fairmount Water-Works with Schuylkill in the distance, taken from the Mount'', 1838.

File:1193.jpg|David J. Kennedy, ''McAran’s Garden'', 1840.

File:0903.jpg|M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), ''Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia'', 1843.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

===Attributed===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:0144.jpg|Thomas Holme, “A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania in America,” 1681.

File:1010.jpg|James Wadsworth, ''Plan of the City of New Haven'', 1748.

File:0905.jpg|Pierre Pharoux, Plan for Esperanza (Speranza), 1794–95.

File:0324.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], ''Back of the State House, Philadelphia'', 1800.

File:0901.jpg|George Bridport, Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia, 1816.

File:0039.jpg|Charles Bulfinch, ''Plan of Grounds adjacent to the Capitol'', 1822.

File:0053.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Castle Garden, N. York, c. 1825–28.

File:0052.jpg|W. J. Bennett, ''Broad Way from the Bowling Green'', c. 1826.

File:1140.jpg|Hugh Bridport, ''The Pagoda and Labyrinth Garden'', c. 1828.

File:0479.jpg|FitzHugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

File:0487.jpg|William Wade, ''Castle Garden: From the Battery'', 1848. This view shows two public gardens. The Battery, an open, free promenade, and Castle Gardens, a commercial garden with bathing facilities.

File:0567.jpg|Sam A. Gilbert, ''A Plan of the City of Charleston'', 1849.

File:0025.jpg|Robert P. Smith, ''View of Washington'', c. 1850.

File:0042.jpg|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''Washington, D.C. with projected improvements'', c. 1852.

File:1803.jpg|Benjamin R. Evans, ''Lemon Hill'', 1852.

File:0468.jpg|George Hayward, ''Contoit’s Garden, Broadway, New York, 1830'', 1855.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]
[[Category: Garden Types]]
[[Category: Public Spaces]]

Arch

2018-08-14T17:39:51Z

E-athens:

See also: [[Grotto]]

==History==
[[File:0974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Joseph Jacques Ramée, ''Monument to the memory of general George Washington, to be erected at Baltimore'', design for the Washington Monument, 1813.]]
[[File:0901.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, George Bridport, Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia, 1816.]]
[[File:0855.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], ''Garden Arch at Montgomery Place'', c. 1850.]]
Arch had three distinct, yet interrelated meanings or applications in the context of 18th- and 19th-century American landscape design. The first, which is the most heavily documented, is the use of arches in association with commemorative celebrations, as specified by [[Ephraim Chambers]] in 1741 ([[#Chambers|view text]]) and reiterated by [[Noah Webster]] in 1828 ([[#Webster|view text]]). The antecedents to this practice include the use of ancient Roman arches: large-scale, inverted U-shaped structures, erected to memorialize military victories. In North America, the building of such celebratory arches occurred most frequently in the immediate post-Revolutionary period. For specific festivities, arches were often made of impermanent materials, as in the case of the temporary arch [[Charles Willson Peale]] created for Philadelphia to mark the declaration of peace on December 2, 1783. General [[George Washington|George Washington’s]] arrival in cities in the early federalist period was frequently marked by the erection of processional arches, such as the arch of cut laurel and evergreen branches erected at Gray’s Ferry in Philadelphia in 1789 [[[#Fig_6|See Fig. 6]]]. The arch, with its classical referents, was also the symbol of choice for permanent monuments to President Washington in the early 19th century. The designs of Joseph Jacques Ramée in Baltimore and of George Bridport in Philadelphia [Figs. 1 and 2] not only commemorated Washington’s achievements but also marked the entrance as a space set aside for public use.

[[File:1759.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, [[J. C. Loudon]], “Entrance to the Flower-garden at Wimbledon House,” in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 641, fig. 267.]]
These examples point to a second, closely related function of arches as spatial dividers or [[gate]]s, which also relies upon antique precedents of monumental arches marking entrances to cities or towns. This practice was translated to the American context with shifts in scale and message. Eliza Southgate’s description (1802) of the garden at the [[Elias Hasket Derby Farm]], for example, indicates that arches were used to mark three subdivisions of the landscape and to direct the visitor from the lower to the upper garden ([[#Southgate|view text]]).

The third use of the term stemmed from its most basic meaning, summed up by [[Noah Webster|Webster]] in 1828 as “a segment of part of a circle,” translated in architecture into “a concave or hollow structure of stone or brick” . [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale’s]] description of the stone arch that he created over the stream in his garden exemplifies this definition of arch ([[#Peale|view text]]). Neither celebratory in nature nor necessarily acting as a spatial divider, the arch created a small cave-like space that [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale]] tried unsuccessfully to use as a root cellar.

The design or style of the arch varied by context: celebratory arches were typically classical in inspiration, but other styles, such as the Gothic and [[Chinese manner|Chinese]], were used for arches erected in gardens. The high, arching spandrels of the Gothic form allowed the erection of covered shelters without walls (with the open arches supporting the weight of the roof), as in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]]’s garden arch for [[Montgomery place|Montgomery Place]] on the Hudson [Fig. 3]. [[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|J. C. Loudon]] illustrated several rustic arches in his publications that were made of [[rockwork]] [[[#Fig_9|See Fig. 9]]] or rough hewn tree trunks [Fig. 4].

—''Anne L. Helmreich''

<hr>

==Texts==
===Usage===
[[File:0045.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Lester Hoadley Seller, A Reconstruction of Peale’s Transparent Triumphal Arch, 1783-84.]]
*[[Peale, Charles Willson]], December 8, 1783, describing his triumphal arch erected in Philadelphia, PA (quoted in Sellers 1969: 196)<ref>Charles Coleman Sellers, “Charles Willson Peale with Patron and Populace,” ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' 59, no. 3 (1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CKDWT3TP view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I am at this time employed in painting a transparent triumphal '''Arch''' for the Public rejoicings on the peace, and very much hurried.” [Fig. 5]

<div id="Fig_6"></div>[[File:0115.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Trenchard after Charles Willson Peale, “An East View of GRAY’S FERRY, near Philadelphia, with the TRIUMPHAL ARCHES, &c. erected for the Reception of General Washington, April 20th. 1789,” in ''The Columbian Magazine'' 3 (May 1789): pl. opp. p. 282. [[#Fig_6_cite|Back up to history]]]]
* Anonymous, May 1789, “Description of General Washington’s Reception at Gray’s Ferry on the Schuylkill, April 20” (1789: 282)<ref>Anonymous, “Account of the Preparations at Gray’s Ferry, on the River Schuylkill, and the Reception of General Washington There, April 20, 1789, on His Way to the Seat of the Federal Government, to Take upon High Office of President of the United States,” ''The Columbian Magazine'' 3, no. 5 (May 1789): 282–83, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HDUKG8PG view on Zotero].</ref>

:“A triumphal '''arch''', 20 feet high, decorated with laurel and other ever-greens, was erected at each end, (''a'' and ''b'') in a style of neat simplicity: under the '''arch''' of that at the west end (a) hung a crown of laurel, connected by a line which extended to a pine tree on the high and rocky bank of the river, where the other extremity was held by a handsome boy, beautifully robed in white linen.” [Fig. 6]

* Bentley, William, October 22, 1790, describing the [[Elias Hasket Derby Farm]], Peabody, MA (1962: 1:180)<ref name="Bentley">William Bentley, ''The Diary of William Bentley, D.D., Pastor of the East Church, Salem, Massachusetts'' (Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, 1962), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B63ABACF/ view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[231] 22. . . . The Principal Garden is in three parts. . . . We ascend from the house two steps in each division. The passages have no [[gate]]s, only a naked '''arch''' with a key stone frame, of wood painted white above 10 feet high.”

* Codman, John, 1791, describing the Grange, estate of Dr. John and Sarah Codman, Lincoln, MA (Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Codman Family Manuscript Collection, box 5, folder 54)

:“1791 Accounts of Sundry Jobs . . . Dr. John Codman Esq. to Thomas Clement . . . April 20 To 40 days work on [[fence]]s and [[Espalier]]s . . . 4/6 . . . 9 . . . 0 . . . 0 . . . to 30 days work on '''Arches''' steps and [[Border]] Boards 5/ . . . 7 . . . 10 . . . 0.”

* Bentley, William, October 4, 1792, describing the residence of Thomas Brattle, Cambridge, MA (1962: 1:398)<ref name="Bentley"></ref>

:“[58] 4. . . . I visited Mr Brattle’s Gardens, &c. at Cambridge. We first saw the [[fountain]] & [[canal]] opposite to his House, & the [[walk]] on the side of another [[canal]] in the road, flowing under an '''arch''' & in the direction of the outer [[fence]].”

* Pintard, John, 1801, describing New Orleans, LA (quoted in Sterling 1951: 230)<ref>David Lee Sterling, ed., “New Orleans, 1801: An Account by John Pintard,” ''Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' 34 (1951): 217–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/8A58JVVT view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Over some few [graves], brick '''arches''' were turned.”

* <div id="Southgate"></div>Southgate, Eliza, July 6, 1802, describing [[Elias Hasket Derby Farm]], Peabody, MA (quoted in Kimball 1940: 75–76)<ref>Fiske Kimball, ''Mr. Samuel McIntire, Carver, the Architect of Salem'' (Portland, ME: Southworth-Anthoensen, 1940), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/I9J3RBHB view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Southgate_cite|back up to history]]

:“There are 3 divisions in the gardens, and you pass from the lower one to the upper thro’ several '''arches''' rising one above the other. From the lower [[gate]] you have a fine perspective view of the whole range, rising gradually until the sight is terminated by a [[hermitage]]. The [[summer house]] in the center has an '''arch''' thro’ it, with 3 doors on each side which open into little apartments and one of them opens to a staircase by which you ascend into a square room, the whole size of the building.”

* Anonymous, June 25, 1805, describing in the ''New York Daily Advertiser'' [[Vauxhall Garden]], New York, NY (quoted in Eberlein and Hubbard 1944: 172)<ref>Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, “The American ‘Vauxhall’ of the Federal Era Article Stable,” ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 68, no. 2 (April 1944): 150–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RVGSTS36 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The labour and expence of this establishment has exceeded that of any similar one in the United States . . . [that] he has at a very considerable risk and expence, procured from Europe a choice selection of [[Statue]]s and Busts, mostly from the first models of Antiquity . . . the [[walk]]s are ornamented with [[Pillar]]s, '''Arches''', Pedestals, Figures, &c. the whole of which when illuminated, cannot fail to create pleasure.”

[[File:1234_detail.jpg|thumb|200px|Fig. 7, John Vanderlyn, ''George Washington'' [detail], 1834.]]
*[[Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], March 17, 1807, in a letter to [[Thomas Jefferson]], describing the [[White House]], Washington, DC (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

:“My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president’s house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to throw an '''Arch''', or '''Arches''' over the road in order to procure a private communication between the [[pleasure ground]] of the [[White House|president’s house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public.” [Fig. 7]

*[[Forman, Martha Ogle]], September 1, 1824, describing the entrance of the Marquis de La Fayette into Newark, NJ (1976: 187)<ref>Martha Ogle Forman, ''Plantation Life at Rose Hill: The Diaries of Martha Ogle Forman, 1814–1845'' (Wilmington, DE: Historical Society of Delaware, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EHQ6UZGE view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The entrance of La Fayette into Newark was very interesting, he was ushered in by the firing of Cannon and ringing of bells. They had erected on the [[green]] a number of '''arches''' representing the different states, all wreathed with Laurels and the effect was very beautiful.”

* <div id="Peale"></div>[[Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing [[Belfield]], estate of Charles Willson Peale, Germantown, PA (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 24, 41)<ref>Kateryna A. Rudnytzky, “The Union of Landscape and Art: Peale’s Garden at Belfield” (Honors thesis, LaSalle University, 1986), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KJK46QBZ view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Peale_cite|back up to history]]

:“. . . finding a spring stream in the garden he followed it up the side of the hill, untill it become [''sic''] of some depth and among large stones—and having at this place made a considerable cavity in the bank, round the source of the Spring, to wall it up this hollow and '''arch''' it over, it was thought that it might be an excellent plan to keep cabbage and turnups &c. during the winter season, but on tryal it was found too moist and warm. . . . This tryal gave the Idea of building a [[greenhouse]] journing to the '''arched''' cave—and that [[greenhouse|Green house]] keepted all exotice plants perfectly well without the aid of stoves in the severest winters. . . .

:“. . . in a part of the Garden where a [[seat]] in the shade was often wanted, he built a shed or small room, and to hide that salt like box, and to try his art of Painting, he made the front like a [[Gate way]] with a step to form a [[seat]], and above, steps painted as representing a passage through an '''arch''' beyond on which was represented a western sky, and to ornament the upper part over the '''arch''', he painted several figures on boards cut the outlines of said figures as representing [[statue]]s in sculpture.”

[[File:1758.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[J. C. Loudon]], “Rustic arch and vase,” in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 581, fig. 231.]]
*[[Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing Philadelphia, PA (Miller et al., eds., 2000: 5:91)<ref>Lillian B. Miller et al., eds., ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family'', vol. 5, ''The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'' (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero].</ref>

:“When Peace was concluded between Great Britain & the united States of America, President Dickenson and the Executive Counsil employed Peale to paint a Triumphal '''Arch''' in transparent Colours. It consisted of three '''arches''', the Center '''Arch''' was 20 feet high, and the side '''arches''' each 15 feet high, and the whole length extended nearly to the width of Market street, and it was 46 feet high, independant of the statues of the 4 cardenal Virtues larger than human figures. The architecture was of the Ionic order, ornamented with reaths of Flowers, in festoons and winding round the Columes. It was also ornamented in sundry parts of the building as follows[:]

:“A figure of Peace, represented in a beautiful female figure, and various attendants amidst the Clouds. These were to be lighted by lights placed behind the clouds and out of the sight of the spectators, and doubtless would have had a most pleasing affect in passing down from the Top of the Presidents House to the Triumphal '''Arch''', with a fuse in the hand of Peace, which was to be directed to a fuse which would light 1100 Lamps, & illuminate the whole of the Triumphal '''Arch''' in a minute.”

<div id="Fig_9"></div>[[File:1757.jpg|thumb|Fig. 9, [[J. C. Loudon]], “View of the rustic arch,” in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 586, fig. 240. [[#Fig_9_cite|Back up to history]]]]
*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1838, describing the grounds of the Lawrencian Villa, residence of Mrs. Lawrence, Drayton Green, near London, England (1838: 581, 584)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''The Suburban Gardener, and Villa Companion'' (London: Longman et al., 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BQVBJ48F view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The next scene of interest is the Italian [[walk]], arrived at the point 8, in which, and looking back towards the paddock, we have, as a termination to one end of that walk, the rustic '''arch''' and [[vase]]. . . . [Fig. 8]

:“At 26, we have the view of the [[rustic style|rustic]] '''arch''' and Cupid. . . .” [Fig. 9]

* Knapp, Samuel, 1848, describing the house of Timothy Dexter, Newburyport, MA (1848: 19)<ref>Samuel L. Knapp, ''Life of Lord Timothy Dexter'' (Newburyport, MA: John G. Tilton, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CHXTAR49 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Directly in front of the door of the house, on a Roman '''arch''' of great beauty and taste, stood general Washington in his military garb.”

[[File:0351.jpg|thumb|Fig. 10, [[A. J. Downing]], “Presidents Arch at the end of Penna Avenue,” 1851.]]
*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], 1851, describing plans for improving the public grounds in Washington, DC (quoted in Washburn 1967: 54)<ref>Wilcomb E. Washburn, “Vision of Life for the Mall,” ''AIA Journal'', 47, no.3 (March 1967): 52–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TA59MHC7 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose to take down the present small stone gates to the President’s Grounds, and place at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue a large and handsome '''Arch'''way of marble, which shall not only form the main entrance from the City to the whole of the proposed new Grounds, but shall also be one of the principal Architectural ornaments of the city; inside of this '''arch'''-way is a semicircle with three [[gate]]s commanding three carriage roads. Two of these lead into the Parade or President’s Park, the third is a private carriage-drive into the President’s grounds; this [[gate]] should be protected by a Porter’s lodge, and should only be open on reception days, thus making the President’s grounds on this side of the house quite private at all other times. . . .” [Fig. 10]

===Citations===
* <div id="Chambers"></div>[[Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741, ''Cyclopaedia'' (1741: 1:n.p.)<ref>Ephraim Chambers, ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences . . .'', 5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741–43) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Chambers_cite|back up to history]]

:“'''ARCH''', in architecture, is a concave structure, raised with a mould bent in form of the '''''arch''''' of a curve, and serving as the inward support of any superstructure. . . .

:“''Triumphal'' '''ARCH''', is a [[gate]], or passage into a city, built of stone, or marble, and magnificently adorned with architecture, sculpture, inscriptions, &c. serving not only to adorn a triumph, at the return from a victorious expedition, but also to preserve the memory of the conqueror to posterity. See TRIUMPH.

:“The most celebrated triumphal '''''arches''''', now remaining of antiquity, are that of Titus, of Septimius Severus, and of Constantine, at Rome, of which we have figures given us by Des Godetz.”

[[File:1676.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, William and John Halfpenny, “A Chinese Triumphant Arch,” in ''Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste'' (1755), pl. 14.]]
* Halfpenny, William and John, 1755, ''Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste'' (1775; repr., 1968: 8)<ref>William and John Halfpenny, ''Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste'' (1755; repr., Bronx, NY, and London: Benjamin Blom, 1968), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/9JKMEXVU view on Zotero].</ref>

:“PLATE XIV.

:“Shews the Plan and Elevation of a triumphal '''Arch''', to be situated opposite the Front of a Dwelling-house, at the utmost Extent of a large [[Parterre]], through which commences a Long-[[walk]], inclosed by [[Wood]]s or other rural [[Plantation]]s. This '''Arch''' may be built in a good Manner for about 470 ''l''.” [Fig. 11]

*[[Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1803: 144, 146)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI view on Zotero].</ref>

:“If the entrance to a [[park]] be made from a town or village, the [[gate]] may with great propriety be distinguished by an '''arch'''. . . .

:“An '''arched''' [[gateway]] at the entrance of a place is never used with so much apparent propriety as when it forms a part of a town or village. . .

:“The '''arch''' should not be a mere aperture in a single [[wall]], but it should have depth in proportion to its breadth.

:“It should have some visible and marked connexion either with a [[wall]], or with the town to which it belongs, and not appear insulated.

:“It should not be placed in so low a situation that we may rather see over it than through it.

:“Its architecture should correspond with that of the house.”

* <div id="Webster"></div>[[Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (1828: 1:n.p.)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', 2 vols. (New York: S. Converse, 1828), vol. 1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/R6R883RR view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Webster_cite|back up to history]]

:“'''ARCH''', ''n''. [See ''Arc''.] A segment or part of a circle. A concave or hollow structure of stone or brick, supported by its own curve. It may be constructed of wood, and supported by the mechanism of the work. This species of structure is much used in [[bridge]]s.

:“A vault is properly a broad '''arch'''. ''Encyc''.

:“2. The space between two piers of a [[bridge]], when '''arched'''; or any place covered with an '''arch'''.

:“3. Any curvature, in form of an '''arch'''.

:“4. The vault of heaven, or sky. ''Shak''.

:“''Triumphal arches'' are magnificent structures at the entrance of cities, erected to adorn a triumph and perpetuate the memory of the event.”

[[File:0911.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, “Southern Villa—Romanesque Style,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 353, fig. 168.]]
*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850; repr., 1968: 353, 354)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-Houses, and Villas'' (New York: D. Appleton, 1850; repr., New York: Da Capo, 1968), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Looking at the exterior of this design, the student of expression will find it marked by dignity, variety, and harmony;...harmony in the predominance of the round-'''arch''' and other features of the style chosen. . . .

:“We see refined culture symbolized in the round-'''arch''', with its continually recurring curves of beauty, in the spacious and elegant [[arcade]]s, inviting to leisurely conversations, in all those outlines and details, suggestive of restrained and orderly action, as contrasted with the upward, aspiring, imaginative feeling indicated in the pointed or Gothic styles of architecture. . . .

:“In calling this villa ''Romanesque'', we only wish to be understood that we have gleaned from that style certain ideas of composition, which, appearing to us well suited for our purpose, we have adopted them in designing a country-house suited to a first class residence here....The prevalence of the round-'''arch''', of [[arcade]]s, of intersecting '''arches''', and of roofs higher than in the Grecian style, but lower than in Gothic styles, characterizes this architecture." [Fig. 12]

<hr>

==Images==
===Inscribed===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:1676.jpg|William and John Halfpenny, “A Chinese Triumphant Arch,” in ''Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste'' (1755), pl. 14.

Image:0977.jpg|Samuel Hill, ''View of the Triumphal Arch and Colonnade erected in Boston in honor of the President of the United States, Oct. 24, 1789'', 1790.

Image:0887.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], “A View of the Grand Civic Arch,” 1824.

Image:1707.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], “Seat formed of moss and hazel rods" and "Trellised arches for climbers,” in ''An Encyclopædia of Gardening'' (1834), p. 1196, figs. 960–62.

Image:1758.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], “Rustic arch and vase,” in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 581, fig. 231.

Image:1757.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], “View of the rustic arch,” in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 586, fig. 240.

Image:0935.jpg|Alexander Walsh, “Plan of a Garden,” in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (March 31, 1841): 308. “TT . . . two seats surrounded by an arched arbor"

Image:0855.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], ''Garden Arch at Montgomery Place'', c. 1850.

</gallery>

===Associated===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0045.jpg|Lester Hoadley Seller, A Reconstruction of Peale’s Transparent Triumphal Arch, 1783–84.

Image:0115.jpg|James Trenchard after Charles Willson Peale, “An East View of GRAY’S FERRY, near Philadelphia, with the TRIUMPHAL ARCHES, &c. erected for the Reception of General Washington, April 20th. 1789,” in ''The Columbian Magazine'' 3, no. 5 (May 1789): pl. opp. p. 282.

Image:0911.jpg|Anonymous, “Southern Villa—Romanesque Style,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 353, fig. 168.

Image:0351.jpg|[[A. J. Downing]], “Presidents Arch at the end of Penna Avenue,” 1851.

</gallery>

===Attributed===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1256.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], ''[[Monticello]]: 2nd version (west elevation)'', recto, 1803.

Image:0974.jpg|Joseph Jacques Ramée, ''Monument to the memory of general George Washington, to be erected at Baltimore'', design for the Washington Monument, 1813.

Image:0901.jpg|George Bridport, Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia, 1816.

Image:1233.jpg|[[Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville]], ''Entrance Gate to the White House Garden, Washington, DC'', 1818.

Image:1234.jpg|John Vanderlyn, ''George Washington'', 1834.

Image:0831.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Sketch for a Monument to President Andrew Jackson, c. 1835–40.

Image:1226.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Sketch for a Monument to President Andrew Jackson, c. 1835–40.

Image:1759.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], “Entrance to the Flower-garden at Wimbledon House,” in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 641, fig. 267.

Image:0040.jpg|W. H. Bartlett, “Washington from the President’s House,” in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ''American Scenery'' (1840), vol. 2, pl. 26.

Image:1039.jpg|Anonymous, The Flower-Garden, in Joseph Breck, ''The Flower-Garden: or, Breck’s Book of Flowers'' (1841), frontispiece.

File:1213.jpg|C. A. Hedin, “Front Elevation on Live Oak Street,” 1853.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]
[[Category: Garden Ornaments/Embellishments]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T17:37:36Z

E-athens:

'''Boston Common''' is the oldest public park in the United States. Over time it has served as pastureland, [[burying ground]], military encampment, theater for political action, and [[pleasure ground]], sometimes filling these various roles concurrently. Its history tracks the increasing levels of intervention in American landscape as its more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to its use for recreation and leisure.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common; The Park; Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html National Park Service]

[https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common City of Boston]

[http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml The Freedom Trail Foundation]

[http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common Friends of the Public Garden]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Vauxhall Garden

2018-08-14T17:29:34Z

E-athens: Created page with " ==Overview== '''Alternate Names:''' '''Site Dates:''' '''Site Owner(s):''' '''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished <hr> ==History== <hr> ==Texts== <h..."

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' 
'''Site Dates:''' 
'''Site Owner(s):''' 
'''Location:''' New York, NY; Demolished 

<hr>

==History==

<hr>

==Texts==

<hr>

==Images==

<hr>

==Map==

<hr>

==Other Resources==

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Robert Buist

2018-08-14T17:18:22Z

E-athens:

'''Robert Buist''' (November 14, 1805–July 13, 1880) was a Scottish-born nursery- and seedsman based in Philadelphia. Through his businesses and his garden manuals, Buist became one of the most influential figures in American horticulture during the 19th century.

==History==
[[File:2167.JPG|thumb|left|Fig. 1, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.]]
Robert Buist was born in Cupar Fyfe, Scotland, on November 14, 1805 [Fig. 1]. Though little is known about his early life, he is believed to have trained as a gardener with William McNab, who served from 1810 until 1848 as the Principal Gardener of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. McNab was known for his careful relocation of the Edinburgh garden to its present site at Inverleith, with much of the transfer of plants occurring between 1821 and 1823, possibly during Buist’s tenure there.<ref>“Principal Gardeners—William McNab,” ''Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh'' 3, part 15 (March 1908): 303, 306–7, 319, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later moved to Derbyshire to work in the gardens of General Charles Stanhope, the 3rd Earl of Harrington, at Elvaston Castle, before immigrating to the United States in August 1828.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. Meehan’s 1880 obituary of Buist is perhaps the most fulsome single description of his life and work. U. P. Hedrick discusses Buist’s relation to other nursery- and seedsmen of the period; see his ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> On arriving in Philadelphia, Buist quickly immersed himself in its horticultural community, working briefly at David Landreth’s [[nursery]] in Moyamensing before becoming the gardener of [[Henry Pratt|Henry Pratt’s]] [[Lemon Hill]] [Fig. 2]. In June 1829 he participated in the first exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, with which he maintained a lifelong affiliation.<ref>James Boyd, ''A History of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1827–1927'' (Philadelphia: Printed for the Society, 1929), 36, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UN9TRH8T/q/boyd view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:2125.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2: J. Albright (illustrator), J. B. Longacre (engraver), Lemon Hill, in ''The Floral Magazine and Botanical Repository'' (1832).]]
By September 1830 Buist had left his post at [[Lemon Hill]] to go into business with the nurseryman Thomas Hibbert, whose [[greenhouse]]s were located on 13th Street between Lombard and Cedar (now South) Streets. As part owner, Buist had a degree of autonomy that he likely lacked in his earlier positions—he described his situation at Landreth’s, where he was relegated to hoeing weeds, as especially dismal.<ref>Meehan 1880, 372, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Within his first year of joining Hibbert, the pair considerably expanded the [[nursery]] by purchasing [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] former [[botanic garden]], Upsal, and Buist travelled back to Scotland and England “to make arrangements . . . to receive continued supplies of all kinds of new and desirable Plants and Flowers.”<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero].</ref> While abroad, Buist also paid a visit to [[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon]]—the preeminent horticulturist in England—and returned to Philadelphia in November 1831 with his longtime friend, the architect [[John Notman]].<ref>For Buist’s visit to Loudon, see William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero]. Buist would be essential in securing Notman’s 1856 commission for the entrance gate of Philadelphia’s Mount Vernon Cemetery, where Buist was treasurer. Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect: 1810–1865'', exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), 18, 215, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z/q/greiff view on Zotero].</ref> Buist’s travels yielded some fine stock, particularly of dahlias, which was described in the May 15, 1832, issue of the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' as “upwards of fifty of the most distinct [dahlias] in color and the largest in size; some of them Glob[e]-flowered, and Anemone-flowered, which are considered beautiful and rare.”<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>

The partnership of Hibbert & Buist was successful but not long-lived; Thomas Hibbert died on May 11, 1833, just a year after the ''National Gazette''’s report.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert’s widow determined to carry on her husband’s business while Buist struck out on his own, using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock to open his own independent nursery on 12th Street [Fig. 3] and a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street.<ref>C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero]. Buist’s nursery extended from 12th Street along Cedar, abutting the Hibbert nursery on 13th Street.</ref> [[Nursery of Robert Buist|“R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery”]] featured a [[greenhouse]] 150 feet in length, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, that was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different plants he stocked. The front compartment was referred to as the “New-Holland House” and featured various species of ''Banksia''—which Buist likely learned to cultivate while working with McNab, who specialized in the plant<ref>“Principal Gardeners” 1908, 303, 307–8, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VNW84XXR view on Zotero].</ref>—and was followed by the [[hothouse]], which featured the canary bird flower (''Tropaeolum peregrinum''), petunias, ficuses, and other rare plants. Toward the rear Buist created compartments dedicated to specific types of flower, including the Geranium House, the Camellia House, and the Rose House.<ref>Descriptions of the nursery layout can be found in the ''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, and Hovey 1835, 203–6, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3: Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4: A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.]]
Buist’s [[nursery]] and seed warehouse throve finely during the 1830s and 1840s, allowing him to expand his business. By 1837 he had built a separate camellia house and small stove at South 12th Street [Fig. 4], and by 1849 he had established a [[nursery]] for fruit and ornamental trees southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, where he eventually consolidated all but his seed business in 1850.<ref>[C. M. Hovey], “Notes on Some of the Nurseries and Private Gardens in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia, visited in the early part of the month of March, 1837,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 202, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> During these decades Buist remained an active member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, gaining recognition for his introduction of verbenas and various types of roses to North America and for the introduction of the poinsettia to Europe, as well as for helping found the American Pomological Society.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. For his introduction of the poinsettia to Europe, see Joel Fry, “The Introduction of the Poinsettia at Bartram’s Garden,” ''Bartram Broadside'' (Winter 1994–95): 3–7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/GCQJCC4J view on Zotero].</ref> He also authored three frequently reprinted gardening manuals—the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' (1832), the ''Rose Manual'' (1844), and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' (1847)—which helped make him one of the most recognizable figures in American horticulture.<ref>All three books went through numerous editions and reprints: ''American Flower Directory'' went through 6 editions and at least 19 reprints between 1832 and 1865; the ''Rose Manual'' went through 4 editions between 1844 and 1854; and the ''Family Kitchen Gardener'' went through at least 19 reprints between 1847 and 1867. For a discussion of Buist’s importance as an author, see Hedrick 1988, 481–2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref>

Even in the midst of these professional accomplishments, Buist suffered various familial challenges in the 1840s. His wife, Jane Menzies Buist—the mother of his sons, John and Robert Jr.—died from tuberculosis on July 12, 1840, and Buist remarried shortly after to Ellen Chambers (née Stephens), with whom he had one daughter.<ref>Jane Menzies’s death is noted in the July 14, 1840, issue of the ''National Gazette''. Her cause of death was “pthisis pulmonalis”; see “Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKS8-DJM : March 8, 2018), Jane Buist, July 13, 1840; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, PA; FHL microfilm 1,976,401.</ref> During this period he also lodged two lawsuits against his brother William, who had established a nursery in Washington, DC, and who may have tried to bolster his business by trading on Robert’s success.<ref>William Buist’s Washington, DC, nursery was advertised as early as May 1837 and was the subject of a notice in the ''Magazine of Horticulture'' in 1842; see the ''Daily Globe'' (May 3, 1837): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/F9DWFU8Q view on Zotero], and “Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 8, no. 4, ed. C. M. Hovey (April 1842): 123–25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/IRC7B9MN/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Though the court cases remain obscure, the results are not: in September 1847 Alexander Hunter, the marshal of Washington, DC, seized William’s nursery “to satisfy judicials . . . in favor of Robert Buist against said Wm. Buist.” Bankrupt and out of business, William died in July 1850.<ref>“Marshal’s Sale,” ''Daily Union'' (September 22, 1847): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/72GQ8T8E view on Zotero], and “Deaths,” ''Daily National Intelligencer'' (July 6, 1850): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XZ2672NN view on Zotero].</ref> Robert’s home and business, by contrast, was full to brimming at this time: according to the 1850 federal census, taken in July that year, Buist was supporting not only his new wife, stepdaughter, daughter, and son Robert Jr., but also members of his wife’s extended family and about 20 servants, laborers, and gardeners, all from Scotland and Ireland.<ref>“United States Census, 1850,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4CD-WP3 : April 12, 2016), Robert Buist, Kingsessing, Philadelphia, PA, United States; citing family 93, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).</ref>

The number of gardeners and laborers Buist brought over from Britain and Ireland greatly enhanced botanical knowledge in the United States. His service to American horticulture was described as twofold—Colonel Marshall P. Wilder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society noted that “he not only introduced rare plants, but rare men.”<ref>Quoted in Meehan 1880, 374, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Buist remained active in the plant trade throughout the 1850s, 60s, and 70s, and the value of his businesses increased considerably: the 1850 census notes the “value of property owned” as $35,000, and the 1860 census indicates a personal worth estimated at $45,000, exclusive of the impressive $125,000 Buist owned in real estate.<ref>See “United States Census, 1850,” and “United States Census, 1860,” ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXRX-SZR : December 13, 2017), Robert Buist, 1860.</ref> It may have been his financial success that allowed Buist to relinquish control of the seed warehouse to his younger son, Robert Jr., by September 1861, and to direct his attention largely to floriculture. Robert Buist fully retired from the [[nursery]] business in 1876 and died four years later, at the age of 74.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero]. By September 1861, the proprietor of 922 Market Street—where Buist had eventually relocated his seed warehouse from Chestnut Street—was identified as Robert Buist Jr. See ''The Press'' (September 2, 1861): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HC94346M view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9)<ref>Robert Buist, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TI7IE55B/q/american%20flower%20garden%20directory view on Zotero].</ref>
“The [[French style|French]] partially adopt the . . . [Italian] system, interspersing it with [[parterre]]s and figures of [[statue|statuary]] work of every character and description. When such is well designed and neatly executed, it has a lively and interesting effect; but now the refined taste says these vagaries are too fantastic, and entirely out of place.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 9–10)
“A late writer says of [[Dutch style|Dutch gardening]], that it ‘is rectangular formality’: they take great pride in trimming their trees of yew, holly, and other evergreens, into every variety of form, such as mops, moons, halberds, chairs &c. In such a system it is indispensable to order that the compartments correspond in formality, nothing being more offensive to the eye than incongruous mixtures of character.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 10–11)
“. . . if access to a spring can be obtained, it will prove a desideratum in completing the whole: it can be available for a fish-[[pond]] or an acquariam [''sic''], or can be converted into a swamp for the cultivation of many of our most beautiful and interesting native plants.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11)
“For perspicuity, admit that the area to be enclosed [for a flower garden] should be from one to three acres, a circumambient [[walk]] should be traced at some distance within the [[fence]], buy which the whole is enclosed; the inferior [[walk]]s should partly circumscribe and intersect the general surface in an easy serpentine and sweeping manner, and at such distances as would allow an agreeable view of the flowers when walking for exercise. [[Walk]]s may be in breadth from three to twenty feet, although from four to ten feet is generally adopted . . . covered with gravel, and then firmly rolled with a heavy roller. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 11–12)
“But, in commencing these operations, a design [for the flower garden] should be kept in view that will tend to expand, improve, and beautify the situation; not, as we too frequently see it, the [[parterre]] and [[border]]s with narrow [[walk]]s up to the very household entrance: such is decidedly bad taste, unless compelled for want of room. . . . The outer margin of the [flower] garden should be planted with the largest trees and shrubs: the interior arrangement may be in detached groups of [[shrubbery]] and [[parterre]]s.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 12)
“In some secluded spot [[rock-work]] or a [[fountain]], or both, may be erected; the foundation of the former should consist of mounds of earth, which will answer the purpose of more solid erections, and will make the stones go farther: rocks of the same kind and colour should be placed together, and the greatest possible variety of character, size and form, should be studied, the whole showing an evident and well defined connexion. These erections generally are stiff artificial disjointed masses, and often decorated with plants having no affinity to their arid location.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“All the large divisions [of a flower garden] should be intersected by small [[alley]]s, or paths, about one and a half or two feet wide.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 13)
“When there is not a [[green-house]] attached to the flower garden, there should be at least a few sashes of framing or a forcing pit to bring forward early annuals, &c., for early blooming. These should be situate [''sic''] in some spot detached from the garden by a [[fence]] of Roses, trained to [[trellis|trellises]], Chinese Arbour Vitae, Privet, or even Maclura makes excellent fences. . . .”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 20)
“Thick masses of [[shrubbery]], called [[thicket]]s, are sometimes wanted. In these there should be plenty of evergreens. A mass of deciduous shrubs has no imposing effect during winter.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 31)
“BOX [[edging|EDGINGS]].

“May be planted any time this month [March], or beginning of next, which in most seasons will be preferable. We will give a few simple directions how to accomplish the work. In the first place, dig over the ground deeply where the [[edging]] is intended to be planted, breaking the soil fine, and keeping it to a proper height, namely, about one inch higher than the side of the [[walk]]; but the taste of the operator will best decide, according to the situation.”

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 32)
Grass verges for [[walk]]s and [[border]]s, although frequently used, are, by no means, desirable, except where variety is required; they are the most laborious to keep in order, and at best are inelegant, and the only object in their favor is, there being everywhere accessible.

*Buist, Robert, 1841, ''The American Flower Garden Directory'', 2nd ed. (1841: 145, 148)
“ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A [[hothouse|HOT-HOUSE]]. . . .

“''Site and Aspect''.—The house should stand on a situation naturally dry, and, if possible, sheltered from the north-west, and clear from all shade on the south, east, and west, so that the sun may at all times act effectually upon the house. The standard principle, as to aspect, is to set the front directly to the south. Any deviation from that point should incline to the east.

“''Dimensions''.—The length may be from ten feet upward; if beyond forty feet, the number of fires and flues are multiplied. The medium width is from twelve to sixteen feet. . . .

“''Bark Pit''.—We consider such an erection in the centre of a [[hot-house]] a nuisance, and prefer a stage, which may be constructed according to taste. It should be made of the best Carolina pine, leaving a passage all round, to cause free circulation of air.”

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.

File:2167.JPG|“Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): pl. opp. 372.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:People]]

Belfield

2018-08-14T14:35:25Z

E-athens:

'''Belfield''' was the country retreat of the artist, naturalist, inventor, and museum impresario [[Charles Willson Peale]]. Peale transformed the 104 acres that comprised the original site into a ''[[ferme ornée]]'', blending ornamental gardens with a working farm.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Farm Persevere 
'''Site Dates:''' 1800–26 
'''Site Owner(s):''' Charles Willson Peale (1800–26); William Logan Fisher (1826); Sarah Fisher Wister and descendents (1826–1984); La Salle University (1984–present)<ref>For a complete history of the site, both before and after Charles Willson Peale′s ownership, see James A. Butler, ''Charles Willson Peale’s “Belfield”: A History of a National Historic Landmark, 1684–1984'' (Philadelphia: La Salle University Art Museum, 2009), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FX5AKK9P view on Zotero].</ref> 
'''Location:''' Germantown, PA; Extant/altered 
[https://goo.gl/maps/S3q56LAng6G2 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0560.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[Charles Willson Peale]], Ground plot of Belfield, 1810.]]
When [[Charles Willson Peale]] retired in 1810 to his country retreat outside Philadelphia, he did not relinquish his interests in art or science. Between 1810 and 1821 he worked to bend the natural world around Belfield—104 acres of meadow, [[orchard]]s, streams, and mature trees—according to aesthetic and scientific principles [Fig. 1]. He saw it, in some ways, as a continuation of his efforts at the Philadelphia Museum, writing to [[Thomas Jefferson]], “Your garden must be a Museum to you.”<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Thomas Jefferson, March 2, 1812, quoted in Charles Coleman Sellers, ''Charles Willson Peale'' (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1969), 366, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PWCSA5AD/q/sellers view on Zotero].</ref> At Belfield, much like at his museum, Peale worked to integrate his aesthetic sensibility and scientific acumen, this time in the creation of a landscape that evoked the traditions of 18th-century [[picturesque]] gardening, while also highlighting 19th-century scientific achievements in agriculture.<ref>Kateryna A. Rudnytzky, “The Union of Landscape and Art: Peale’s Garden at Belfield” (Honor’s Essay, La Salle University, 1986), 8–10, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KJK46QBZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0044.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''View of the Garden at Belfield'', 1816.]]
Like many landscape designers and gardeners of the early republic, Peale’s taste was informed by the work of English landscape theorists, who advocated a more [[natural style]].<ref>Therese O’Malley, “Belfield in American Garden History,” in ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'', ed. Lillian B. Miller and David C. Ward (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991), 268–69, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref> Although Belfield was more rigidly plotted near the house, with tidy flower [[bed]]s and boxwood [[hedge]]s, it followed a less formal arrangement further out, featuring serpentine, shrub-lined [[walk]]s, a manmade [[grotto]] topped by a [[greenhouse]], a [[fountain]], an [[obelisk]], a [[Chinese manner|Chinese]] [[summerhouse]], and other structures nestled into the landscape [Fig. 2]. In the letters and paintings describing his country retreat, Peale often highlighted these monuments, which were influenced by European garden design but were typically adapted to express an American character.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 272–73, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref> In a letter dated August 2, 1813, for instance, Peale described a domed garden [[temple]], built by his son Franklin, which featured a hexagonal base with six pillars.<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Angelica Peale Robinson, August 2, 1813, Peale-Sellers Papers, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref> Although such a [[temple]] would not have been out of place in a European landscape garden, Peale gave it a wholly American tenor by crowning it with a portrait bust of [[George Washington]]. A similar structure was Peale’s Pedestal of Memorable Events: an [[obelisk]] on which he inscribed dates of significance to the history of North America, beginning with its initial discovery and ending with the battle of New Orleans.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 272–73, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1957.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm'', c. 1816.]]
[[File:1958.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Cabbage Patch, The Gardens of Belfield, Pennsylvania'', c. 1815–16.]]
Belfield was not just a decorative landscape but a ''[[ferme ornée]]''—an ornamental farm—that was intended to be functional as well as beautiful.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 269, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero], and David C. Ward, “Charles Willson Peale’s Farm Belfield: Enlightened Agriculture in the Early Republic,” in ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'', ed. Lillian B. Miller and David C. Ward (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991), 284, 292–93, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HH8H7CN5/q/ward view on Zotero].</ref> Alongside his creation of serpentine [[path]]s and installation of monuments and decorative structures, Peale engaged in a prodigious effort to transform the site into a working farm; indeed, he had originally named it “Farm Persevere” before changing the name to Belfield [Figs. 3, 4]. To this end, Peale’s country retreat also featured barns, stables, a springhouse, and a mill. Using his knowledge of botany and mechanical sciences, Peale endeavored to make manifest [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson’s]] idealized view of the United States as a country of yeoman farmers. He cultivated wheat, oats, rye, corn, and fruit at Belfield, working to create more efficient and productive methods of farming through the incorporation of machinery in the planting and processing of crops, as well as new methods of crop rotation. His correspondence with [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] and his reading of such key agricultural texts as ''Maison Rustique'' and [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] ''American Gardener'' shaped his approach to agriculture. Yet, as David C. Ward points out, the enterprise was not entirely successful; Peale’s note-keeping lagged after 1814, suggesting a growing frustration or lack of interest in the endeavor.<ref>Ward 1991, 292–93, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HH8H7CN5/q/ward view on Zotero].</ref> After falling seriously ill in September 1821—an illness that killed his wife, Hannah—Peale moved back to Philadelphia, where he remained following his convalescence. He sold Belfield in January 1826 to William Logan Fisher.<ref>Sellers 1969, 400–1, 425, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PWCSA5AD/q/sellers view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0000.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''The Artist in His Museum'', 1822.]]
In the ten years [[Charles Willson Peale]] lived at Belfield, the country retreat may be understood as a self-conscious expression of his character as much as any of his painted self-portraits. In justifying the detailed account of his garden in his autobiography, Peale wrote: “As the object of this work is to make the portrait of the man, it is proper to give all his fripperies and follies, more properly, as all these things were made of wood and paint, which could only last a few years.”<ref>Horace Wells Sellers’s transcript of Charles Willson Peale, ''Autobiography'', 392–93, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref> Recognizing Belfield as an important statement of his worldview, Peale recorded its ephemeral details in his letters, sketches, and paintings. In many ways, the statement that Peale made about his full-length self-portrait, ''The Artist in His Museum'' [Fig. 6], is also appropriate to the creation of Belfield: “I think it important that I should not only make it a lasting monument of my art . . . but also that the Design should be expressive that I bring forth into public view, the beauties of Nature and Art. . . .”<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Rembrandt Peale, July 23, 1822, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref>

—''Therese O’Malley''

<hr>

==Texts==
* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], 1810, describing Belfield (quoted in Miller and Ward 1991: 54, fig. 87)<ref name="Miller and Ward_1991">Lillian B.Miller and David C. Ward, eds., ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'' (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press for the Smithsonian Institution, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PU8TV8SD view on Zotero].</ref>
:"In this [[view]] imagine that you see a beautiful [[Meadow]] on the right. The Tennants House seems to terminate the lane, from thence it turns up a Gentle declivity to the Mansian, of which you see the Top of a Red roof on the left over the hill. formerly a road went over this hill at the dotted lines. . . . The Common water course is on the edge of the [[Meadow]] on the right and the doted [sic] line is a ditch to which I have a flood-gate to let water on the [[Meadow]] at Pleasure.” [Fig. 1]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:51, 54–55)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991">Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds., ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family'', vol. 3 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero].</ref>
:"I am often pleased with the solemn [[grove]]s skirting [[meadow]]s in majestic silence and cool appearance. . . .
:"I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a [[piazza|Piazer]] extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:53)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"This ground [[plot]] is made by recollection, but I think it near anough [sic] the truth to give you a more precise Idea of the place & the other Sketches which I intend to annex to my letters.” [Fig. 2]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:55)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"This [[View]] is taken at a point [from] the Tennants house a small distance, by which you see the Roof of the Mantion over the Garden [[fence]] which are of boards on a Stone [[Wall]]."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:55–56)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The Barn and one of the Barracks on the West, the Coach-House near the Center, Springhouse on the East side and the [[bathhouse|Bath House]] below it. There is 4 large Popplers (Tulip Tree) which crosses the Road, and the Lumbardy Poppler a row of them on your right hand. Just above the [[bathhouse|bath-House]] is a small fish [[pond]] with about 200 Catfish which I brought from the falls of [[Schuylkill River|Schulkill]]. . . .
:"& beneath rose bushes, [along the stone wall] you may discover a long Roof which has shelves for [[beehive|Bee hives]] conveniently situated to get their food from the flowers of the Garden."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:56)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"In this view the stone steps at the End of the house is seen, which lead to the [[yard]] in front of the Garden, the Garden pails are on a stone [[wall]] on which grows Creepers now in full bloom they are a fine crimosen [sic] bell flowers in Clusters and an abundance of humming birds are daily sucking the honey. Green Gages, Damsons & quinces are along this [[wall]].”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], August 2, 1813, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:202)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"We are now beginning to ornament about the House Our Garden is much admired, Franklin is shewing his taste in neat workmanship. He has built an Elligant [[summerhouse|Summer House]] on that commanding spot which you may remember being pointed out to you. It is a hexicon base with 6 well turned Pillars supporting a circular Top & dome on which is placed a bust of Genl. Washington, it would have been more appopriate [sic] to have had 13 pillars, but I did not want so large a building, and it was work enough for Franklin to turn those 6 pillars which he was able to execute will [with] the layth in the mill."

* Peale, Rubens, September 27, 1813, in a letter to Sybilla Miriam Peale Summers, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:206)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"Franklin has finished the [[Fountain]], it is a very handsome thing and gives very general pleasure. the [[jet|get]] is about 10 feet in height from the surface of the [[Pond]], a Gilt Ball is thrown about 5 high and there suspinded [sic] by the force of the Water. Spiral [[fountain]] Triaes &c."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], November 12, 1813, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:216)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"I have made an [[obelisk|Oblisk]] to terminate a [[Walk]] in the Garden, read in Dictionary of Arts for description of them. I made it of rough boards & white washed it with lime & allum—The allum It is said will convert the lime in time to Stone. I have put the following motto on it—on one side ‘Never return an Injury, It is a noble Triumph to overcome Evil by Good.’ another, ‘Labour while you are able it will give health to the Body—peaceful content to the mind.’ another, ‘He that will live in peace & Rest, must hear, and see, and say the best & in french ‘y voy, & te tas, si tu veux vivre en paix.’ and on another ‘Neglect no Duty.’ The distick which I have adopted is claimed by several Nations, I have put the french because it is more concise & equally expressive.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, in a letter to his sons, Benjamin Franklin Peale and Titian Ramsey Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"when my leasure and I can spare a man to hall dirt I will raise the water in the fish [[Pond]] which will encrease its surfaces considerably raising the water to the stone [[wall]] at the head of the [[Pond]], deeper, and more water, will be better for fish & will raise the [[jet|get]] at the [[fountain]] considerably.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, in a letter to his sons, Benjamin Franklin Peale and Titian Ramsey Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The stone and ground is remooved at the Bottom of the Garden but the [[Wall]] is not as high and access into the Garden is not so easey as it used to be, even before any [[wall]] is made."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"As soon as the weather becomes settled & warm, I will have the [[basin|Bason]] walled up with a proper morter, and when that is doing I shall put a Cock to the Leaden pipe to let the water pass out untill the [[basin|Bason]] is prepaired to receive it."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], September 6, 1814, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:263)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"I have finished my [[fountain]] and . . . the [[basin|Bason]] holds the water after much labour to make so having raised the Fish-[[pond]] it gives a [[jet]] of 12 feet high. . . . Rubens has place all his [[Pot]]s round the [[fountain]] [[basin|B[a]son]] and it makes a very handsome display, The [[basin|Bason]] being 13 feet long & 10 wide."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], September 14, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:266)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The fountain [[basin|Bason]] now holds water completly, and the [[jet]] is 12 feet high, and is kept continually playing; Day & night, Rubens has placed all his plants round the [[basin|Bason]], and it is very handsome."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], October 30, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:380–83)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_2000">Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds., ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family'', vol. 5 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero].</ref>
:"The proprietor made [[summerhouse|summer houses]] (so called) roofs to ward off the Sunbeams with [[seat]]s of rest. one made of the [[Chinese manner|chinease]] [sic] taste, dedicated to medieation [sic], with the following sentiments round within it:
:"Mediate on the Creation of ''Worlds'', which perform their evolutions in proscribed periods!. . . .
:"He wanted a place to keep the garden seeds & Tools, and in a part of the Garden where a [[seat]] in the shade was often wanted, he built a shed or small room, and to hide that Salt-like-box, and to try his art of Painting, he made the front like [a] Gate way with a step to form a [[seat]], and above, steps painted as representing a passage through an [[Arch]] beyond on which was represented a western sky, and to ornament the upper part over the [[arch]], he painted several figures on boards cut the outlines of said figures as representing [[statue]]s in sculpture. And [so that] his design of those figures might be fully understood [by] visitors, he painted two pedestals ornamented with a ball to crown each. and the die of the Pedestals, on one the expla[na]tion of the figures vizt. America with an even ballance—as justifying her acts. The Fassie, emblematical of the several state[s], are bound together, incircled by a Rattle-snake, as inocent if not meddled with, but terrible if molested. This emblem of Congress is placed ''upright'' as that body ought to be, with wisdom its base, designed by the owl; the [[beehive]] and children; industry an increase the effects of good government, supported on one side, Truth and Temperance, on the other Industry, with her distaf, resting on the cornucopia— consequence a wise Policy will do away with wars. hence Mars is fallen." The figure of Mars was made on the end of shed roof to hide it. The making of this is rather of the Political cast, yet he had long given over being active in Politicks, but choose by it to shew his dislike of War. . . .
:"Having a good spring-house the water from it supplied a small fish-[[pond]], in which he put many cat-fish brought from the [[Schuylkill River|Schulkill]] and although they lived and perhaps might be breed there yet being petts never was served at his table[.] The same with Pidgeons, they had commodious house, and once a pr. of squabs was taken to the Kitchen, but the Parent came after them and alighting on the Kitchen window, Mrs. Peale’s delicate feelings could not suffer them to be killed and accordingly they were returned to the [[pigeon house|Pidgeon-house]].
:"finding a spring stream in the Garden he followed it up the side of the hill, untill it become [sic] of some debth and among large Stones—and having at this place made a considerable cavity in the bank round the sourse of the Spring, to [[wall]] it up this hollow and [[arch]] it over, it was thought that it might be an excellent place to keep cabbage and Turnups &c during the winter season, but on tryal it was found to[o] moist and warm. . . . This tryal gave the Idea of building a [[greenhouse]] jouining to the arched cave—and that [[greenhouse|Green house]] keepted all exotic plants perfectly well without the aid of stoves in the severest winters.
:"below the [[greenhouse|Green house]] he made a round [[basin|bason]] to receive the Water from the cave back of it—and from the fish-[[pond]] near the spring-house, to this [[basin|bason]] in the Garden is a fall of 15 feet, and in order to have a [[fountain]] in the [[basin|Bason]] he put log-pipes under ground, and thus had a [[jet]] of 13 feet high but of small diameter, in order that it might constantly [be] rising. but unfortunately he make the bore of his logs only of one Inch diameter, the consequence was that Frogs in two instances got into the bore of the logs and not being able to pass through all the joints, stopped the water, of course to free the passage of the logs, gave much labour. had these things been foreseen, trouble might have been prevented, by making the bore of the logs of a greater diameter, with other provisions to keep the passage free [Fig. 7].”
[[Image:0009.jpg|thumb|right|Fig. 7, Charles Willson Peale, Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.]]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], November 22, 1815, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 43)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986">Rudnytzky 1986, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KJK46QBZ view on Zotero].</ref>
:"The objects in sight, are the road ascending to the Dwelling, Stone [[wall]] & Thorn [[hedge]] on it inclosing the Garden, The Garden [[Gate]] at the [[Fountain]], [[greenhouse|Green House]], [[summerhouse|Summer house]] a doom supported by 6 Pillars, and bust of Washington crowning it—beyond that an [[Obelisk]]; the Hay barracks; Barn with the wind-mill on top of it to pump water for the stock, stables; Mantion-House, Wash-House and connecting [[piazza|Piaza]]; Carriage House; Spring House, [[bathhouse|Bath-House]] and cover of the [[icehouse|Ice-house]].”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], August 4, 1816, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 44)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986"/>
:"I have been so long neglecting the [[view]] I am about in [the] garden that the trees & [[shrubbery]] have grown so high that I cannot represent them truly without almost totally hiding the [[walk]]]s, therefore I shall prefer leaving out many of them—and also make them smaller.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], October 13, 1816, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:452)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"Other parts of my farm excited the curiousity of the Public—a wind-mill for pumping Water for the Cattle &c.—A [[fall garden|falling Garden]], [[fountain]], fish [[Pond]], common Sewers &c Machines to add [aid] the dairy and carriages of various uses—all these things employed the whole of my time to emprove & to keep them in proper order."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], January 14, 1824, in a letter to his son, Charles Linnaeus Peale, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 32)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986"/>
:"Dear Linnius I wish you to consider whether it is not better to avoid these expenses by burying your Child in the Garden on the south side of the [[obelisk|Oblisk]], a place which if I hold the farm untill my decease, I shall desire to have my body deposited. This has been my determination ever since I painted those inscriptions.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.

Image:0560.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Ground plot of Belfield, 1810.

File:0010.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 12, 1813.

Image:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.

Image:1958.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Cabbage Patch, The Gardens of Belfield, Pennsylvania'', c. 1815–16.

Image:1957.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm'', c. 1816.

Image:0044.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''View of the garden at Belfield'', 1816.

Image:0047.jpg|Anna Peale Sellers, after [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm, Germantown, PA'', Late 19th century.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
40.037944, -75.155425
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://guides.lasalle.edu/local_history_guide/belfield La Salle Local History]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category: Places]]

Belfield

2018-08-14T14:34:56Z

E-athens:

'''Belfield''' was the country retreat of the artist, naturalist, inventor, and museum impresario [[Charles Willson Peale]]. Peale transformed the 104 acres that comprised the original site into a ''[[ferme ornée]]'', blending ornamental gardens with a working farm.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Farm Persevere 
'''Site Dates:''' 1800–26 
'''Site Owner(s):''' Charles Willson Peale (1800–26); William Logan Fisher (1826); Sarah Fisher Wister and descendents (1826–1984); La Salle University (1984–present)<ref>For a complete history of the site, both before and after Charles Willson Peale′s ownership, see James A. Butler, ''Charles Willson Peale’s “Belfield”: A History of a National Historic Landmark, 1684–1984'' (Philadelphia: La Salle University Art Museum, 2009), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FX5AKK9P view on Zotero]. 
'''Associated People:''' 
'''Location:''' Germantown, PA; Extant/altered 
[https://goo.gl/maps/S3q56LAng6G2 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0560.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[Charles Willson Peale]], Ground plot of Belfield, 1810.]]
When [[Charles Willson Peale]] retired in 1810 to his country retreat outside Philadelphia, he did not relinquish his interests in art or science. Between 1810 and 1821 he worked to bend the natural world around Belfield—104 acres of meadow, [[orchard]]s, streams, and mature trees—according to aesthetic and scientific principles [Fig. 1]. He saw it, in some ways, as a continuation of his efforts at the Philadelphia Museum, writing to [[Thomas Jefferson]], “Your garden must be a Museum to you.”<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Thomas Jefferson, March 2, 1812, quoted in Charles Coleman Sellers, ''Charles Willson Peale'' (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1969), 366, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PWCSA5AD/q/sellers view on Zotero].</ref> At Belfield, much like at his museum, Peale worked to integrate his aesthetic sensibility and scientific acumen, this time in the creation of a landscape that evoked the traditions of 18th-century [[picturesque]] gardening, while also highlighting 19th-century scientific achievements in agriculture.<ref>Kateryna A. Rudnytzky, “The Union of Landscape and Art: Peale’s Garden at Belfield” (Honor’s Essay, La Salle University, 1986), 8–10, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KJK46QBZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0044.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''View of the Garden at Belfield'', 1816.]]
Like many landscape designers and gardeners of the early republic, Peale’s taste was informed by the work of English landscape theorists, who advocated a more [[natural style]].<ref>Therese O’Malley, “Belfield in American Garden History,” in ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'', ed. Lillian B. Miller and David C. Ward (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991), 268–69, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref> Although Belfield was more rigidly plotted near the house, with tidy flower [[bed]]s and boxwood [[hedge]]s, it followed a less formal arrangement further out, featuring serpentine, shrub-lined [[walk]]s, a manmade [[grotto]] topped by a [[greenhouse]], a [[fountain]], an [[obelisk]], a [[Chinese manner|Chinese]] [[summerhouse]], and other structures nestled into the landscape [Fig. 2]. In the letters and paintings describing his country retreat, Peale often highlighted these monuments, which were influenced by European garden design but were typically adapted to express an American character.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 272–73, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref> In a letter dated August 2, 1813, for instance, Peale described a domed garden [[temple]], built by his son Franklin, which featured a hexagonal base with six pillars.<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Angelica Peale Robinson, August 2, 1813, Peale-Sellers Papers, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref> Although such a [[temple]] would not have been out of place in a European landscape garden, Peale gave it a wholly American tenor by crowning it with a portrait bust of [[George Washington]]. A similar structure was Peale’s Pedestal of Memorable Events: an [[obelisk]] on which he inscribed dates of significance to the history of North America, beginning with its initial discovery and ending with the battle of New Orleans.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 272–73, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1957.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm'', c. 1816.]]
[[File:1958.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Cabbage Patch, The Gardens of Belfield, Pennsylvania'', c. 1815–16.]]
Belfield was not just a decorative landscape but a ''[[ferme ornée]]''—an ornamental farm—that was intended to be functional as well as beautiful.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 269, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero], and David C. Ward, “Charles Willson Peale’s Farm Belfield: Enlightened Agriculture in the Early Republic,” in ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'', ed. Lillian B. Miller and David C. Ward (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991), 284, 292–93, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HH8H7CN5/q/ward view on Zotero].</ref> Alongside his creation of serpentine [[path]]s and installation of monuments and decorative structures, Peale engaged in a prodigious effort to transform the site into a working farm; indeed, he had originally named it “Farm Persevere” before changing the name to Belfield [Figs. 3, 4]. To this end, Peale’s country retreat also featured barns, stables, a springhouse, and a mill. Using his knowledge of botany and mechanical sciences, Peale endeavored to make manifest [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson’s]] idealized view of the United States as a country of yeoman farmers. He cultivated wheat, oats, rye, corn, and fruit at Belfield, working to create more efficient and productive methods of farming through the incorporation of machinery in the planting and processing of crops, as well as new methods of crop rotation. His correspondence with [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] and his reading of such key agricultural texts as ''Maison Rustique'' and [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] ''American Gardener'' shaped his approach to agriculture. Yet, as David C. Ward points out, the enterprise was not entirely successful; Peale’s note-keeping lagged after 1814, suggesting a growing frustration or lack of interest in the endeavor.<ref>Ward 1991, 292–93, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HH8H7CN5/q/ward view on Zotero].</ref> After falling seriously ill in September 1821—an illness that killed his wife, Hannah—Peale moved back to Philadelphia, where he remained following his convalescence. He sold Belfield in January 1826 to William Logan Fisher.<ref>Sellers 1969, 400–1, 425, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PWCSA5AD/q/sellers view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0000.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''The Artist in His Museum'', 1822.]]
In the ten years [[Charles Willson Peale]] lived at Belfield, the country retreat may be understood as a self-conscious expression of his character as much as any of his painted self-portraits. In justifying the detailed account of his garden in his autobiography, Peale wrote: “As the object of this work is to make the portrait of the man, it is proper to give all his fripperies and follies, more properly, as all these things were made of wood and paint, which could only last a few years.”<ref>Horace Wells Sellers’s transcript of Charles Willson Peale, ''Autobiography'', 392–93, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref> Recognizing Belfield as an important statement of his worldview, Peale recorded its ephemeral details in his letters, sketches, and paintings. In many ways, the statement that Peale made about his full-length self-portrait, ''The Artist in His Museum'' [Fig. 6], is also appropriate to the creation of Belfield: “I think it important that I should not only make it a lasting monument of my art . . . but also that the Design should be expressive that I bring forth into public view, the beauties of Nature and Art. . . .”<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Rembrandt Peale, July 23, 1822, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref>

—''Therese O’Malley''

<hr>

==Texts==
* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], 1810, describing Belfield (quoted in Miller and Ward 1991: 54, fig. 87)<ref name="Miller and Ward_1991">Lillian B.Miller and David C. Ward, eds., ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'' (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press for the Smithsonian Institution, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PU8TV8SD view on Zotero].</ref>
:"In this [[view]] imagine that you see a beautiful [[Meadow]] on the right. The Tennants House seems to terminate the lane, from thence it turns up a Gentle declivity to the Mansian, of which you see the Top of a Red roof on the left over the hill. formerly a road went over this hill at the dotted lines. . . . The Common water course is on the edge of the [[Meadow]] on the right and the doted [sic] line is a ditch to which I have a flood-gate to let water on the [[Meadow]] at Pleasure.” [Fig. 1]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:51, 54–55)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991">Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds., ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family'', vol. 3 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero].</ref>
:"I am often pleased with the solemn [[grove]]s skirting [[meadow]]s in majestic silence and cool appearance. . . .
:"I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a [[piazza|Piazer]] extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:53)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"This ground [[plot]] is made by recollection, but I think it near anough [sic] the truth to give you a more precise Idea of the place & the other Sketches which I intend to annex to my letters.” [Fig. 2]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:55)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"This [[View]] is taken at a point [from] the Tennants house a small distance, by which you see the Roof of the Mantion over the Garden [[fence]] which are of boards on a Stone [[Wall]]."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:55–56)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The Barn and one of the Barracks on the West, the Coach-House near the Center, Springhouse on the East side and the [[bathhouse|Bath House]] below it. There is 4 large Popplers (Tulip Tree) which crosses the Road, and the Lumbardy Poppler a row of them on your right hand. Just above the [[bathhouse|bath-House]] is a small fish [[pond]] with about 200 Catfish which I brought from the falls of [[Schuylkill River|Schulkill]]. . . .
:"& beneath rose bushes, [along the stone wall] you may discover a long Roof which has shelves for [[beehive|Bee hives]] conveniently situated to get their food from the flowers of the Garden."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:56)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"In this view the stone steps at the End of the house is seen, which lead to the [[yard]] in front of the Garden, the Garden pails are on a stone [[wall]] on which grows Creepers now in full bloom they are a fine crimosen [sic] bell flowers in Clusters and an abundance of humming birds are daily sucking the honey. Green Gages, Damsons & quinces are along this [[wall]].”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], August 2, 1813, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:202)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"We are now beginning to ornament about the House Our Garden is much admired, Franklin is shewing his taste in neat workmanship. He has built an Elligant [[summerhouse|Summer House]] on that commanding spot which you may remember being pointed out to you. It is a hexicon base with 6 well turned Pillars supporting a circular Top & dome on which is placed a bust of Genl. Washington, it would have been more appopriate [sic] to have had 13 pillars, but I did not want so large a building, and it was work enough for Franklin to turn those 6 pillars which he was able to execute will [with] the layth in the mill."

* Peale, Rubens, September 27, 1813, in a letter to Sybilla Miriam Peale Summers, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:206)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"Franklin has finished the [[Fountain]], it is a very handsome thing and gives very general pleasure. the [[jet|get]] is about 10 feet in height from the surface of the [[Pond]], a Gilt Ball is thrown about 5 high and there suspinded [sic] by the force of the Water. Spiral [[fountain]] Triaes &c."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], November 12, 1813, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:216)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"I have made an [[obelisk|Oblisk]] to terminate a [[Walk]] in the Garden, read in Dictionary of Arts for description of them. I made it of rough boards & white washed it with lime & allum—The allum It is said will convert the lime in time to Stone. I have put the following motto on it—on one side ‘Never return an Injury, It is a noble Triumph to overcome Evil by Good.’ another, ‘Labour while you are able it will give health to the Body—peaceful content to the mind.’ another, ‘He that will live in peace & Rest, must hear, and see, and say the best & in french ‘y voy, & te tas, si tu veux vivre en paix.’ and on another ‘Neglect no Duty.’ The distick which I have adopted is claimed by several Nations, I have put the french because it is more concise & equally expressive.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, in a letter to his sons, Benjamin Franklin Peale and Titian Ramsey Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"when my leasure and I can spare a man to hall dirt I will raise the water in the fish [[Pond]] which will encrease its surfaces considerably raising the water to the stone [[wall]] at the head of the [[Pond]], deeper, and more water, will be better for fish & will raise the [[jet|get]] at the [[fountain]] considerably.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, in a letter to his sons, Benjamin Franklin Peale and Titian Ramsey Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The stone and ground is remooved at the Bottom of the Garden but the [[Wall]] is not as high and access into the Garden is not so easey as it used to be, even before any [[wall]] is made."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"As soon as the weather becomes settled & warm, I will have the [[basin|Bason]] walled up with a proper morter, and when that is doing I shall put a Cock to the Leaden pipe to let the water pass out untill the [[basin|Bason]] is prepaired to receive it."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], September 6, 1814, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:263)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"I have finished my [[fountain]] and . . . the [[basin|Bason]] holds the water after much labour to make so having raised the Fish-[[pond]] it gives a [[jet]] of 12 feet high. . . . Rubens has place all his [[Pot]]s round the [[fountain]] [[basin|B[a]son]] and it makes a very handsome display, The [[basin|Bason]] being 13 feet long & 10 wide."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], September 14, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:266)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The fountain [[basin|Bason]] now holds water completly, and the [[jet]] is 12 feet high, and is kept continually playing; Day & night, Rubens has placed all his plants round the [[basin|Bason]], and it is very handsome."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], October 30, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:380–83)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_2000">Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds., ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family'', vol. 5 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero].</ref>
:"The proprietor made [[summerhouse|summer houses]] (so called) roofs to ward off the Sunbeams with [[seat]]s of rest. one made of the [[Chinese manner|chinease]] [sic] taste, dedicated to medieation [sic], with the following sentiments round within it:
:"Mediate on the Creation of ''Worlds'', which perform their evolutions in proscribed periods!. . . .
:"He wanted a place to keep the garden seeds & Tools, and in a part of the Garden where a [[seat]] in the shade was often wanted, he built a shed or small room, and to hide that Salt-like-box, and to try his art of Painting, he made the front like [a] Gate way with a step to form a [[seat]], and above, steps painted as representing a passage through an [[Arch]] beyond on which was represented a western sky, and to ornament the upper part over the [[arch]], he painted several figures on boards cut the outlines of said figures as representing [[statue]]s in sculpture. And [so that] his design of those figures might be fully understood [by] visitors, he painted two pedestals ornamented with a ball to crown each. and the die of the Pedestals, on one the expla[na]tion of the figures vizt. America with an even ballance—as justifying her acts. The Fassie, emblematical of the several state[s], are bound together, incircled by a Rattle-snake, as inocent if not meddled with, but terrible if molested. This emblem of Congress is placed ''upright'' as that body ought to be, with wisdom its base, designed by the owl; the [[beehive]] and children; industry an increase the effects of good government, supported on one side, Truth and Temperance, on the other Industry, with her distaf, resting on the cornucopia— consequence a wise Policy will do away with wars. hence Mars is fallen." The figure of Mars was made on the end of shed roof to hide it. The making of this is rather of the Political cast, yet he had long given over being active in Politicks, but choose by it to shew his dislike of War. . . .
:"Having a good spring-house the water from it supplied a small fish-[[pond]], in which he put many cat-fish brought from the [[Schuylkill River|Schulkill]] and although they lived and perhaps might be breed there yet being petts never was served at his table[.] The same with Pidgeons, they had commodious house, and once a pr. of squabs was taken to the Kitchen, but the Parent came after them and alighting on the Kitchen window, Mrs. Peale’s delicate feelings could not suffer them to be killed and accordingly they were returned to the [[pigeon house|Pidgeon-house]].
:"finding a spring stream in the Garden he followed it up the side of the hill, untill it become [sic] of some debth and among large Stones—and having at this place made a considerable cavity in the bank round the sourse of the Spring, to [[wall]] it up this hollow and [[arch]] it over, it was thought that it might be an excellent place to keep cabbage and Turnups &c during the winter season, but on tryal it was found to[o] moist and warm. . . . This tryal gave the Idea of building a [[greenhouse]] jouining to the arched cave—and that [[greenhouse|Green house]] keepted all exotic plants perfectly well without the aid of stoves in the severest winters.
:"below the [[greenhouse|Green house]] he made a round [[basin|bason]] to receive the Water from the cave back of it—and from the fish-[[pond]] near the spring-house, to this [[basin|bason]] in the Garden is a fall of 15 feet, and in order to have a [[fountain]] in the [[basin|Bason]] he put log-pipes under ground, and thus had a [[jet]] of 13 feet high but of small diameter, in order that it might constantly [be] rising. but unfortunately he make the bore of his logs only of one Inch diameter, the consequence was that Frogs in two instances got into the bore of the logs and not being able to pass through all the joints, stopped the water, of course to free the passage of the logs, gave much labour. had these things been foreseen, trouble might have been prevented, by making the bore of the logs of a greater diameter, with other provisions to keep the passage free [Fig. 7].”
[[Image:0009.jpg|thumb|right|Fig. 7, Charles Willson Peale, Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.]]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], November 22, 1815, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 43)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986">Rudnytzky 1986, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KJK46QBZ view on Zotero].</ref>
:"The objects in sight, are the road ascending to the Dwelling, Stone [[wall]] & Thorn [[hedge]] on it inclosing the Garden, The Garden [[Gate]] at the [[Fountain]], [[greenhouse|Green House]], [[summerhouse|Summer house]] a doom supported by 6 Pillars, and bust of Washington crowning it—beyond that an [[Obelisk]]; the Hay barracks; Barn with the wind-mill on top of it to pump water for the stock, stables; Mantion-House, Wash-House and connecting [[piazza|Piaza]]; Carriage House; Spring House, [[bathhouse|Bath-House]] and cover of the [[icehouse|Ice-house]].”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], August 4, 1816, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 44)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986"/>
:"I have been so long neglecting the [[view]] I am about in [the] garden that the trees & [[shrubbery]] have grown so high that I cannot represent them truly without almost totally hiding the [[walk]]]s, therefore I shall prefer leaving out many of them—and also make them smaller.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], October 13, 1816, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:452)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"Other parts of my farm excited the curiousity of the Public—a wind-mill for pumping Water for the Cattle &c.—A [[fall garden|falling Garden]], [[fountain]], fish [[Pond]], common Sewers &c Machines to add [aid] the dairy and carriages of various uses—all these things employed the whole of my time to emprove & to keep them in proper order."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], January 14, 1824, in a letter to his son, Charles Linnaeus Peale, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 32)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986"/>
:"Dear Linnius I wish you to consider whether it is not better to avoid these expenses by burying your Child in the Garden on the south side of the [[obelisk|Oblisk]], a place which if I hold the farm untill my decease, I shall desire to have my body deposited. This has been my determination ever since I painted those inscriptions.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.

Image:0560.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Ground plot of Belfield, 1810.

File:0010.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 12, 1813.

Image:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.

Image:1958.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Cabbage Patch, The Gardens of Belfield, Pennsylvania'', c. 1815–16.

Image:1957.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm'', c. 1816.

Image:0044.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''View of the garden at Belfield'', 1816.

Image:0047.jpg|Anna Peale Sellers, after [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm, Germantown, PA'', Late 19th century.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
40.037944, -75.155425
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://guides.lasalle.edu/local_history_guide/belfield La Salle Local History]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category: Places]]

Belfield

2018-08-14T14:30:00Z

E-athens:

'''Belfield''' was the country retreat of the artist, naturalist, inventor, and museum impresario [[Charles Willson Peale]]. Peale transformed the 104 acres that comprised the original site into a ''[[ferme ornée]]'', blending ornamental gardens with a working farm.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Farm Persevere 
'''Site Dates:''' 1800–26 
'''Site Owner(s):''' Charles Willson Peale (1800–26); William Logan Fisher (1826); Sarah Fisher Wister and descendents (1826–1984); La Salle University (1984–present) 
'''Associated People:''' 
'''Location:''' Germantown, PA; Extant/altered 
[https://goo.gl/maps/S3q56LAng6G2 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0560.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[Charles Willson Peale]], Ground plot of Belfield, 1810.]]
When [[Charles Willson Peale]] retired in 1810 to his country retreat outside Philadelphia, he did not relinquish his interests in art or science. Between 1810 and 1821 he worked to bend the natural world around Belfield—104 acres of meadow, [[orchard]]s, streams, and mature trees—according to aesthetic and scientific principles [Fig. 1]. He saw it, in some ways, as a continuation of his efforts at the Philadelphia Museum, writing to [[Thomas Jefferson]], “Your garden must be a Museum to you.”<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Thomas Jefferson, March 2, 1812, quoted in Charles Coleman Sellers, ''Charles Willson Peale'' (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1969), 366, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PWCSA5AD/q/sellers view on Zotero].</ref> At Belfield, much like at his museum, Peale worked to integrate his aesthetic sensibility and scientific acumen, this time in the creation of a landscape that evoked the traditions of 18th-century [[picturesque]] gardening, while also highlighting 19th-century scientific achievements in agriculture.<ref>Kateryna A. Rudnytzky, “The Union of Landscape and Art: Peale’s Garden at Belfield” (Honor’s Essay, La Salle University, 1986), 8–10, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KJK46QBZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0044.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''View of the Garden at Belfield'', 1816.]]
Like many landscape designers and gardeners of the early republic, Peale’s taste was informed by the work of English landscape theorists, who advocated a more [[natural style]].<ref>Therese O’Malley, “Belfield in American Garden History,” in ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'', ed. Lillian B. Miller and David C. Ward (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991), 268–69, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref> Although Belfield was more rigidly plotted near the house, with tidy flower [[bed]]s and boxwood [[hedge]]s, it followed a less formal arrangement further out, featuring serpentine, shrub-lined [[walk]]s, a manmade [[grotto]] topped by a [[greenhouse]], a [[fountain]], an [[obelisk]], a [[Chinese manner|Chinese]] [[summerhouse]], and other structures nestled into the landscape [Fig. 2]. In the letters and paintings describing his country retreat, Peale often highlighted these monuments, which were influenced by European garden design but were typically adapted to express an American character.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 272–73, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref> In a letter dated August 2, 1813, for instance, Peale described a domed garden [[temple]], built by his son Franklin, which featured a hexagonal base with six pillars.<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Angelica Peale Robinson, August 2, 1813, Peale-Sellers Papers, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref> Although such a [[temple]] would not have been out of place in a European landscape garden, Peale gave it a wholly American tenor by crowning it with a portrait bust of [[George Washington]]. A similar structure was Peale’s Pedestal of Memorable Events: an [[obelisk]] on which he inscribed dates of significance to the history of North America, beginning with its initial discovery and ending with the battle of New Orleans.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 272–73, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1957.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm'', c. 1816.]]
[[File:1958.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Cabbage Patch, The Gardens of Belfield, Pennsylvania'', c. 1815–16.]]
Belfield was not just a decorative landscape but a ''[[ferme ornée]]''—an ornamental farm—that was intended to be functional as well as beautiful.<ref>O’Malley 1991, 269, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/94GWR76E/q/o'malley view on Zotero], and David C. Ward, “Charles Willson Peale’s Farm Belfield: Enlightened Agriculture in the Early Republic,” in ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'', ed. Lillian B. Miller and David C. Ward (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991), 284, 292–93, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HH8H7CN5/q/ward view on Zotero].</ref> Alongside his creation of serpentine [[path]]s and installation of monuments and decorative structures, Peale engaged in a prodigious effort to transform the site into a working farm; indeed, he had originally named it “Farm Persevere” before changing the name to Belfield [Figs. 3, 4]. To this end, Peale’s country retreat also featured barns, stables, a springhouse, and a mill. Using his knowledge of botany and mechanical sciences, Peale endeavored to make manifest [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson’s]] idealized view of the United States as a country of yeoman farmers. He cultivated wheat, oats, rye, corn, and fruit at Belfield, working to create more efficient and productive methods of farming through the incorporation of machinery in the planting and processing of crops, as well as new methods of crop rotation. His correspondence with [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] and his reading of such key agricultural texts as ''Maison Rustique'' and [[Bernard M'Mahon|Bernard M’Mahon’s]] ''American Gardener'' shaped his approach to agriculture. Yet, as David C. Ward points out, the enterprise was not entirely successful; Peale’s note-keeping lagged after 1814, suggesting a growing frustration or lack of interest in the endeavor.<ref>Ward 1991, 292–93, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HH8H7CN5/q/ward view on Zotero].</ref> After falling seriously ill in September 1821—an illness that killed his wife, Hannah—Peale moved back to Philadelphia, where he remained following his convalescence. He sold Belfield in January 1826 to William Logan Fisher.<ref>Sellers 1969, 400–1, 425, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PWCSA5AD/q/sellers view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0000.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''The Artist in His Museum'', 1822.]]
In the ten years [[Charles Willson Peale]] lived at Belfield, the country retreat may be understood as a self-conscious expression of his character as much as any of his painted self-portraits. In justifying the detailed account of his garden in his autobiography, Peale wrote: “As the object of this work is to make the portrait of the man, it is proper to give all his fripperies and follies, more properly, as all these things were made of wood and paint, which could only last a few years.”<ref>Horace Wells Sellers’s transcript of Charles Willson Peale, ''Autobiography'', 392–93, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref> Recognizing Belfield as an important statement of his worldview, Peale recorded its ephemeral details in his letters, sketches, and paintings. In many ways, the statement that Peale made about his full-length self-portrait, ''The Artist in His Museum'' [Fig. 6], is also appropriate to the creation of Belfield: “I think it important that I should not only make it a lasting monument of my art . . . but also that the Design should be expressive that I bring forth into public view, the beauties of Nature and Art. . . .”<ref>Charles Willson Peale to Rembrandt Peale, July 23, 1822, [https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.P31-ead.xml Peale-Sellers Papers, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia].</ref>

—''Therese O’Malley''

<hr>

==Texts==
* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], 1810, describing Belfield (quoted in Miller and Ward 1991: 54, fig. 87)<ref name="Miller and Ward_1991">Lillian B.Miller and David C. Ward, eds., ''New Perspectives on Charles Willson Peale'' (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press for the Smithsonian Institution, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PU8TV8SD view on Zotero].</ref>
:"In this [[view]] imagine that you see a beautiful [[Meadow]] on the right. The Tennants House seems to terminate the lane, from thence it turns up a Gentle declivity to the Mansian, of which you see the Top of a Red roof on the left over the hill. formerly a road went over this hill at the dotted lines. . . . The Common water course is on the edge of the [[Meadow]] on the right and the doted [sic] line is a ditch to which I have a flood-gate to let water on the [[Meadow]] at Pleasure.” [Fig. 1]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:51, 54–55)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991">Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds., ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family'', vol. 3 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero].</ref>
:"I am often pleased with the solemn [[grove]]s skirting [[meadow]]s in majestic silence and cool appearance. . . .
:"I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a [[piazza|Piazer]] extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:53)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"This ground [[plot]] is made by recollection, but I think it near anough [sic] the truth to give you a more precise Idea of the place & the other Sketches which I intend to annex to my letters.” [Fig. 2]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:55)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"This [[View]] is taken at a point [from] the Tennants house a small distance, by which you see the Roof of the Mantion over the Garden [[fence]] which are of boards on a Stone [[Wall]]."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:55–56)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The Barn and one of the Barracks on the West, the Coach-House near the Center, Springhouse on the East side and the [[bathhouse|Bath House]] below it. There is 4 large Popplers (Tulip Tree) which crosses the Road, and the Lumbardy Poppler a row of them on your right hand. Just above the [[bathhouse|bath-House]] is a small fish [[pond]] with about 200 Catfish which I brought from the falls of [[Schuylkill River|Schulkill]]. . . .
:"& beneath rose bushes, [along the stone wall] you may discover a long Roof which has shelves for [[beehive|Bee hives]] conveniently situated to get their food from the flowers of the Garden."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], July 29, 1810, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:56)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"In this view the stone steps at the End of the house is seen, which lead to the [[yard]] in front of the Garden, the Garden pails are on a stone [[wall]] on which grows Creepers now in full bloom they are a fine crimosen [sic] bell flowers in Clusters and an abundance of humming birds are daily sucking the honey. Green Gages, Damsons & quinces are along this [[wall]].”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], August 2, 1813, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:202)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"We are now beginning to ornament about the House Our Garden is much admired, Franklin is shewing his taste in neat workmanship. He has built an Elligant [[summerhouse|Summer House]] on that commanding spot which you may remember being pointed out to you. It is a hexicon base with 6 well turned Pillars supporting a circular Top & dome on which is placed a bust of Genl. Washington, it would have been more appopriate [sic] to have had 13 pillars, but I did not want so large a building, and it was work enough for Franklin to turn those 6 pillars which he was able to execute will [with] the layth in the mill."

* Peale, Rubens, September 27, 1813, in a letter to Sybilla Miriam Peale Summers, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:206)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"Franklin has finished the [[Fountain]], it is a very handsome thing and gives very general pleasure. the [[jet|get]] is about 10 feet in height from the surface of the [[Pond]], a Gilt Ball is thrown about 5 high and there suspinded [sic] by the force of the Water. Spiral [[fountain]] Triaes &c."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], November 12, 1813, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:216)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"I have made an [[obelisk|Oblisk]] to terminate a [[Walk]] in the Garden, read in Dictionary of Arts for description of them. I made it of rough boards & white washed it with lime & allum—The allum It is said will convert the lime in time to Stone. I have put the following motto on it—on one side ‘Never return an Injury, It is a noble Triumph to overcome Evil by Good.’ another, ‘Labour while you are able it will give health to the Body—peaceful content to the mind.’ another, ‘He that will live in peace & Rest, must hear, and see, and say the best & in french ‘y voy, & te tas, si tu veux vivre en paix.’ and on another ‘Neglect no Duty.’ The distick which I have adopted is claimed by several Nations, I have put the french because it is more concise & equally expressive.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, in a letter to his sons, Benjamin Franklin Peale and Titian Ramsey Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"when my leasure and I can spare a man to hall dirt I will raise the water in the fish [[Pond]] which will encrease its surfaces considerably raising the water to the stone [[wall]] at the head of the [[Pond]], deeper, and more water, will be better for fish & will raise the [[jet|get]] at the [[fountain]] considerably.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, in a letter to his sons, Benjamin Franklin Peale and Titian Ramsey Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The stone and ground is remooved at the Bottom of the Garden but the [[Wall]] is not as high and access into the Garden is not so easey as it used to be, even before any [[wall]] is made."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], March 15, 27, 29, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:239)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"As soon as the weather becomes settled & warm, I will have the [[basin|Bason]] walled up with a proper morter, and when that is doing I shall put a Cock to the Leaden pipe to let the water pass out untill the [[basin|Bason]] is prepaired to receive it."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], September 6, 1814, in a letter to his son, Rembrandt Peale, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:263)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"I have finished my [[fountain]] and . . . the [[basin|Bason]] holds the water after much labour to make so having raised the Fish-[[pond]] it gives a [[jet]] of 12 feet high. . . . Rubens has place all his [[Pot]]s round the [[fountain]] [[basin|B[a]son]] and it makes a very handsome display, The [[basin|Bason]] being 13 feet long & 10 wide."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], September 14, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:266)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"The fountain [[basin|Bason]] now holds water completly, and the [[jet]] is 12 feet high, and is kept continually playing; Day & night, Rubens has placed all his plants round the [[basin|Bason]], and it is very handsome."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], October 30, 1814, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:380–83)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_2000">Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds., ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family'', vol. 5 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero].</ref>
:"The proprietor made [[summerhouse|summer houses]] (so called) roofs to ward off the Sunbeams with [[seat]]s of rest. one made of the [[Chinese manner|chinease]] [sic] taste, dedicated to medieation [sic], with the following sentiments round within it:
:"Mediate on the Creation of ''Worlds'', which perform their evolutions in proscribed periods!. . . .
:"He wanted a place to keep the garden seeds & Tools, and in a part of the Garden where a [[seat]] in the shade was often wanted, he built a shed or small room, and to hide that Salt-like-box, and to try his art of Painting, he made the front like [a] Gate way with a step to form a [[seat]], and above, steps painted as representing a passage through an [[Arch]] beyond on which was represented a western sky, and to ornament the upper part over the [[arch]], he painted several figures on boards cut the outlines of said figures as representing [[statue]]s in sculpture. And [so that] his design of those figures might be fully understood [by] visitors, he painted two pedestals ornamented with a ball to crown each. and the die of the Pedestals, on one the expla[na]tion of the figures vizt. America with an even ballance—as justifying her acts. The Fassie, emblematical of the several state[s], are bound together, incircled by a Rattle-snake, as inocent if not meddled with, but terrible if molested. This emblem of Congress is placed ''upright'' as that body ought to be, with wisdom its base, designed by the owl; the [[beehive]] and children; industry an increase the effects of good government, supported on one side, Truth and Temperance, on the other Industry, with her distaf, resting on the cornucopia— consequence a wise Policy will do away with wars. hence Mars is fallen." The figure of Mars was made on the end of shed roof to hide it. The making of this is rather of the Political cast, yet he had long given over being active in Politicks, but choose by it to shew his dislike of War. . . .
:"Having a good spring-house the water from it supplied a small fish-[[pond]], in which he put many cat-fish brought from the [[Schuylkill River|Schulkill]] and although they lived and perhaps might be breed there yet being petts never was served at his table[.] The same with Pidgeons, they had commodious house, and once a pr. of squabs was taken to the Kitchen, but the Parent came after them and alighting on the Kitchen window, Mrs. Peale’s delicate feelings could not suffer them to be killed and accordingly they were returned to the [[pigeon house|Pidgeon-house]].
:"finding a spring stream in the Garden he followed it up the side of the hill, untill it become [sic] of some debth and among large Stones—and having at this place made a considerable cavity in the bank round the sourse of the Spring, to [[wall]] it up this hollow and [[arch]] it over, it was thought that it might be an excellent place to keep cabbage and Turnups &c during the winter season, but on tryal it was found to[o] moist and warm. . . . This tryal gave the Idea of building a [[greenhouse]] jouining to the arched cave—and that [[greenhouse|Green house]] keepted all exotic plants perfectly well without the aid of stoves in the severest winters.
:"below the [[greenhouse|Green house]] he made a round [[basin|bason]] to receive the Water from the cave back of it—and from the fish-[[pond]] near the spring-house, to this [[basin|bason]] in the Garden is a fall of 15 feet, and in order to have a [[fountain]] in the [[basin|Bason]] he put log-pipes under ground, and thus had a [[jet]] of 13 feet high but of small diameter, in order that it might constantly [be] rising. but unfortunately he make the bore of his logs only of one Inch diameter, the consequence was that Frogs in two instances got into the bore of the logs and not being able to pass through all the joints, stopped the water, of course to free the passage of the logs, gave much labour. had these things been foreseen, trouble might have been prevented, by making the bore of the logs of a greater diameter, with other provisions to keep the passage free [Fig. 7].”
[[Image:0009.jpg|thumb|right|Fig. 7, Charles Willson Peale, Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.]]

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], November 22, 1815, in a letter to his daughter, Angelica Peale Robinson, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 43)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986">Rudnytzky 1986, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KJK46QBZ view on Zotero].</ref>
:"The objects in sight, are the road ascending to the Dwelling, Stone [[wall]] & Thorn [[hedge]] on it inclosing the Garden, The Garden [[Gate]] at the [[Fountain]], [[greenhouse|Green House]], [[summerhouse|Summer house]] a doom supported by 6 Pillars, and bust of Washington crowning it—beyond that an [[Obelisk]]; the Hay barracks; Barn with the wind-mill on top of it to pump water for the stock, stables; Mantion-House, Wash-House and connecting [[piazza|Piaza]]; Carriage House; Spring House, [[bathhouse|Bath-House]] and cover of the [[icehouse|Ice-house]].”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], August 4, 1816, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 44)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986"/>
:"I have been so long neglecting the [[view]] I am about in [the] garden that the trees & [[shrubbery]] have grown so high that I cannot represent them truly without almost totally hiding the [[walk]]]s, therefore I shall prefer leaving out many of them—and also make them smaller.”

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], October 13, 1816, describing Belfield (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:452)<ref name="Miller, Hart, and Ward_1991"/>
:"Other parts of my farm excited the curiousity of the Public—a wind-mill for pumping Water for the Cattle &c.—A [[fall garden|falling Garden]], [[fountain]], fish [[Pond]], common Sewers &c Machines to add [aid] the dairy and carriages of various uses—all these things employed the whole of my time to emprove & to keep them in proper order."

* [[Peale, Charles Willson]], January 14, 1824, in a letter to his son, Charles Linnaeus Peale, describing Belfield (quoted in Rudnytzky 1986: 32)<ref name="Rudnytzsky_1986"/>
:"Dear Linnius I wish you to consider whether it is not better to avoid these expenses by burying your Child in the Garden on the south side of the [[obelisk|Oblisk]], a place which if I hold the farm untill my decease, I shall desire to have my body deposited. This has been my determination ever since I painted those inscriptions.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.

Image:0560.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Ground plot of Belfield, 1810.

File:0010.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 12, 1813.

Image:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.

Image:1958.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Cabbage Patch, The Gardens of Belfield, Pennsylvania'', c. 1815–16.

Image:1957.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm'', c. 1816.

Image:0044.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''View of the garden at Belfield'', 1816.

Image:0047.jpg|Anna Peale Sellers, after [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Belfield Farm, Germantown, PA'', Late 19th century.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
40.037944, -75.155425
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://guides.lasalle.edu/local_history_guide/belfield La Salle Local History]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category: Places]]

Washington Square (Philadelphia, PA)

2018-08-14T14:19:45Z

E-athens:

Washington Square, originally called Southeast Square, was one of five open spaces incorporated into William Penn’s original plan for the city of Philadelphia in 1683. It was primarily a grazing pasture and potter’s field—as well as an important site of both celebration and mourning for Philadelphia’s African American community—until 1794. In that year the city began to return the site to its original role as a public square, with the inclusion of [[walk|walks]] and an extensive variety of trees. Philadelphia’s Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to the city’s squares in 1815, and proposed renaming them in honor of celebrated Americans, with Southeast Square rechristened Washington Square in honor of the country’s first president.

==Overview==

'''Alternate Names:''' Southeast Square; Potter’s Field {{break}}
'''Site Dates:''' 1682–present {{break}}
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Philadelphia; National Park Service{{break}}
'''Associated People:''' Thomas Holme (d. 1695); George Bridport (1783–1819); George Vaux (1779–1836) {{break}}
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington+Square+Park/@39.9472354,-75.1513297,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5e718fbcd1ea571e View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==

[[File:0144.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 1, Thomas Holme, “A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania,” 1683.]]

The 1683 plan for the city of Philadelphia, devised by William Penn and his surveyor, Thomas Holme, featured five public squares—one in the city’s center, and one in each of its four quadrants—which were intended to preserve the health and well-being of “this greene country town” and its inhabitants [Fig. 1]. The Southeast Square, however, soon began to serve other purposes; as early as 1706 it was leased as grazing pasture and was also designated a [[burying ground]] for strangers and the poor, later serving as an interment site for Revolutionary War soldiers and victims of Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic. It also became an important locus for free and enslaved African Americans, who used the square as both a [[cemetery]] and a place of celebration.<ref>Bill Double, ''Philadelphia’s Washington Square'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009), 8–9, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8JWSTAP2 view on Zotero].</ref>

In 1738 the city’s municipal councils drafted an ordinance intended to suppress various “Tumultuous meetings” of Philadelphia’s African American community, which may have led to the relocation of their gatherings to Southeast Square.<ref>John F. Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the olden time; being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants . . . '', vol. 1 (Philadelphia: John Pennington and Uriah Hunt, 1844), 62, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero]. </ref> In his ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania'', the historian John Watson observed that “[i]t was the custom for the slave blacks, at the time of fairs and other great holidays, to go there to the number of one thousand . . . and hold their dances, dancing after the manner of their several nations in Africa, and speaking and singing in their native dialects.”<ref>Watson 1844, 1:406, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero].</ref> Due to the important role Southeast Square played for Black Philadelphians, many were understandably angered by attempts disturb the site, particularly by those intending to disinter bodies for anatomical study. The African American community developed a nightly patrol to prevent such exhumations, much to the frustration of Dr. William Shippen Jr., professor of medicine at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania): “[T]he negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the Potters field,” Shippen wrote. “[O]n Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”<ref>William Shippen Jr. to Thomas Lee Shippen, December 18, 1787, quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0902.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 2, George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

[[File:0901.jpg|thumbnail|Fig. 3, George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

By 1794, Philadelphia’s municipal councils determined to improve Southeast Square by removing the [[burying ground]], enclosing the site with a border [[fence]], and planting Lombardy poplars.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. See also the entry for “Trees” in ''The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia'', which highlights the importance of the Lombardy poplar as one of George Washington’s favorite trees, <http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/trees-2/>.</ref> Though no longer used for burials, the site continued to be used for livestock, with a cattle market operating on the west side of the square between 1797 and 1815.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> In 1815 and 1816, the Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to Philadelphia’s squares and proposed renaming its four smaller squares in honor of celebrated Americans. This led to George Bridport’s 1816 plan for the site, which was renamed Washington Square in honor of the United States’ first president [Fig. 2].<ref>Elizabeth Milroy, “Repairing the Myth and the Reality of Philadelphia’s Public Squares, 1800–1850,” ''Change Over Time'' 1:1 (Spring 2011), 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4VUAK4JG view on Zotero]. Southeast Square was known as Washington Square as early as 1818, but it was not officially renamed until 1825.</ref> Bridport, a London-born, Philadelphia-based artist and architect, developed a plan for the site featuring two circular [[promenade|promenades]] and a central plaza to accommodate a memorial to George Washington, for which the Society of the Cincinnati had begun to solicit funds as early as 1810.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. Numerous advertisements in the ''Democratic Press'', ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'', and ''Relfs Philadelphia Gazette'' began to appear in 1810, announcing a lottery to raise funds for the Washington monument.</ref> Bridport developed two separate designs for the proposed monument: the first a domed [[temple]] flanked by [[obelisk|obelisks]], and the second a figurative statue framed by an [[arch]] [Fig. 3]. The executed design for Washington Square differed somewhat from Bridport’s original plan, as shown in an 1843 map, though it retained a circular [[promenade]] [Fig. 4]. The monument to George Washington never came to fruition, despite the efforts of the Society of the Cincinnati and proposals by Bridport and others, including the sculptor Henrico Caucici and the architect William Strickland.<ref>Caucici proposed his model of an equestrian statue as the design for the Washington monument; see ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (November 20, 1816), 3.</ref>

[[File:0903.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 4, M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.]]

The layout of Bridport’s plan for Washington Square was overseen in 1816 and 1817 by George Vaux, a member of Philadelphia’s Common Council and the fourth President of the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania, and the gardener Andrew Gillespie. Vaux’s papers identify sources for paving bricks, fencing, and trees, a number of which were purchased from [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]], including a wide array of maples, oaks, and poplars, among others.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.40–42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. George Vaux’s papers are held by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located on the eastern edge of Washington Square.</ref> The variety of trees in Washington Square carried great educational value, according to a report published on behalf of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1831: “Hence instruction, with respect to our own productions, is placed before the public, and at the same time it is ascertained what trees are best acclimated to our own climate.”<ref>''Report of the Committee appointed by the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania for Visiting the Nurseries and Gardens in the Vicinity of Philadelphia'' (Philadelphia: W. Geddes, 1831), 15, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SSQIGDZR view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, the number and variety of species planted at Washington Square led [[Andrew Jackson Downing]] to describe the site as a “really admirable city ''[[arboretum]]''.”<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, ''Rural Essays'' (New York: George P. Putnam and Company, 1853), 305, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/USXH6MA2/q/rural%20essays view on Zotero].</ref> A rare map dating to the second half of the 1830s highlights the different trees featured in the square [Fig. 5].

[[File:1141 top.jpg|thumbnail|Fig.5, Anonymous, Map of Washington Square [detail], c. 1835–40.]]

Although the 1816 redesign of Washington Square was intended to return it to its original purpose as a green space for an urban populace, including “those classes whose occupations are mechanical and sedentary,” it was initially accessible to the public only during the summer and autumn months.<ref>Letter to Senate, n.d., (c. 1816–24), quoted in NPS 2010, 1.31, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> By about 1825, however, it had become a year-round place of recreation and play, a site where children could “gambol and race over the smooth, clean, and shaded promenades” and fashionable couples could enjoy their evening peregrinations.<ref> ''National Gazette'' [Philadelphia] (June 1, 1830), 1.</ref> Although Washington Square underwent additional redesigns in 1881, 1913, and 1952, it continues to serve as a restorative natural site for Philadelphians.<ref>NPS 2010, 2.25–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==

*Shippen, William, Jr., December 18, 1787, in a letter to Thomas Lee Shippen<ref>quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]</ref>

:" . . . the negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the Potters field . . . on Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”

* Lane, Samuel, 1820, describing George Bridport’s proposal for Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in O’Gorman et al. 1986: 68)<ref>James F. O’Gorman et al., ''Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1986), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B3XMK8MH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[I am writing] to ascertain the artist who designed the public Garden on Chestnut Street [''sic''] at the place (if I am not mistaken) formerly called Potters field; and if he is in your town inquire if he would come on here [Washington, DC] to furnish a design for Improving the Capitol [[Square]].”

* Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1832: 2:48–49)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Near this enclosure [at the State House] is another of much the same description, called Washington Square. Here there was an excellent crop of clover; but as the trees are numerous, and highly beautiful, and several commodious [[seat]]s are placed beneath their shade, it is, spite of the long grass, a very agreeable retreat from heat and dust. It was rarely, however, that I saw any of these [[seat]]s occupied; the Americans have either no leisure, or no inclination for those moments of ''delassement'' that all other people, I believe, indulge in. . . . it is nevertheless the nearest approach to a London [[square]] that is to be found in Philadelphia.”

* Trego, Charles, 1843, describing Philadelphia, PA (1843: 318–19)<ref>Charles B. Trego, ''A Geography of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Edward C. Biddle, 1843), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HC6JKU7N view on Zotero].</ref>

:“''Public [[Square]]s''.—It is to the wise and liberal foresight of the great founder of Pennsylvania that we owe most of the public [[square]]s which now ornament our city. In the original plan, as laid out by Thomas Holmes, Penn’s surveyor general in 1682, there was to be a public [[square]] in the centre containing ten acres, and one in each quarter of the city containing eight acres. . . .

:“Washington [[square]], on Sixth street between Walnut and Locust, was for many years used as a public [[burial ground]] for the poor and for strangers, under the name of the Potters’ field. . . . Its improvement as a public [[square]] commenced in 1815, when a variety of trees were planted, gravel [[walk]]s laid out, and other steps taken which have led to its present attractive appearance. It is intended to erect, in the centre of this [[square]], a monument to the memory of Washington; the cornerstone having been laid with due ceremony at the celebration of his birth day, on the 22nd of February, 1833.”

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing public gardens (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', a new ed., cor. and improved (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. ''Public Gardens''. . . .

:“''[[Promenade]] at Philadelphia''. There is a very pretty enclosure before the walnut tree entrance to the state-house, with good well-kept gravel [[walk]]s, and many beautiful flowering trees. It is laid down in grass, not in turf; which indeed, Mrs. Trollope observes, ‘is a luxury she never saw in America.’ Near this enclosure is another of a similar description, called Washington Square, which has numerous trees, with commodious seats placed beneath their shade.”

* Watson, John Fanning, 1857, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1:405)<ref>John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This beautiful [[square]], now so much the resort of citizens and strangers, as a [[promenade]], was, only twenty-five years ago, a ‘Potter’s Field,’ . . . It was long enclosed in a post and rail [[fence]], and always produced much grass.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0902.jpg|George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:0901.jpg|George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:1141_top.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:1141_bottom.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:0903.jpg|M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
39.9472354, -75.1513297
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93000671.html Library of Congress Authority File]

[http://tclf.org/landscapes/washington-square-pa?destination=search-results The Cultural Landscape Foundation]

[https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-washingtonsquare.htm National Park Service]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category: Places]]

Washington Square (Philadelphia, PA)

2018-08-14T14:17:02Z

E-athens:

Washington Square, originally called Southeast Square, was one of five open spaces incorporated into William Penn’s original plan for the city of Philadelphia in 1683. It was primarily a grazing pasture and potter’s field—as well as an important site of both celebration and mourning for Philadelphia’s African American community—until 1794. In that year the city began to return the site to its original role as a public square, with the inclusion of [[walk|walks]] and an extensive variety of trees. Philadelphia’s Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to the city’s squares in 1815, and proposed renaming them in honor of celebrated Americans, with Southeast Square rechristened Washington Square in honor of the country’s first president.

==Overview==

'''Alternate Names:''' Southeast Square; Potter’s Field {{break}}
'''Site Dates:''' 1682 to present {{break}}
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Philadelphia, National Park Service{{break}}
'''Associated People:''' Thomas Holme (d. 1695); George Bridport (1783–1819); George Vaux (1779–1836) {{break}}
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington+Square+Park/@39.9472354,-75.1513297,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5e718fbcd1ea571e View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==

[[File:0144.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 1, Thomas Holme, “A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania,” 1683.]]

The 1683 plan for the city of Philadelphia, devised by William Penn and his surveyor, Thomas Holme, featured five public squares—one in the city’s center, and one in each of its four quadrants—which were intended to preserve the health and well-being of “this greene country town” and its inhabitants [Fig. 1]. The Southeast Square, however, soon began to serve other purposes; as early as 1706 it was leased as grazing pasture and was also designated a [[burying ground]] for strangers and the poor, later serving as an interment site for Revolutionary War soldiers and victims of Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic. It also became an important locus for free and enslaved African Americans, who used the square as both a [[cemetery]] and a place of celebration.<ref>Bill Double, ''Philadelphia’s Washington Square'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009), 8–9, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8JWSTAP2 view on Zotero].</ref>

In 1738 the city’s municipal councils drafted an ordinance intended to suppress various “Tumultuous meetings” of Philadelphia’s African American community, which may have led to the relocation of their gatherings to Southeast Square.<ref>John F. Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the olden time; being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants . . . '', vol. 1 (Philadelphia: John Pennington and Uriah Hunt, 1844), 62, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero]. </ref> In his ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania'', the historian John Watson observed that “[i]t was the custom for the slave blacks, at the time of fairs and other great holidays, to go there to the number of one thousand . . . and hold their dances, dancing after the manner of their several nations in Africa, and speaking and singing in their native dialects.”<ref>Watson 1844, 1:406, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero].</ref> Due to the important role Southeast Square played for Black Philadelphians, many were understandably angered by attempts disturb the site, particularly by those intending to disinter bodies for anatomical study. The African American community developed a nightly patrol to prevent such exhumations, much to the frustration of Dr. William Shippen Jr., professor of medicine at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania): “[T]he negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the Potters field,” Shippen wrote. “[O]n Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”<ref>William Shippen Jr. to Thomas Lee Shippen, December 18, 1787, quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0902.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 2, George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

[[File:0901.jpg|thumbnail|Fig. 3, George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

By 1794, Philadelphia’s municipal councils determined to improve Southeast Square by removing the [[burying ground]], enclosing the site with a border [[fence]], and planting Lombardy poplars.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. See also the entry for “Trees” in ''The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia'', which highlights the importance of the Lombardy poplar as one of George Washington’s favorite trees, <http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/trees-2/>.</ref> Though no longer used for burials, the site continued to be used for livestock, with a cattle market operating on the west side of the square between 1797 and 1815.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> In 1815 and 1816, the Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to Philadelphia’s squares and proposed renaming its four smaller squares in honor of celebrated Americans. This led to George Bridport’s 1816 plan for the site, which was renamed Washington Square in honor of the United States’ first president [Fig. 2].<ref>Elizabeth Milroy, “Repairing the Myth and the Reality of Philadelphia’s Public Squares, 1800–1850,” ''Change Over Time'' 1:1 (Spring 2011), 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4VUAK4JG view on Zotero]. Southeast Square was known as Washington Square as early as 1818, but it was not officially renamed until 1825.</ref> Bridport, a London-born, Philadelphia-based artist and architect, developed a plan for the site featuring two circular [[promenade|promenades]] and a central plaza to accommodate a memorial to George Washington, for which the Society of the Cincinnati had begun to solicit funds as early as 1810.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. Numerous advertisements in the ''Democratic Press'', ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'', and ''Relfs Philadelphia Gazette'' began to appear in 1810, announcing a lottery to raise funds for the Washington monument.</ref> Bridport developed two separate designs for the proposed monument: the first a domed [[temple]] flanked by [[obelisk|obelisks]], and the second a figurative statue framed by an [[arch]] [Fig. 3]. The executed design for Washington Square differed somewhat from Bridport’s original plan, as shown in an 1843 map, though it retained a circular [[promenade]] [Fig. 4]. The monument to George Washington never came to fruition, despite the efforts of the Society of the Cincinnati and proposals by Bridport and others, including the sculptor Henrico Caucici and the architect William Strickland.<ref>Caucici proposed his model of an equestrian statue as the design for the Washington monument; see ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (November 20, 1816), 3.</ref>

[[File:0903.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 4, M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.]]

The layout of Bridport’s plan for Washington Square was overseen in 1816 and 1817 by George Vaux, a member of Philadelphia’s Common Council and the fourth President of the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania, and the gardener Andrew Gillespie. Vaux’s papers identify sources for paving bricks, fencing, and trees, a number of which were purchased from [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]], including a wide array of maples, oaks, and poplars, among others.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.40–42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. George Vaux’s papers are held by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located on the eastern edge of Washington Square.</ref> The variety of trees in Washington Square carried great educational value, according to a report published on behalf of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1831: “Hence instruction, with respect to our own productions, is placed before the public, and at the same time it is ascertained what trees are best acclimated to our own climate.”<ref>''Report of the Committee appointed by the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania for Visiting the Nurseries and Gardens in the Vicinity of Philadelphia'' (Philadelphia: W. Geddes, 1831), 15, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SSQIGDZR view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, the number and variety of species planted at Washington Square led [[Andrew Jackson Downing]] to describe the site as a “really admirable city ''[[arboretum]]''.”<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, ''Rural Essays'' (New York: George P. Putnam and Company, 1853), 305, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/USXH6MA2/q/rural%20essays view on Zotero].</ref> A rare map dating to the second half of the 1830s highlights the different trees featured in the square [Fig. 5].

[[File:1141 top.jpg|thumbnail|Fig.5, Anonymous, Map of Washington Square [detail], c. 1835–40.]]

Although the 1816 redesign of Washington Square was intended to return it to its original purpose as a green space for an urban populace, including “those classes whose occupations are mechanical and sedentary,” it was initially accessible to the public only during the summer and autumn months.<ref>Letter to Senate, n.d., (c. 1816–24), quoted in NPS 2010, 1.31, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> By about 1825, however, it had become a year-round place of recreation and play, a site where children could “gambol and race over the smooth, clean, and shaded promenades” and fashionable couples could enjoy their evening peregrinations.<ref> ''National Gazette'' [Philadelphia] (June 1, 1830), 1.</ref> Although Washington Square underwent additional redesigns in 1881, 1913, and 1952, it continues to serve as a restorative natural site for Philadelphians.<ref>NPS 2010, 2.25–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==

*Shippen, William, Jr., December 18, 1787, in a letter to Thomas Lee Shippen<ref>quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]</ref>

:" . . . the negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the Potters field . . . on Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”

* Lane, Samuel, 1820, describing George Bridport’s proposal for Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in O’Gorman et al. 1986: 68)<ref>James F. O’Gorman et al., ''Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1986), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B3XMK8MH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[I am writing] to ascertain the artist who designed the public Garden on Chestnut Street [''sic''] at the place (if I am not mistaken) formerly called Potters field; and if he is in your town inquire if he would come on here [Washington, DC] to furnish a design for Improving the Capitol [[Square]].”

* Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1832: 2:48–49)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Near this enclosure [at the State House] is another of much the same description, called Washington Square. Here there was an excellent crop of clover; but as the trees are numerous, and highly beautiful, and several commodious [[seat]]s are placed beneath their shade, it is, spite of the long grass, a very agreeable retreat from heat and dust. It was rarely, however, that I saw any of these [[seat]]s occupied; the Americans have either no leisure, or no inclination for those moments of ''delassement'' that all other people, I believe, indulge in. . . . it is nevertheless the nearest approach to a London [[square]] that is to be found in Philadelphia.”

* Trego, Charles, 1843, describing Philadelphia, PA (1843: 318–19)<ref>Charles B. Trego, ''A Geography of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Edward C. Biddle, 1843), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HC6JKU7N view on Zotero].</ref>

:“''Public [[Square]]s''.—It is to the wise and liberal foresight of the great founder of Pennsylvania that we owe most of the public [[square]]s which now ornament our city. In the original plan, as laid out by Thomas Holmes, Penn’s surveyor general in 1682, there was to be a public [[square]] in the centre containing ten acres, and one in each quarter of the city containing eight acres. . . .

:“Washington [[square]], on Sixth street between Walnut and Locust, was for many years used as a public [[burial ground]] for the poor and for strangers, under the name of the Potters’ field. . . . Its improvement as a public [[square]] commenced in 1815, when a variety of trees were planted, gravel [[walk]]s laid out, and other steps taken which have led to its present attractive appearance. It is intended to erect, in the centre of this [[square]], a monument to the memory of Washington; the cornerstone having been laid with due ceremony at the celebration of his birth day, on the 22nd of February, 1833.”

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing public gardens (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', a new ed., cor. and improved (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. ''Public Gardens''. . . .

:“''[[Promenade]] at Philadelphia''. There is a very pretty enclosure before the walnut tree entrance to the state-house, with good well-kept gravel [[walk]]s, and many beautiful flowering trees. It is laid down in grass, not in turf; which indeed, Mrs. Trollope observes, ‘is a luxury she never saw in America.’ Near this enclosure is another of a similar description, called Washington Square, which has numerous trees, with commodious seats placed beneath their shade.”

* Watson, John Fanning, 1857, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1:405)<ref>John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This beautiful [[square]], now so much the resort of citizens and strangers, as a [[promenade]], was, only twenty-five years ago, a ‘Potter’s Field,’ . . . It was long enclosed in a post and rail [[fence]], and always produced much grass.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0902.jpg|George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:0901.jpg|George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:1141_top.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:1141_bottom.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:0903.jpg|M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
39.9472354, -75.1513297
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93000671.html Library of Congress Authority File]

[http://tclf.org/landscapes/washington-square-pa?destination=search-results The Cultural Landscape Foundation]

[https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-washingtonsquare.htm National Park Service]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category: Places]]

Washington Square (Philadelphia, PA)

2018-08-14T14:15:17Z

E-athens:

Washington Square, originally called Southeast Square, was one of five open spaces incorporated into William Penn’s original plan for the city of Philadelphia in 1683. It was primarily a grazing pasture and potter’s field—as well as an important site of both celebration and mourning for Philadelphia’s African American community—until 1794. In that year the city began to return the site to its original role as a public square, with the inclusion of [[walk|walks]] and an extensive variety of trees. Philadelphia’s Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to the city’s squares in 1815, and proposed renaming them in honor of celebrated Americans, with Southeast Square rechristened Washington Square in honor of the country’s first president.

==Overview==

'''Alternate Names:''' Southeast Square; Potter’s Field {{break}}
'''Site Dates:''' 1682 to present {{break}}
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Philadelphia, National Park Service{{break}}
'''Associated People:''' Thomas Holme (d. 1695); George Bridport (1783–1819); George Vaux (1779–1836) {{break}}
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington+Square+Park/@39.9472354,-75.1513297,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5e718fbcd1ea571e View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==

[[File:0144.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 1, Thomas Holme, “A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania,” 1683.]]

The 1683 plan for the city of Philadelphia, devised by William Penn and his surveyor, Thomas Holme, featured five public squares—one in the city’s center, and one in each of its four quadrants—which were intended to preserve the health and well-being of “this greene country town” and its inhabitants [Fig. 1]. The Southeast Square, however, soon began to serve other purposes; as early as 1706 it was leased as grazing pasture and was also designated a [[burying ground]] for strangers and the poor, later serving as an interment site for Revolutionary War soldiers and victims of Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic. It also became an important locus for free and enslaved African Americans, who used the square as both a [[cemetery]] and a place of celebration.<ref>Bill Double, ''Philadelphia’s Washington Square'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009), 8–9, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8JWSTAP2 view on Zotero].</ref>

In 1738 the city’s municipal councils drafted an ordinance intended to suppress various “Tumultuous meetings” of Philadelphia’s African American community, which may have led to the relocation of their gatherings to Southeast Square.<ref>John F. Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the olden time; being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants . . . '', vol. 1 (Philadelphia: John Pennington and Uriah Hunt, 1844), 62, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero]. </ref> In his ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania'', the historian John Watson observed that “[i]t was the custom for the slave blacks, at the time of fairs and other great holidays, to go there to the number of one thousand . . . and hold their dances, dancing after the manner of their several nations in Africa, and speaking and singing in their native dialects.”<ref>Watson 1844, 1:406, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero].</ref> Due to the important role Southeast Square played for Black Philadelphians, many were understandably angered by attempts disturb the site, particularly by those intending to disinter bodies for anatomical study. The African American community developed a nightly patrol to prevent such exhumations, much to the frustration of Dr. William Shippen Jr., professor of medicine at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania): “[T]he negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the Potters field,” Shippen wrote. “[O]n Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”<ref>William Shippen Jr. to Thomas Lee Shippen, December 18, 1787, quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0902.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 2, George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

[[File:0901.jpg|thumbnail|Fig. 3, George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

By 1794, Philadelphia’s municipal councils determined to improve Southeast Square by removing the [[burying ground]], enclosing the site with a border [[fence]], and planting Lombardy poplars.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. See also the entry for “Trees” in ''The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia'', which highlights the importance of the Lombardy poplar as one of George Washington’s favorite trees, <http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/trees-2/>.</ref> Though no longer used for burials, the site continued to be used for livestock, with a cattle market operating on the west side of the square between 1797 and 1815.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> In 1815 and 1816, the Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to Philadelphia’s squares and proposed renaming its four smaller squares in honor of celebrated Americans. This led to George Bridport’s 1816 plan for the site, which was renamed Washington Square in honor of the United States’ first president [Fig. 2].<ref>Elizabeth Milroy, “Repairing the Myth and the Reality of Philadelphia’s Public Squares, 1800–1850,” ''Change Over Time'' 1:1 (Spring 2011), 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4VUAK4JG view on Zotero]. Southeast Square was known as Washington Square as early as 1818, but it was not officially renamed until 1825.</ref> Bridport, a London-born, Philadelphia-based artist and architect, developed a plan for the site featuring two circular [[promenade|promenades]] and a central plaza to accommodate a memorial to George Washington, for which the Society of the Cincinnati had begun to solicit funds as early as 1810.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. Numerous advertisements in the ''Democratic Press'', ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'', and ''Relfs Philadelphia Gazette'' began to appear in 1810, announcing a lottery to raise funds for the Washington monument.</ref> Bridport developed two separate designs for the proposed monument: the first a domed [[temple]] flanked by [[obelisk|obelisks]], and the second a figurative statue framed by an [[arch]] [Fig. 3]. The executed design for Washington Square differed somewhat from Bridport’s original plan, as shown in an 1843 map, though it retained a circular [[promenade]] [Fig. 4]. The monument to George Washington never came to fruition, despite the efforts of the Society of the Cincinnati and proposals by Bridport and others, including the sculptor Henrico Caucici and the architect William Strickland.<ref>Caucici proposed his model of an equestrian statue as the design for the Washington monument; see ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (November 20, 1816), 3.</ref>

[[File:0903.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 4, M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.]]

The layout of Bridport’s plan for Washington Square was overseen in 1816 and 1817 by George Vaux, a member of Philadelphia’s Common Council and the fourth President of the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania, and the gardener Andrew Gillespie. Vaux’s papers identify sources for paving bricks, fencing, and trees, a number of which were purchased from [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]], including a wide array of maples, oaks, and poplars, among others.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.40–42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. George Vaux’s papers are held by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located on the eastern edge of Washington Square.</ref> The variety of trees in Washington Square carried great educational value, according to a report published on behalf of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1831: “Hence instruction, with respect to our own productions, is placed before the public, and at the same time it is ascertained what trees are best acclimated to our own climate.”<ref>''Report of the Committee appointed by the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania for Visiting the Nurseries and Gardens in the Vicinity of Philadelphia'' (Philadelphia: W. Geddes, 1831), 15, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SSQIGDZR view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, the number and variety of species planted at Washington Square led [[Andrew Jackson Downing]] to describe the site as a “really admirable city ''[[arboretum]]''.”<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, ''Rural Essays'' (New York: George P. Putnam and Company, 1853), 305, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/USXH6MA2/q/rural%20essays view on Zotero].</ref> A rare map dating to the second half of the 1830s highlights the different trees featured in the square [Fig. 5].

[[File:1141 top.jpg|thumbnail|Fig.5, Anonymous, Map of Washington Square [detail], c. 1835–40.]]

Although the 1816 redesign of Washington Square was intended to return it to its original purpose as a green space for an urban populace, including “those classes whose occupations are mechanical and sedentary,” it was initially accessible to the public only during the summer and autumn months.<ref>Letter to Senate, n.d., (c. 1816–24), quoted in NPS 2010, 1.31, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> By about 1825, however, it had become a year-round place of recreation and play, a site where children could “gambol and race over the smooth, clean, and shaded promenades” and fashionable couples could enjoy their evening peregrinations.<ref> ''National Gazette'' [Philadelphia] (June 1, 1830), 1.</ref> Although Washington Square underwent additional redesigns in 1881, 1913, and 1952, it continues to serve as a restorative natural site for Philadelphians.<ref>NPS 2010, 2.25–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==

*Shippen, William, Jr., December 18, 1787, in a letter to Thomas Lee Shippen<ref>quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]</ref>

:" . . . the negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the [[Potters field]] . . . on Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”

* Lane, Samuel, 1820, describing George Bridport’s proposal for Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in O’Gorman et al. 1986: 68)<ref>James F. O’Gorman et al., ''Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1986), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B3XMK8MH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[I am writing] to ascertain the artist who designed the public Garden on Chestnut Street [''sic''] at the place (if I am not mistaken) formerly called Potters field; and if he is in your town inquire if he would come on here [Washington, DC] to furnish a design for Improving the Capitol [[Square]].”

* Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1832: 2:48–49)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Near this enclosure [at the State House] is another of much the same description, called Washington Square. Here there was an excellent crop of clover; but as the trees are numerous, and highly beautiful, and several commodious [[seat]]s are placed beneath their shade, it is, spite of the long grass, a very agreeable retreat from heat and dust. It was rarely, however, that I saw any of these [[seat]]s occupied; the Americans have either no leisure, or no inclination for those moments of ''delassement'' that all other people, I believe, indulge in. . . . it is nevertheless the nearest approach to a London [[square]] that is to be found in Philadelphia.”

* Trego, Charles, 1843, describing Philadelphia, PA (1843: 318–19)<ref>Charles B. Trego, ''A Geography of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Edward C. Biddle, 1843), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HC6JKU7N view on Zotero].</ref>

:“''Public [[Square]]s''.—It is to the wise and liberal foresight of the great founder of Pennsylvania that we owe most of the public [[square]]s which now ornament our city. In the original plan, as laid out by Thomas Holmes, Penn’s surveyor general in 1682, there was to be a public [[square]] in the centre containing ten acres, and one in each quarter of the city containing eight acres. . . .

:“Washington [[square]], on Sixth street between Walnut and Locust, was for many years used as a public [[burial ground]] for the poor and for strangers, under the name of the Potters’ field. . . . Its improvement as a public [[square]] commenced in 1815, when a variety of trees were planted, gravel [[walk]]s laid out, and other steps taken which have led to its present attractive appearance. It is intended to erect, in the centre of this [[square]], a monument to the memory of Washington; the cornerstone having been laid with due ceremony at the celebration of his birth day, on the 22nd of February, 1833.”

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing public gardens (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', a new ed., cor. and improved (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. ''Public Gardens''. . . .

:“''[[Promenade]] at Philadelphia''. There is a very pretty enclosure before the walnut tree entrance to the state-house, with good well-kept gravel [[walk]]s, and many beautiful flowering trees. It is laid down in grass, not in turf; which indeed, Mrs. Trollope observes, ‘is a luxury she never saw in America.’ Near this enclosure is another of a similar description, called Washington Square, which has numerous trees, with commodious seats placed beneath their shade.”

* Watson, John Fanning, 1857, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1:405)<ref>John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This beautiful [[square]], now so much the resort of citizens and strangers, as a [[promenade]], was, only twenty-five years ago, a ‘Potter’s Field,’ . . . It was long enclosed in a post and rail [[fence]], and always produced much grass.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0902.jpg|George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:0901.jpg|George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:1141_top.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:1141_bottom.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:0903.jpg|M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
39.9472354, -75.1513297
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93000671.html Library of Congress Authority File]

[http://tclf.org/landscapes/washington-square-pa?destination=search-results The Cultural Landscape Foundation]

[https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-washingtonsquare.htm National Park Service]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category: Places]]

Washington Square (Philadelphia, PA)

2018-08-14T14:14:34Z

E-athens:

Washington Square, originally called Southeast Square, was one of five open spaces incorporated into William Penn’s original plan for the city of Philadelphia in 1683. It was primarily a grazing pasture and potter’s field—as well as an important site of both celebration and mourning for Philadelphia’s African American community—until 1794. In that year the city began to return the site to its original role as a public square, with the inclusion of [[walk|walks]] and an extensive variety of trees. Philadelphia’s Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to the city’s squares in 1815, and proposed renaming them in honor of celebrated Americans, with Southeast Square rechristened Washington Square in honor of the country’s first president.

==Overview==

'''Alternate Names:''' Southeast Square; Potter’s Field {{break}}
'''Site Dates:''' 1682 to present {{break}}
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Philadelphia, National Park Service{{break}}
'''Associated People:''' Thomas Holme (d. 1695); George Bridport (1783–1819); George Vaux (1779–1836) {{break}}
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington+Square+Park/@39.9472354,-75.1513297,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5e718fbcd1ea571e View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==

[[File:0144.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 1, Thomas Holme, “A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania,” 1683.]]

The 1683 plan for the city of Philadelphia, devised by William Penn and his surveyor, Thomas Holme, featured five public squares—one in the city’s center, and one in each of its four quadrants—which were intended to preserve the health and well-being of “this greene country town” and its inhabitants [Fig. 1]. The Southeast Square, however, soon began to serve other purposes; as early as 1706 it was leased as grazing pasture and was also designated a [[burying ground]] for strangers and the poor, later serving as an interment site for Revolutionary War soldiers and victims of Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic. It also became an important locus for free and enslaved African Americans, who used the square as both a [[cemetery]] and a place of celebration.<ref>Bill Double, ''Philadelphia’s Washington Square'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009), 8–9, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8JWSTAP2 view on Zotero].</ref>

In 1738 the city’s municipal councils drafted an ordinance intended to suppress various “Tumultuous meetings” of Philadelphia’s African American community, which may have led to the relocation of their gatherings to Southeast Square.<ref>John F. Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the olden time; being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants . . . '', vol. 1 (Philadelphia: John Pennington and Uriah Hunt, 1844), 62, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero]. </ref> In his ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania'', the historian John Watson observed that “[i]t was the custom for the slave blacks, at the time of fairs and other great holidays, to go there to the number of one thousand . . . and hold their dances, dancing after the manner of their several nations in Africa, and speaking and singing in their native dialects.”<ref>Watson 1844, 1:406, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero].</ref> Due to the important role Southeast Square played for Black Philadelphians, many were understandably angered by attempts disturb the site, particularly by those intending to disinter bodies for anatomical study. The African American community developed a nightly patrol to prevent such exhumations, much to the frustration of Dr. William Shippen Jr., professor of medicine at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania): “[T]he negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the Potters field,” Shippen wrote. “[O]n Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”<ref>William Shippen Jr. to Thomas Lee Shippen, December 18, 1787, quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0902.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 2, George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

[[File:0901.jpg|thumbnail|Fig. 3, George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

By 1794, Philadelphia’s municipal councils determined to improve Southeast Square by removing the [[burying ground]], enclosing the site with a border [[fence]], and planting Lombardy poplars.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. See also the entry for “Trees” in ''The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia'', which highlights the importance of the Lombardy poplar as one of George Washington’s favorite trees, <http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/trees-2/>.</ref> Though no longer used for burials, the site continued to be used for livestock, with a cattle market operating on the west side of the square between 1797 and 1815.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> In 1815 and 1816, the Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to Philadelphia’s squares and proposed renaming its four smaller squares in honor of celebrated Americans. This led to George Bridport’s 1816 plan for the site, which was renamed Washington Square in honor of the United States’ first president [Fig. 2].<ref>Elizabeth Milroy, “Repairing the Myth and the Reality of Philadelphia’s Public Squares, 1800–1850,” ''Change Over Time'' 1:1 (Spring 2011), 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4VUAK4JG view on Zotero]. Southeast Square was known as Washington Square as early as 1818, but it was not officially renamed until 1825.</ref> Bridport, a London-born, Philadelphia-based artist and architect, developed a plan for the site featuring two circular [[promenade|promenades]] and a central plaza to accommodate a memorial to George Washington, for which the Society of the Cincinnati had begun to solicit funds as early as 1810.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. Numerous advertisements in the ''Democratic Press'', ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'', and ''Relfs Philadelphia Gazette'' began to appear in 1810, announcing a lottery to raise funds for the Washington monument.</ref> Bridport developed two separate designs for the proposed monument: the first a domed [[temple]] flanked by [[obelisk|obelisks]], and the second a figurative statue framed by an [[arch]] [Fig. 3]. The executed design for Washington Square differed somewhat from Bridport’s original plan, as shown in an 1843 map, though it retained a circular [[promenade]] [Fig. 4]. The monument to George Washington never came to fruition, despite the efforts of the Society of the Cincinnati and proposals by Bridport and others, including the sculptor Henrico Caucici and the architect William Strickland.<ref>Caucici proposed his model of an equestrian statue as the design for the Washington monument; see ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (November 20, 1816), 3.</ref>

[[File:0903.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 4, M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.]]

The layout of Bridport’s plan for Washington Square was overseen in 1816 and 1817 by George Vaux, a member of Philadelphia’s Common Council and the fourth President of the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania, and the gardener Andrew Gillespie. Vaux’s papers identify sources for paving bricks, fencing, and trees, a number of which were purchased from [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]], including a wide array of maples, oaks, and poplars, among others.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.40–42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. George Vaux’s papers are held by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located on the eastern edge of Washington Square.</ref> The variety of trees in Washington Square carried great educational value, according to a report published on behalf of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1831: “Hence instruction, with respect to our own productions, is placed before the public, and at the same time it is ascertained what trees are best acclimated to our own climate.”<ref>''Report of the Committee appointed by the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania for Visiting the Nurseries and Gardens in the Vicinity of Philadelphia'' (Philadelphia: W. Geddes, 1831), 15, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SSQIGDZR view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, the number and variety of species planted at Washington Square led [[Andrew Jackson Downing]] to describe the site as a “really admirable city ''[[arboretum]]''.”<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, ''Rural Essays'' (New York: George P. Putnam and Company, 1853), 305, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/USXH6MA2/q/rural%20essays view on Zotero].</ref> A rare map dating to the second half of the 1830s highlights the different trees featured in the square [Fig. 5].

[[File:1141 top.jpg|thumbnail|Fig.5, Anonymous, Map of Washington Square [detail], c. 1835–40.]]

Although the 1816 redesign of Washington Square was intended to return it to its original purpose as a green space for an urban populace, including “those classes whose occupations are mechanical and sedentary,” it was initially accessible to the public only during the summer and autumn months.<ref>Letter to Senate, n.d., (c. 1816–24), quoted in NPS 2010, 1.31, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> By about 1825, however, it had become a year-round place of recreation and play, a site where children could “gambol and race over the smooth, clean, and shaded promenades” and fashionable couples could enjoy their evening peregrinations.<ref> ''National Gazette'' [Philadelphia] (June 1, 1830), 1.</ref> Although Washington Square underwent additional redesigns in 1881, 1913, and 1952, it continues to serve as a restorative natural site for Philadelphians.<ref>NPS 2010, 2.25–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==

*Shippen, William, Jr., December 18, 1787, in a letter to Thomas Lee Shippen<ref>quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]</ref>

:" . . . the negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the [[Potters field]] . . . on Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”

* Lane, Samuel, 1820, describing George Bridport’s proposal for Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in O’Gorman et al. 1986: 68)<ref>James F. O’Gorman et al., ''Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1986), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B3XMK8MH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[I am writing] to ascertain the artist who designed the public Garden on Chestnut Street [''sic''] at the place (if I am not mistaken) formerly called Potters field; and if he is in your town inquire if he would come on here [Washington, DC] to furnish a design for Improving the Capitol [[Square]].”

* Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1832: 2:48–49)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Near this enclosure [at the State House] is another of much the same description, called Washington Square. Here there was an excellent crop of clover; but as the trees are numerous, and highly beautiful, and several commodious [[seat]]s are placed beneath their shade, it is, spite of the long grass, a very agreeable retreat from heat and dust. It was rarely, however, that I saw any of these [[seat]]s occupied; the Americans have either no leisure, or no inclination for those moments of ''delassement'' that all other people, I believe, indulge in. . . . it is nevertheless the nearest approach to a London [[square]] that is to be found in Philadelphia.”

* Trego, Charles, 1843, describing Philadelphia, PA (1843: 318–19)<ref>Charles B. Trego, ''A Geography of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Edward C. Biddle, 1843), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HC6JKU7N view on Zotero].</ref>

:“''Public [[Square]]s''.—It is to the wise and liberal foresight of the great founder of Pennsylvania that we owe most of the public [[square]]s which now ornament our city. In the original plan, as laid out by Thomas Holmes, Penn’s surveyor general in 1682, there was to be a public [[square]] in the centre containing ten acres, and one in each quarter of the city containing eight acres. . . .

:“Washington [[square]], on Sixth street between Walnut and Locust, was for many years used as a public [[burial ground]] for the poor and for strangers, under the name of the Potters’ field. . . . Its improvement as a public [[square]] commenced in 1815, when a variety of trees were planted, gravel [[walk]]s laid out, and other steps taken which have led to its present attractive appearance. It is intended to erect, in the centre of this [[square]], a monument to the memory of Washington; the cornerstone having been laid with due ceremony at the celebration of his birth day, on the 22nd of February, 1833.”

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing public gardens (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', a new ed., cor. and improved (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. ''Public Gardens''. . . .

:“''[[Promenade]] at Philadelphia''. There is a very pretty enclosure before the walnut tree entrance to the state-house, with good well-kept gravel [[walk]]s, and many beautiful flowering trees. It is laid down in grass, not in turf; which indeed, Mrs. Trollope observes, ‘is a luxury she never saw in America.’ Near this enclosure is another of a similar description, called Washington Square, which has numerous trees, with commodious seats placed beneath their shade.”

* Watson, John Fanning, 1857, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1:405)<ref>John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This beautiful [[square]], now so much the resort of citizens and strangers, as a [[promenade]], was, only twenty-five years ago, a ‘Potter’s Field,’ . . . It was long enclosed in a post and rail [[fence]], and always produced much grass.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0902.jpg|George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:0901.jpg|George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:1141_top.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:1141_bottom.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:0903.jpg|M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
39.9472354, -75.1513297
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93000671.html Library of Congress Authority File]

[http://tclf.org/landscapes/washington-square-pa?destination=search-results The Cultural Landscape Foundation]

[https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-washingtonsquare.htm National Park Service]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category: Places]]

Washington Square (Philadelphia, PA)

2018-08-14T14:12:51Z

E-athens:

Washington Square, originally called Southeast Square, was one of five open spaces incorporated into William Penn’s original plan for the city of Philadelphia in 1683. It was primarily a grazing pasture and potter’s field—as well as an important site of both celebration and mourning for Philadelphia’s African American community—until 1794. In that year the city began to return the site to its original role as a public square, with the inclusion of [[walk|walks]] and an extensive variety of trees. Philadelphia’s Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to the city’s squares in 1815, and proposed renaming them in honor of celebrated Americans, with Southeast Square rechristened Washington Square in honor of the country’s first president.

==Overview==

'''Alternate Names:''' Southeast Square; Potter’s Field {{break}}
'''Site Dates:''' 1682 to present {{break}}
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Philadelphia, National Park Service{{break}}
'''Associated People:''' Thomas Holme (d. 1695); George Bridport (1783–1819); George Vaux (1779–1836) {{break}}
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington+Square+Park/@39.9472354,-75.1513297,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5e718fbcd1ea571e View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==

[[File:0144.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 1, Thomas Holme, “A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania,” 1683.]]

The 1683 plan for the city of Philadelphia, devised by William Penn and his surveyor, Thomas Holme, featured five public squares—one in the city’s center, and one in each of its four quadrants—which were intended to preserve the health and well-being of “this greene country town” and its inhabitants [Fig. 1]. The Southeast Square, however, soon began to serve other purposes; as early as 1706 it was leased as grazing pasture and was also designated a [[burying ground]] for strangers and the poor, later serving as an interment site for Revolutionary War soldiers and victims of Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic. It also became an important locus for free and enslaved African Americans, who used the square as both a [[cemetery]] and a place of celebration.<ref>Bill Double, ''Philadelphia’s Washington Square'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009), 8–9, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8JWSTAP2 view on Zotero].</ref>

In 1738 the city’s municipal councils drafted an ordinance intended to suppress various “Tumultuous meetings” of Philadelphia’s African American community, which may have led to the relocation of their gatherings to Southeast Square.<ref>John F. Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the olden time; being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants . . . '', vol. 1 (Philadelphia: John Pennington and Uriah Hunt, 1844), 62, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero]. </ref> In his ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania'', the historian John Watson observed that “[i]t was the custom for the slave blacks, at the time of fairs and other great holidays, to go there to the number of one thousand . . . and hold their dances, dancing after the manner of their several nations in Africa, and speaking and singing in their native dialects.”<ref>Watson 1844, 1:406, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/KRUCIMIP/q/Watson view on Zotero].</ref> Due to the important role Southeast Square played for Black Philadelphians, many were understandably angered by attempts disturb the site, particularly by those intending to disinter bodies for anatomical study. The African American community developed a nightly patrol to prevent such exhumations, much to the frustration of Dr. William Shippen Jr., professor of medicine at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania): “[T]he negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the Potters field,” Shippen wrote. “[O]n Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”<ref>William Shippen Jr. to Thomas Lee Shippen, December 18, 1787, quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0902.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 2, George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

[[File:0901.jpg|thumbnail|Fig. 3, George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.]]

By 1794, Philadelphia’s municipal councils determined to improve Southeast Square by removing the [[burying ground]], enclosing the site with a border [[fence]], and planting Lombardy poplars.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. See also the entry for “Trees” in ''The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia'', which highlights the importance of the Lombardy poplar as one of George Washington’s favorite trees, <http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/trees-2/>.</ref> Though no longer used for burials, the site continued to be used for livestock, with a cattle market operating on the west side of the square between 1797 and 1815.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> In 1815 and 1816, the Select and Common Councils appointed a committee to oversee improvements to Philadelphia’s squares and proposed renaming its four smaller squares in honor of celebrated Americans. This led to George Bridport’s 1816 plan for the site, which was renamed Washington Square in honor of the United States’ first president [Fig. 2].<ref>Elizabeth Milroy, “Repairing the Myth and the Reality of Philadelphia’s Public Squares, 1800–1850,” ''Change Over Time'' 1:1 (Spring 2011), 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4VUAK4JG view on Zotero]. Southeast Square was known as Washington Square as early as 1818, but it was not officially renamed until 1825.</ref> Bridport, a London-born, Philadelphia-based artist and architect, developed a plan for the site featuring two circular [[promenade|promenades]] and a central plaza to accommodate a memorial to George Washington, for which the Society of the Cincinnati had begun to solicit funds as early as 1810.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. Numerous advertisements in the ''Democratic Press'', ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'', and ''Relfs Philadelphia Gazette'' began to appear in 1810, announcing a lottery to raise funds for the Washington monument.</ref> Bridport developed two separate designs for the proposed monument: the first a domed [[temple]] flanked by [[obelisk|obelisks]], and the second a figurative statue framed by an [[arch]] [Fig. 3]. The executed design for Washington Square differed somewhat from Bridport’s original plan, as shown in an 1843 map, though it retained a circular [[promenade]] [Fig. 4]. The monument to George Washington never came to fruition, despite the efforts of the Society of the Cincinnati and proposals by Bridport and others, including the sculptor Henrico Caucici and the architect William Strickland.<ref>Caucici proposed his model of an equestrian statue as the design for the Washington monument; see ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (November 20, 1816), 3.</ref>

[[File:0903.jpg|thumbnail|left|Fig. 4, M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.]]

The layout of Bridport’s plan for Washington Square was overseen in 1816 and 1817 by George Vaux, a member of Philadelphia’s Common Council and the fourth President of the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania, and the gardener Andrew Gillespie. Vaux’s papers identify sources for paving bricks, fencing, and trees, a number of which were purchased from [[Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery|Bartram’s Garden]], including a wide array of maples, oaks, and poplars, among others.<ref>NPS 2010, 1.40–42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]. George Vaux’s papers are held by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located on the eastern edge of Washington Square.</ref> The variety of trees in Washington Square carried great educational value, according to a report published on behalf of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1831: “Hence instruction, with respect to our own productions, is placed before the public, and at the same time it is ascertained what trees are best acclimated to our own climate.”<ref>''Report of the Committee appointed by the Horticultural Society of Pennsylvania for Visiting the Nurseries and Gardens in the Vicinity of Philadelphia'' (Philadelphia: W. Geddes, 1831), 15, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SSQIGDZR view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, the number and variety of species planted at Washington Square led [[Andrew Jackson Downing]] to describe the site as a “really admirable city ''[[arboretum]]''.”<ref>Andrew Jackson Downing, ''Rural Essays'' (New York: George P. Putnam and Company, 1853), 305, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/USXH6MA2/q/rural%20essays view on Zotero].</ref> A rare map dating to the second half of the 1830s highlights the different trees featured in the square [Fig. 5].

[[File:1141 top.jpg|thumbnail|Fig.5, Anonymous, Map of Washington Square [detail], c. 1835–40.]]

Although the 1816 redesign of Washington Square was intended to return it to its original purpose as a green space for an urban populace, including “those classes whose occupations are mechanical and sedentary,” it was initially accessible to the public only during the summer and autumn months.<ref>Letter to Senate, n.d., (c. 1816–24), quoted in NPS 2010, 1.31, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref> By about 1825, however, it had become a year-round place of recreation and play, a site where children could “gambol and race over the smooth, clean, and shaded promenades” and fashionable couples could enjoy their evening peregrinations.<ref> ''National Gazette'' [Philadelphia] (June 1, 1830), 1.</ref> Although Washington Square underwent additional redesigns in 1881, 1913, and 1952, it continues to serve as a restorative natural site for Philadelphians.<ref>NPS 2010, 2.25–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==

*Shippen, William, Jr., December 18, 1787, in a letter to Thomas Lee Shippen<ref>quoted in National Park Service (NPS), “Cultural Landscape Report for Washington Square” (September 2010), 2.19, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/H4XK5UWA view on Zotero]</ref>

:" . . . the negroes have determined to watch all who are buried in the [[Potters field]] . . . on Saturday night with the assistance of six invalids with muskets [the exhumers] beat off the negroes and obtained a corps. I lodged it in the Theater. The resolute impertinent blacks broke open ye house stole ye subject and reburied it.”

* Lane, Samuel, 1820, describing George Bridport’s proposal for Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in O’Gorman et al. 1986: 68)<ref>James F. O’Gorman et al., ''Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural Graphics, 1732–1986'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1986), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B3XMK8MH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[I am writing] to ascertain the artist who designed the public Garden on Chestnut Street [''sic''] at the place (if I am not mistaken) formerly called Potters field; and if he is in your town inquire if he would come on here [Washington, DC] to furnish a design for Improving the Capitol [[Square]].”

* Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1832: 2:48–49)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Near this enclosure [at the State House] is another of much the same description, called Washington Square. Here there was an excellent crop of clover; but as the trees are numerous, and highly beautiful, and several commodious [[seat]]s are placed beneath their shade, it is, spite of the long grass, a very agreeable retreat from heat and dust. It was rarely, however, that I saw any of these [[seat]]s occupied; the Americans have either no leisure, or no inclination for those moments of ''delassement'' that all other people, I believe, indulge in. . . . it is nevertheless the nearest approach to a London [[square]] that is to be found in Philadelphia.”

* Trego, Charles, 1843, describing Philadelphia, PA (1843: 318–19)<ref>Charles B. Trego, ''A Geography of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Edward C. Biddle, 1843), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HC6JKU7N view on Zotero].</ref>

:“''Public [[Square]]s''.—It is to the wise and liberal foresight of the great founder of Pennsylvania that we owe most of the public [[square]]s which now ornament our city. In the original plan, as laid out by Thomas Holmes, Penn’s surveyor general in 1682, there was to be a public [[square]] in the centre containing ten acres, and one in each quarter of the city containing eight acres. . . .

:“Washington [[square]], on Sixth street between Walnut and Locust, was for many years used as a public [[burial ground]] for the poor and for strangers, under the name of the Potters’ field. . . . Its improvement as a public [[square]] commenced in 1815, when a variety of trees were planted, gravel [[walk]]s laid out, and other steps taken which have led to its present attractive appearance. It is intended to erect, in the centre of this [[square]], a monument to the memory of Washington; the cornerstone having been laid with due ceremony at the celebration of his birth day, on the 22nd of February, 1833.”

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing public gardens (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', a new ed., cor. and improved (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. ''Public Gardens''. . . .

:“''[[Promenade]] at Philadelphia''. There is a very pretty enclosure before the walnut tree entrance to the state-house, with good well-kept gravel [[walk]]s, and many beautiful flowering trees. It is laid down in grass, not in turf; which indeed, Mrs. Trollope observes, ‘is a luxury she never saw in America.’ Near this enclosure is another of a similar description, called Washington Square, which has numerous trees, with commodious seats placed beneath their shade.”

* Watson, John Fanning, 1857, describing Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA (1:405)<ref>John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This beautiful [[square]], now so much the resort of citizens and strangers, as a [[promenade]], was, only twenty-five years ago, a ‘Potter’s Field,’ . . . It was long enclosed in a post and rail [[fence]], and always produced much grass.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

Image:0902.jpg|George Bridport, “Design for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:0901.jpg|George Bridport, “Alternative designs for Washington Monument, Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1816.

Image:1141_top.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:1141_bottom.jpg|Anonymous, “Map of Washington Square” [detail], c. 1835–40.

Image:0903.jpg|M. Schmitz (artist), Thomas S. Sinclair (lithographer), John B. Colahan (surveyor), “Map of Washington Square, Philadelphia,” 1843.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93000671.html Library of Congress Authority File]

[http://tclf.org/landscapes/washington-square-pa?destination=search-results The Cultural Landscape Foundation]

[https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-washingtonsquare.htm National Park Service]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category: Places]]

Riversdale

2018-08-14T14:11:35Z

E-athens:

Riversdale was the [[plantation]] of the Belgian émigré Rosalie Stier Calvert (1778–1821) and her husband, George Calvert (1768–1838), a planter and direct descendent of the Proprietary Governors of Maryland. Though estates were usually owned by men in the early Republic, Riversdale is one of the few that passed from father to daughter.<ref> Writing to her father on September 28, 1804, Rosalie wrote to her father about careful estate planning, since “. . . the laws [in the United States] give little power to women and it is better to err on the side of too much caution.” Quoted in Margaret Callcott, ''Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795–1821'', (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 98, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Rosalie received the house and land from her father, Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821), as part of her inheritance, and oversaw the development of its extensive grounds. Much of what is known about the layout of the estate derives from Rosalie’s correspondence with her European relatives.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Baltimore House; Calvert Mansion; Baron de Stier House 
'''Site Dates:''' 1800 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821); Rosalie Stier Calvert (1778–1821) and George Calvert (1768–1838); Charles Benedict Calvert (1808–1864); Riverdale Park Company; Thomas H. Pickford (1862–1939); Thaddeus Caraway (1871–1931) and Hattie Wyatt Caraway (1878–1950); Abraham Walter Lafferty (1875–1964); Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission<ref> Riversdale Mansion, National Historic Landmark Nomination, 26–30.</ref> 
'''Associated People:''' [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] (1764–1820); William Lovering (active 1795–1810); [[William Russell Birch]] (1755–1834) 
'''Location:''' Riverdale, MD 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Riversdale+House+Museum/@38.9602373,-76.9318343,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x257ceb2d688b2815?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNrrG03OzcAhWHTt8KHfimAyIQ_BIwCnoECAoQCw View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
Fleeing the terror unleashed by the French Revolution, Belgian aristocrat Henri Joseph Stier and his family left their native country for the United States in the autumn of 1794, intending only to remain until they could safely return to Europe. But when the youngest of Henri’s three children, Rosalie, married the Maryland planter George Calvert in 1799, the family decided to make their home in the United States.<ref> Callcott 1991, 1–17, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref>

Calvert, a direct descendant of the Proprietary Governors of Maryland, was an exceptionally wealthy landowner, possessing over 3,300 acres by 1800, which comprised the tobacco farm he inherited on the Patuxent River, called Mount Albion, and additional tracts of land in Prince George’s County, including a small lot in the town of Bladensburg.<ref>Steven James Sarson, ''The Tobacco-Plantation South in the Early American Atlantic World'' (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 26–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZHS3A4LB/q/sarson view on Zotero].</ref> When Henri began searching for property, his son-in-law suggested 729 ½ acres nearby, which would become the site of Riversdale.<ref>Callcott 1991, 23–25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero]. The property was purchased in his son’s name, Charles John Stier, who had become a naturalized American citizen; Henri would gain citizenship only later that year.</ref> Benjamin Henry Latrobe was commissioned to oversee the design and construction of the house, but Henri was vexed by his inefficiency and replaced him with the Washington architect William Lovering.<ref>Callcott 1991, 28–29, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref>

Despite the Stier family’s plans to remain in the United States, Henri’s son and daughter-in-law returned to Europe in 1802, and they reported that Napoleon was offering safe return to émigrés who had fled the Revolution.<ref>Callcott 1991, 33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Henri and his wife, along with their elder daughter and her family, decided to rejoin them. Rosalie—married to an American husband, with a young daughter and another child on the way—was determined to remain in her adopted country. The news disappointed her father: “Since no hope remains of seeing all my family reunited, I must join the greater number.”<ref>Henri Joseph Stier to Charles Joseph Stier, November 1802, quoted in Callcott 1991, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> He offered her the land and the newly built house, making a point to have the estate placed in Rosalie’s name.<ref>Henri had an antenuptial agreement drawn up for Rosalie and George Calvert, which ensured that her inheritance would go directly to her children or, if the marriage produced no issue, reverted to the Stier family. Despite this, Rosalie still had to become a naturalized citizen of the United States and required an act of the Maryland Legislature in order to be legally recognized as the owner of Riversdale. See Callcott 1991, 19–20, and William Kilty, Thomas Harris, John N. Watkins, eds., ''The Laws of Maryland from the End of the Year 1799, with a Full Index, and the Constitution of This State, as Adopted by the Convention, with the Several Alterations by Acts of Assembly: and an Appendix Containing the Land Laws; with the resolutions Considered Proper to be Published'', vol. V (Annapolis: J. Green, 1820), 1754, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N43UCBYT/q/kilty view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1112.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Anthony St. John Baker (artist), B. King (lithographer), “Riversdale, near Bladensburg,” 1827.]]

Riversdale would serve as an important point of connection between Rosalie and her European family. She and her father wrote each other regularly, and among their voluminous correspondence are Henri’s suggestions for the landscape’s design: “Note that the water, as a mirror in an apartment, is the principal ornament; the north side of your home is very convenient for this embellishment.”<ref>Henri Joseph Stier to Rosalie Stier Calvert, May 1, 1806, quoted in Callcott 1991, 142, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Her letters to her father indicate that she engaged the landscape designer and artist [[William Russell Birch]] to draw up plans. However, Birch never visited the estate nor supervised the work and thought “very little” of his design had been implemented.<ref>Rosalie’s location of the pond to the south, rather than north, of the mansion may have been due to Birch’s influence; see Callcott 1991, 53–54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref>

Relying on both hired and enslaved labor, Rosalie created a [[pond]] on the south side of the estate and divided the grounds at Riversdale into [[flower garden|flower]] and [[kitchen garden]]s, [[orchard]]s, and a series of falling [[terrace]]s.<ref>Sarson 2012, 28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZHS3A4LB/q/sarson view on Zotero]. For more information on slaves held at the Calvert properties, see Callcott 1991, 378–84, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero]. Before his marriage to Rosalie, George Calvert had already had two children through a relationship with Eleanor Beckett, an enslaved woman at Mount Albion.</ref> A brick [[ha-ha]] separated the [[terrace]]s from the [[pond]] and [[meadow]]s to the south, and an [[icehouse]], [[dovecote]], slave cabin and other structures surrounded the mansion [fig. 1].<ref>Using available archaeological and epistolary evidence, Susan Buonocore developed a map of the grounds at Riversdale during Rosalie Stier Calvert’s lifetime; see Buonocore, “‘Within Her Garden Wall’: The Meaning of Gardening for the Republican Woman, Rosalie Stier Calvert and the Gardens of Riversdale (1803–1821)” (Ph.D. diss., South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, 1996), 106, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NZF3YWST view on Zotero].</ref> Writing to her brother in 1808, Rosalie described the visual appearance of these structures: “[The icehouse] is covered with straw and . . . looks like a little hut. A little farther on, a negro cabin gives the same effect and another we intend to build supported by columns will look like a little [[temple]].”<ref> Rosalie Stier Calvert to Charles Joseph Stier, December 10, 1808, quoted in Callcott 1991, 196.</ref> Within the mansion itself, she transformed her cellar and salon into an [[orangery]], where she nurtured orange trees, geraniums, and heliotropes, all exotic plants.<ref>Buonocore 1996, 125, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NZF3YWST view on Zotero].</ref>

Rosalie’s love for her family was closely entwined with the Riversdale landscape. She wrote Henri, “I feel attached to this place you have created . . . and where I have spent so much happy time with you. . . . When I walk in the garden, each tree and rose planted by your own hand is of interest to me, and I take pleasure in watching them grow and caring for them. . . . [E]very object here is dear to me because you used it.”<ref>Rosalie Stier Calvert to Henri Joseph Stier, June 28, 1803, quoted in Callcott 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8VB4PVER/q/calcott view on Zotero].</ref> Following her early death in 1821 and the death of her husband seventeen years later, Riversdale descended to their second son, Charles Benedict Calvert, an important innovator in agriculture and husbandry and the founder of the University of Maryland, originally the Maryland Agricultural College.<ref> Jason G. Speck, ''The University of Maryland'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010), 10, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HDVPTZRM/q/speck view on Zotero].</ref> He made several improvements to the estate, especially in terms of farming methods, but he continued to depend heavily on an enslaved labor force. Journalist and landscape designer [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] (1822–1903) visited in 1852 and offered a description of the grounds of Riversdale in his ''Journey in the Seaboard Slave States: With Remarks on their Economy'', published in 1856. He commented favorably on the grounds, including the [[fountain]]s and [[flower garden]]s, while at the same time registering his disapproval of slavery.<ref>Frederick Law Olmstead, ''A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States: With Remarks on their Economy'' (New York: Dix & Edwards; London: Sampson Low, 1856), 6–11, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ABI26XGF view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==

*Anonymous, August 1848, describing Riversdale, estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George’s County, MD (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)<ref>Anonymous, “Visit to Riversdale,” ''The American Farmer and Spirit of the Agricultural Journals of the Day'' 4, no. 2 (August 1848): 52–55, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/65GUICEQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

:“The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant [[Portico]] on its northern [front], and a [[piazza|Piaza]] [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety. . . .On either front is an ample [[lawn]] with shade trees, grass [[plot]]s, [[parterre]]s, [[shrubbery]], and flowers, whose effect upon the senses impart an interest to the view, warm the mind into admiration, and give assurance, that a chastened taste and artistic skill had presided while these were being fashioned into form. . . . These improvements were made by the present proprietor’s ancestors, in the beginning of the present century, but are still in a state of the most perfect preservation.”

*Warden, David Bailie, 1816, describing Riversdale, estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George’s County, MD (1816: 156)<ref name="Warden_1816">David Bailie Warden, ''A Chronographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia'' (Paris: Printed and sold by Smith, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF8TXC8D view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The establishment of George Calvert, Esq. at Bladensburg, attracts attention. His mansion, consisting of two stories, seventy feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth, is admirably adapted to the American climate. On each side there is a large [[portico]], which shelters from the sun, rain, or snow.”

*Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1856, describing Riversdale, estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George’s County, MD (1856: 6) <ref>Frederick Law Olmsted. ''A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States: With Remarks on Their Economy'' (New York and London: Dix & Edwards and Sampson Low, Son & Co., 1856), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ABI26XGF view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The kept grounds are very limited, and in simple but quiet taste. . . . There is a [[fountain]], an ornamental [[dovecote|dove-coat]], and [[icehouse|ice-house]].”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="4">

Image:1112.jpg|Anthony St. John Baker (artist), B. King (lithograper), “Riversdale, near Bladensburg,” 1827.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
Riversdale House Museum, Riverdale, MD
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/73002166.pdf National Park Service Register of Historic Places Documents]

[http://www.riversdale.org/ Riversdale Historical Society]

[http://www.pgparks.com/places/eleganthistoric/riversdale_tour.html Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George's County]

[http://www.lib.umd.edu/RARE/MarylandCollection/Riversdale/ The University of Maryland Riversdale Book Shelf]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]

Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden

2018-08-14T14:09:46Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names''': Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanic Garden; Horticultural Botanic Garden; Horticultural Garden; Parmentier’s Garden 
'''Site Dates''': 1825–1833 
'''Site Owner(s)''': André Joseph Ghislain Parmentier (1780–1830); Sylvie Parmentier (1793–1882) 
'''Associated People''': Grant Thorburn (1773–1863), agent; George Fuller (d. 1830), laborer; Owen Redden (dates unknown), laborer; Dr. Adrian Vanderveer (1796–1857) 
'''Location''': Brooklyn, NY, on the site of what is now the Brooklyn Academy of Music 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Brooklyn+Academy+of+Music/@40.6864925,-73.9798375,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89c25bb2230c6207:0x66b41367ae2f3e10!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c25bb222ef61bd:0x93b2b536d094bf28!8m2!3d40.6864885!4d-73.9776488 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
'''Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden''' was a nursery founded in 1825 by the Belgian-born horticulturist, [[André Parmentier]], who immigrated with his family to Brooklyn in May 1824. Clearly [[André Parmentier|Parmentier]] had designs of creating a nursery in the United States even before departing Belgium; in the notice of his election to the New-York Horticultural Society in June 1824, he is described as having brought with him “an extensive collection of fruit trees, rare plants, and seeds.”<ref>“Horticultural Memoranda,” ''American'' [New York] (June 28, 1824): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XQW7ZAR4/q/horticultural%20memoranda view on Zotero].</ref> He was recognized almost immediately in the horticultural press for introducing several rose species into this country.<ref>“Mr. Parmentier’s Garden,” ''Evening Post'' [New York] (May 19, 1827): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XT8G5JP2 view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0417.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Anonymous, “Rustic prospect-arbor,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', 4th ed. (1849), 460, fig. 87.]]
One of the earliest advertisements for the nursery, published in New York’s ''Evening Post'' on June 6, 1825, describes the location of the garden at the intersection of Jamaica and Flatbush turnpikes—at the time, just outside the village of Brooklyn.<ref>Advertisement, ''Evening Post'' (June 6, 1825): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/DXBVT3AF view on Zotero].</ref> The site, according to one period commentator, was originally “one of the most stony, rugged, sterile pieces of ground on the whole island,” but was transformed by [[André Parmentier|Parmentier’s]] industry into a richly stocked [[nursery]], laid out according to the principles of “[[picturesque]] gardening.”<ref>“Rural Scenery,” ''The New England Farmer'' 6, no. 24 (January 4, 1828): 187, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/INS7XKSI/q/rural%20scenery view on Zotero].</ref> It featured winding, sinuous [[walk|walking paths]] and, most notably, a [[rustic style|rustic]] [[belvedere]] (occasionally referred to as an [[arbor]]) [Fig. 1] that allowed for “a view of the whole garden and the surrounding scenery . . . including Staten Island, the Bay, Governor’s Island, and the city of New York.”<ref>J. W. S., “Foreign Notices: —North America,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural and Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 36 (February 1832): 70–77, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/69KZ93MG/q/foreign%20notices view on Zotero].</ref> Although the primary business of the [[nursery]] was to sell plants—with a focus on grape vines, fruit trees, and roses—it also served a dual purpose as a place for public enjoyment.<ref>Advertisement, ''Evening Post'' (June 6, 1825): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/DXBVT3AF view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, many of [[André Parmentier|Parmentier’s]] sales were made through the post or through agents, such as the seedsman Grant Thorburn, and the Horticultural and Botanical Garden functioned more as promotional tool, drawing visitors and modeling how they might lay out the plants acquired there.<ref>Grant Thorburn, a Scottish-born seedsman and author, is identified as an agent in numerous advertisements for Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden. Other agents mentioned in various advertisements include the grocers Charles Swan, Harvey Spencer, and John J. Moore.</ref> To that end, [[André Parmentier|Parmentier]] also offered his services as a landscape designer, and was identified by [[A. J. Downing]] as “the only practitioner . . . of any note” in the United States. Downing described his [[nursery]] as having offered “a specimen of the [[natural style]] of laying out grounds, . . . and contributed not a little to the dissemination of a taste for the [[natural style|natural mode]] of [[landscape gardening]].”<ref>A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York & London: Wiley and Putnam; Boston: C. C. Little & Co., 1841), 21–22, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/QDVESTBX/q/treatise%20on%20the%20theor view on Zotero].</ref>
[[File:0064.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, ''Map of [[André Parmentier|Mr. Andrew Parmentier’s]] Horticultural & Botanic Garden, at Brooklyn, Long Island, Two Miles From the City of New York'', c. 1828.]]

In about 1828 [[André Parmentier|Parmentier]] published a broadside of his Horticultural and Botanical Garden featuring a map of the grounds, offering our most detailed view of the layout and design of his [[nursery]] [Fig. 2]. The vineyards and rose [[shrubbery|shrubs]] were enclosed by meandering [[walk]]s that led to the “[[rustic style|Rustic]] [[arbor|Arbour]]” and “French Saloon” at the east corner of the [[plot]] (situated at the upper left on the map), and straight [[alley]]s, lined with fruit trees, divided his [[orchard]]s. Along the eastern edge of the nursery, abutting the Jamaica Turnpike, was a small cluster of buildings that included the barn, [[greenhouse]]s, tool and work houses, as well as the Parmentier family’s home and living quarters for laborers; adjacent to the buildings were hot [[bed]]s and an herbaceous plant garden.<ref>The close quarters may have led to a dispute in July 1830, when one of his laborers beat another with a garden hoe. Newspaper reports are mute on what precipitated the attack but noted that the victim, George Fuller, died shortly thereafter. His attacker, Owen Redden, was tried for murder but eventually acquitted by reason of insanity. See “Outrage,” ''New-York Morning Herald'' (July 9, 1830): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/SZ2JVFV8 view on Zotero], and “Oyer and Terminer,” ''American'' (June 17, 1831): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VCM3W7RT view on Zotero].</ref>The broadside is likely the document Parmentier sent to the Société d’Horticulture de Paris in 1829, and it was later reprinted, with some alterations, in the February 1832 issue of ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural and Domestic Improvement''.<ref>The editor of the ''Annales de la Société d’Horticulture de Paris'' noted that Parmentier sent a map of his nursery, along with a letter on the propagation of fruit trees in America; see “Sur les Arbres fruitiers d’Amérique,” ''Annales de la Société d’Horticulture de Paris'' 4 (1829): 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WRFUH5XB view on Zotero]. For the 1832 reprint of the map, see ''Gardener's Magazine'' (February 1832): 71, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/69KZ93MG/q/foreign%20notices view on Zotero].</ref>

The article that accompanied the 1832 publication of the map was intended to aid in the sale of the Horticultural and Botanical Garden. [[André Parmentier|Parmentier]] had died in November 1830 after a prolonged illness, and his widow, Sylvie, endeavored to maintain the property following his death under increasingly difficult circumstances. In March 1831 parts of the property, including a barn and outhouses, were destroyed by arson, and in September of that year the Parmentiers’ son Léon died at the age 12.<ref>For information on the fire at Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden, see ''American'' (March 17, 1831): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TNER2ST7 view on Zotero], and for the death notice of Léon Ghislain Leopold Parmentier, see ''American'' (September 20, 1831): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R2NERJC5 view on Zotero].</ref> Sylvie Parmentier subsequently put the nursery up for sale in November 1831. Finding no immediate buyers, she continued to oversee the garden until November 1833, when she sold it to Dr. Adrian Vanderveer of nearby Flatbush. Vanderveer paid $53,000 for the garden, which he divided into lots and sold at auction for nearly $70,000.<ref>Some papers cite the original sale price as $57,000; see “Price of Farms,” ''New-York American'' (November 22, 1833): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZB28JDE7 view on Zotero]. For additional details of the sale and subsequent auction, see “Parmentier’s Garden,” ''Evening Post'' (October 23, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CSXXMK56/q/parmentier's%20garden view on Zotero], “All in the Wrong,” ''Commercial Advertiser'' [New York] (November 9, 1833): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AV8M7X3 view on Zotero], and ''New-York American'' (November 19, 1833): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CQZTHBC6 view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, June 6, 1825, advertisement for Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden (''Evening Post'' [New York])<ref>Advertisement, ''Evening Post'' (June 6, 1825): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/DXBVT3AF view on Zotero].</ref>
:“[[André Parmentier|ANDREW PARMENTIER]] has established himself in America with a view to Horticulture, and has already set on foot a [[nursery]] of considerable extent and variety, of ornamental & fruit-bearing trees, at the cross-roads formed by the intersection of the Jamaica & Flatbush turnpikes. . . . He has also a fine collection of [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, in [[pot]]s, for sale.

:“[[André Parmentier|Mr. P.]] intends to devote particular care to adding to his collection, those European fruits and remarkable rare trees, which are as yet unknown here, or have not been generally introduced into the United States.

:“[[André Parmentier|Mr. Parmentier]] will be happy to exhibit his garden and [[nursery]] to the ladies and gentlemen of New York, who may honor him with a visit.”

*Anonymous, March 4, 1826, “On Landscape and Picturesque Gardens” (''Evening Post'' [New York])<ref>“On Landscape and Picturesque Gardens,” ''Evening Post'' (March 4, 1826): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/QW4A64CE view on Zotero].</ref>
:“[[André Parmentier|Mr. ANDREW PARMENTIER]], lately from Europe, where these gardens are generally adopted, has made at his place, at the division of the Jamaica and Flatbush turnpike, at Brooklyn, L. I. a garden of this kind, which will be the more interesting on account of the great variety of foreign trees and plants he has there introduced. —It is but half an hour’s walk from New York.

:“[[André Parmentier|Mr. P.]] by the advice of several of his friends, will furnish plans of landscape and [[picturesque]] gardens; he will communicate to gentlemen who wish to see him, one collection of his drawings of cottages, [[rustic style|rustic]] [[bridge]]s; [[Dutch style|Dutch]], [[Chinese manner|Chinese]], Turkish, French [[pavilion]]s, [[temple]]s, [[hermitage]]s, rotundas, &c. For further particulars inquire personally or by letter, addressed to him, post paid, which will be attended to.”

*A Horticulturist [pseud.], August 1, 1826, “To the Editor of the N. Y. Advertiser” (''Commercial Advertiser'')<ref>A Horticulturist [pseud.], “To the Editor of the N. Y. Advertiser,” ''Commercial Advertiser'' (August 1, 1826): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/5THTV3GU view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Sir—I went yesterday to see the Garden owned by [[André Parmentier|Mr. Andrew Parmentier]]. . . . The improvements he has made in that establishment, during the short time he has been there, are really astonishing; among which may be seen peach trees planted in April, 1825, which were inoculated in the same year, and are at present between three and four feet high, having been planted but 15 months. His flower plants, which are kept covered during the heat of the day by a simple and easy method, are by that means kept a long time in blossom, and form a charming and delightful [[view]]. There are always a great number in blossom, his collection amounting to above 5000 in [[pot]]s. He has besides planted 20,000 grape vines, which will occupy at least five acres of ground, and are likely, in a very few years, to furnish the market of the city of New-York with an abundant supply of that excellent and wholesome fruit. [[André Parmentier|Mr. Parmentier]] has arranged his garden in the [[modern style|picturesque style]], with a [[rustic style|rustic]] [[belvedere|Belvidere]] placed at the corner of Jamaica road, which displays a most extensive perspective. It is the first of the kind erected in the United States, and will be covered with grape vines next fall. Mr. Parmentier was very polite and attentive to me, in showing me all the details of his large establishment, which contains 24 acres of land, and is surrounded with a solid stone [[fence]].

:“This [[Botanic Garden]] can be visited free of expense; and, as it is likely to become the most important one of the kind in the United States, strangers of taste visiting New-York, will find it to their gratification to view this garden, which is only two miles from New-York.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1827, “Mr. Parmentier’s Garden” (''Evening Post'' [New York])<ref>“Mr. Parmentier’s Garden,” ''Evening Post'' (May 19, 1827): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XT8G5JP2 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At the [[greenhouse|green houses]] in Mr. Parmentier’s Horticultural Garden in Brooklyn . . . the admirers of flowers may see many rare and elegant varieties of roses, together with many other curious and beautiful flowers now in blossom. . . . [[André Parmentier|Mr. Parmentier]] has introduced into this country the species of rose with red petals emitting the perfume of tea, sometimes called the red tea rose of Florence; this is also in flower. The Napoleon rose, and the Maria Louisa rose, with a number of others, will also be in bloom in a few days. As these plants are cultivated in [[pot]]s, their transportation may be safely effected at any season.”

*Anonymous, January 4, 1828, “Rural Scenery” (''New England Farmer'' 6: 187)<ref>“Rural Scenery,” ''The New England Farmer'' 6, no. 24 (January 4, 1828): 187, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/INS7XKSI/q/rural%20scenery view on Zotero].</ref>
:“''Landscape and Picturesque Gardens.''—Among the embellishments which attend the increase of wealth, the cultivation of the sciences, and the refinement of taste, none diversify and heighten the beauty of rural scenery, more than [[picturesque]] and landscape gardens. . . .

:“For the introduction into this country of the design and execution of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] and [[picturesque]] gardening, the public is much indebted to [[André Parmentier|Mr. A. Parmentier]], proprietor of the Horticultural Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, two miles from this city. His own garden, for which he made so advantageous a choice, may give us some idea of his taste. The [[border]]s are composed of every variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] that are found in his [[nursery|nurseries]]. The [[walk]]s are sinuous, adapted to the irregularity of the ground, and affording to visitors a continual change of scenery, which is not enjoyed in gardens laid out in even surfaces, and in right lines. His dwelling and French saloon are in accordance with the surrounding rural aspect. In his gardens are 25,000 vines planted and arranged in the manner of the vineyards of France.”

*Viator [pseud.], August 15, 1828, “Nurseries and Gardens on Long Island” (''New England Farmer'' 7: 25)<ref>Viator [pseud.], “Nurseries and Gardens on Long Island,” ''The New England Farmer, and Horticultural Journal'' 7, no. 4 (August 15, 1828): 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/HFMDHNUX view on Zotero].</ref>
:“At Brooklyn we called at the celebrated Horticultural Garden of [[André Parmentier|Mr. ANDRE PARMENTIER]]. This is a recent establishment begun in 1825. It contains 20 acres, and is surrounded by a [[wall]] of masonry, after the manner which we are told is practised on the old continent. . . . This garden, so far as completed, has been laid out by the very intelligent proprietor in the most [[modern style]] and with great taste; for in the branch of ornamental and [[picturesque]] gardening, [[André Parmentier|Mr. Parmentier]], it is believed, greatly excels.”

*Anonymous, October 3, 1828, “Parmentier’s Horticultural Garden, Near Brooklyn” (''New England Farmer'' 7: 85)<ref>Anonymous, October 3, 1828, “Parmentier’s Horticultural Garden, Near Brooklyn,” ''The New England Farmer, and Horticultural Journal'' 7, no. 11 (October 3, 1828): 84–85, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZC2KF67E/q/parmentier's view on Zotero].</ref>
:“To the left of the garden an [[avenue]] leads to a [[rustic style|Rustic]] [[Arbor]] curiously constructed of the crooked limbs of trees, in their rough state, covered with bark and moss; from the top of this [[arbor]] a [[view]] of the whole garden, and the surrounding scenery is exhibited, extending to Staten Island, the bay, Governor’s Island, and the city; at some distance from the [[rustic style|rustic]] [[arbor]] is the French saloon, a beautiful oval, skirted with privet. . . .

:“The [[greenhouse|green-house]] department, although not so extensive as some in our vicinity, contains many beautiful plants exhibited with the same tasteful arrangement which characterizes the whole of [[André Parmentier|Mr. Parmentier’s]] establishment; even the method in disposing the [[pot]]s according to some principle of grouping or contrasting the color and size of the flowers, entertains the eye, and shows the variety of ways in which a skillful gardener may distribute his materials to produce [[picturesque]] effect.”

*Anonymous, March 17, 1831, describing an act of arson at Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanic Garden (''American'' [New York])<ref>''American'' (March 17, 1831): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R6RNKXMT view on Zotero].</ref>
:“We regret to be obliged to state, that the barn and outhouses attached to Madame Parmentier’s garden, near Brooklyn, were destroyed last night by fire, together with carts, garden tools and a horse. . . . [W]e are authorized by one of Mrs. Parmentier’s neighbors to offer a reward of one hundred dollars for the apprehension and conviction of the incendiary.”

*Anonymous, November 26, 1831, advertisement for the sale of Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden (''Commercial Advertiser'' [New York])<ref>Advertisement, ''Commercial Advertiser'' (November 26, 1831): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/6B8X5KFK view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The Horticultural Garden of the Late [[André Parmentier|Andrew Parmentier]], Is Offered For Sale. The reputation of this establishment is not confined to the vicinity of New-York, but is well known throughout the United States, and different parts of Europe. It is situated two miles from the city of New-York, at Brooklyn, Long Island, at the junction of the Jamaica and Flatbush Roads, and contains 24 acres.

:“The Grounds are in a very high state of cultivation, and laid out with judgment and taste. The situation is very healthy, and the [[view]] very extensive, commanding the Bay, the city, &c. The garden is enclosed by a pointed stone [[fence]], and inside of that is a hawthorn [[hedge]]. The [[Nursery]] contains a fine and extensive collection of Fruit, Forest and Ornamental Trees; also, a splendid collection of Roses and Herbaceous Plants,—the object of its late Proprietor having always been to collect every new variety.

:“On the premises are a Dwelling House, two Laborers’ Houses, seven Cisterns, and a never-failing Pump of excellent Water—four [[greenhouse|Green]] and [[hothouse|Hot Houses]], containing a rich variety of rare exotics.

:“The advantages to be derived by any person who wishes to engage in the occupation of Gardening, by the purchase of this property, are very great: the business already secured is very extensive, and the prospect of increased encouragement is such as to warrant the belief that the purchase of the property will amply repay the enterprise of any one who may engage in the business.

:“Terms will be made known by applying to Mrs. Parmentier, on the premises.”

*S., J. W., February 1832, “Parmentier’s Garden, Near Brooklyn,” (''Gardener’s Magazine'' 8: 70–72)<ref>J. W. S., “Foreign Notices: —North America,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural and Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 36 (February 1832): 70–77, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/69KZ93MG/q/J.%20W.%20S. view on Zotero].</ref>
:“I have compiled from different authorities . . . an account of one of the first [[botanic garden]]s which has ever been established in this country, viz. that of [[André Parmentier|Parmentier]] about two miles from Brooklyn, Long Island. The following map . . . will serve to convey some idea of the general disposition of the whole; but I am confident that neither plan nor description can furnish any adequate idea of the particular beauties of the place. Its establishment may, indeed, be looked upon as an epoch in the history of American horticulture; as, though the various branches of that science were before understood and practised by most of our gardeners, it had not attained its full perfection until the arrival of [[André Parmentier|M. Parmentier]]. . . . [T]he garden of [[André Parmentier|M. Parmentier]] is, perhaps, the most striking instance we have of all the different departments of gardening being combined extensively and with scientific skill. The rapidity with which this garden was formed added to its effect. Nearly twenty-five acres of ground were originally enclosed; and the inhabitants of the vicinity beheld, with astonishment, in the short space of three years, one of the most stony, rugged, sterile pieces of ground on the whole island, which seemed to bid defiance to the labours of man, stored with the most luxuriant fruit, and blooming with the most beautiful flowers. . . .

:“In the northern parts of the garden are [[nursery|nurseries]], containing young plants of every kind of tree which is to be found in the beds. To the left of the garden, an [[avenue]] leads to a [[rustic style|rustic]] [[arbor|arbour]], in the grotesque style, constructed of the crooked limbs of trees in their rough state, covered with bark and moss: from the top of this [[arbor|arbour]], a [[view]] of the whole garden and the surrounding scenery is obtained; including Staten Island, the Bay, Governor’s Island, and the city of New York. . . .

:“In short, this establishment is well worthy of notice as one of the few examples in the neighbourhood of New York, of the art of laying out a garden so as to combine the principles of [[landscape gardening|landscape-gardening]] with the conveniences of the [[nursery]] or [[orchard]].”

*Anonymous, June 20, 1833, “Mrs. Parmentier’s Garden” (''New-York Spectator'')<ref>“Mrs. Parmentier’s Garden,” ''New-York Spectator'' (June 20, 1833): 1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ARQEVA2S view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Those ladies and gentlemen who have not entirely yielded themselves to languor and repose during the brightest hours of the morning, would find themselves richly repaid by a visit to the “garden of roses” (as we must be permitted to call it) of Mrs. Parmentier. . . . A lady’s taste is visible in the neatness and floral embellishments of Mrs. Parmentier’s Garden, and though there is a large domain to superintend, and though a vast variety of trees and [[Shrubbery]] for the ornament and for use, call for attention in the liberal department of the [[nursery]], yet nothing is neglected—all is equally subject to the most assiduous care and preserving industry.”

*Anonymous, October 23, 1833, “Parmentier’s Garden” (''Evening Post'' [New York])<ref>“Parmentier’s Garden,” ''Evening Post'' (October 23, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CSXXMK56 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“We learn that Mrs. Parmentier has recently disposed of, at private sale, the ground now occupied by her as a Garden, for the sum of ''fifty-three thousand dollars''. . . . The rage for speculation in Brooklyn, has enabled Mrs. Parmentier to retire from active life, with a competency for herself and interesting daughters—the just reward of virtuous and well-spent lives.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', 4th ed. (1849: 459–60)<ref>A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', 4th ed. (New York: George P. Putnam; London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longman, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64/q/treatise%20on%20the%20theor view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Those of our readers who may have visited the delightful garden and grounds of [[André Parmentier|M. Parmentier]], near Brooklyn, some half a dozen years since . . . will readily remember the rustic prospect-[[arbor]] or [[belvedere|tower]], Fig. 87, which was situated at the extremity of his place . . . from its summit, though the garden [[walk]]s afforded no [[prospect]], a beautiful reach of neighborhood for many miles was enjoyed.”

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
File:0064.jpg|Anonymous, ''Map of [[André Parmentier|Mr. Andrew Parmentier’s]] Horticultural & Botanic Garden, at Brooklyn, Long Island, Two Miles From the City of New York'', c. 1828.

File:0417.jpg|Anonymous, “Rustic prospect-arbor,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', 4th ed. (1849), 460, fig. 87.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
40.6864885,-73.9776488
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[http://www.brooklynhistory.org/blog/2012/02/24/brooklyns-secret-garden/ Brooklyn Historical Society]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Places|Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden]]

André Parmentier

2018-08-14T14:08:31Z

E-athens:

'''André Joseph Ghislain Parmentier''' (July 3, 1780–November 27, 1830) was a Belgian-born horticulturalist who immigrated to Brooklyn in 1824, where he established his [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Horticultural and Botanical Garden]]. He was known for importing European fruit trees, grape vines, and roses to the United States, and for introducing the country to the [[modern style]] of [[landscape gardening]].

==History==
André Parmentier was born in 1780 in Enghien, Belgium, to a Walloon family that had been ennobled in the 16th century.<ref>“Biographie Enghiennoise,” ''Mémoires et publications de la Société des sciences, des arts et des lettres'' (Mons: Dusquesne Masquillier, 1876), 485, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/DFND2SRI view on Zotero].</ref> He counted among his relatives a number of celebrated botanists and horticulturalists: a cousin, Antoine Augustin Parmentier, is known for introducing the potato to France, and two of his brothers—Joseph Julien Ghislain Parmentier (1775–1852) and Louis Joseph Ghislain Parmentier (1782–1847)—were recognized for their work in horticulture. Joseph served as mayor of Enghien from 1802 to 1830 and oversaw the rehabilitation of the Duke of Arenburg’s formal gardens, which had fallen into disrepair during the political upheavals in Europe; he also developed his own expansive garden that featured many rare and exotic plants.<ref>Patrick Neal, ''Journal of a Horticultural Tour through Some Parts of Flanders, Holland, and the North of France, in the Autumn of 1817'' (Edinburgh: Bell and Bradfute, 1823), 325–32, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E7PVRNMT view on Zotero].</ref> Louis likewise established his own garden and was known as great ''rosiériste'', trading in the more than 3000 varieties of roses he had cultivated at Enghien.<ref>Fr. Mertens, “Les roses de Louis Parmentier (1782–1847),” ''Annales du cercle archeologique d’Enghien'' 26 (1990): 86, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGHBA2DV view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0064.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Anonymous, ''Map of Mr. Andrew Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Parmentier’s Horticultural & Botanical Garden, at Brooklyn, Long Island, Two Miles From the City of New York'', c. 1828.]]
Although the precise reasons behind André Parmentier’s decision to immigrate to America with his wife Sylvie, 8-year-old daughter Adèle, and 4-year-old son Léon, are not fully clear, he is believed to have suffered serious financial difficulties in Belgium due to a failed speculation.<ref>An 1821 court case, in which André Parmentier struggled to recoup outstanding debt, may have contributed to his financial difficulties; see ''Pasicrisie belge: Recueil général de la jurisprudence des cours de Belgique en matière civile, commerciale, criminelle, de droit public et administratif'' (Brussels: Adolphe Wahlen et Cie, 1844), 125.</ref> Like his brothers, he had established an international reputation in the field of horticulture, and less than a month after he and his family arrived in the United States on May 31, 1824, he was unanimously elected to membership in the New-York Horticultural Society.<ref>“Horticultural Memoranda,” ''American'' [New York] (June 28, 1824): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XQW7ZAR4/q/horticultural%20memoranda view on Zotero].</ref> By June 1825, he was already advertising his newly established [[nursery]] in Brooklyn, [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden]] [Fig. 1].<ref>Advertisement, ''Evening Post'' [New York] (June 6, 1825): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/DXBVT3AF view on Zotero].</ref>

At his [[nursery]] Parmentier worked doggedly to corner the market on certain types of plants, such as grape vines, which he sold by subscription, offering a warranty to purchasers that the plants would be fruitful, “provided that his instructions are followed.”<ref>“Establishment of Vineyards in the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut,” ''Salem Observer'' [Massachusetts] (July 7, 1827): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PKR5U3E8 view on Zotero]. On July 26, 1827, Parmentier’s nursery was the subject of a vitriolic letter to the editor of the ''American'', in which the author—identified only by the pseudonym “A Friend to the Vine”—claimed that “[i]t cannot but be inferred . . . that Mr. P. would wish to be the only importer of the grape vine for cultivation into this country.”</ref> Parmentier was clearly reliant on his brothers for portions of his stock, with grape vines and fruit trees—especially pears—being a specialization of his brother Joseph.<ref>Cynthia Zaitzevsky, “Parmentier, André (1780–1830),” in Charles A. Birnbaum and Robin Karson, eds., ''Pioneers of American Landscape Design'' (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000), 286, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/BC7E58JM view on Zotero]. In 1824 Joseph sent a list of nearly 200 pear varieties, along with descriptions of the fruits’ texture, size, and flavor, to the Horticultural Society of London. See Joseph Parmentier, “A List of Pears Cultivated in France and the Netherlands . . . ,” ''Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London'' 5 (1824): Appendix II, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JZXHAGCX view on Zotero].</ref> The advertisements for Parmentier’s Brooklyn [[nursery]] often mention fruit trees specifically, and he submitted a letter on the cultivation of pears in America to the Société d’Horticulture de Paris, which later published it in their ''Annales''.<ref>André Parmentier, “Sur les Arbres fruitiers d’Amérique,” ''Annales de la Société d’Horticulture de Paris'' 4 (1829): 351–53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WRFUH5XB view on Zotero].</ref> He also did a brisk business in roses, the primary focus of his brother Louis. An 1827 advertisement points out: “At the [[greenhouse|green houses]] in [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Mr. Parmentier’s Horticultural Garden]] in Brooklyn . . . the admirers of flowers may see many rare and elegant varieties of roses. . . . As these plants are cultivated in [[pot]]s, their transportation may be safely effected at any season.”<ref>“Mr. Parmentier’s Garden,” ''Evening Post'' [New York] (May 19, 1827): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/K44FFB9V view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0417.jpg|thumb|right|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “Rustic prospect-arbor,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', 4th ed. (1849), 460, fig. 87.]]
[[File:2166.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Nathaniel Currier, ''Upper Canada College (1831–1891)'', 1835.]]
Parmentier was not, however, solely a nurseryman; he was also a landscape designer. His [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Horticultural and Botanical Garden]] differed from other [[nursery|nurseries]] in its layout, which was not purely utilitarian but featured serpentine [[walk]]s, a [[rustic style|rustic]] [[belvedere]], and other key elements of the [[modern style|modern]] or naturalistic style of [[landscape gardening]]. As early as March 1826 Parmentier had begun to advertise “on the advice of several of his friends” his landscape services along with his nursery business, and he is known to have provided designs for Hawkswood, in Pelham, New York; the University of Toronto (originally King’s College) [Fig. 3]; and Moss Park, also in Toronto.<ref>“On Landscape and Picturesque Gardens,” ''Evening Post'' [New York] (March 4, 1826): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XU4R98QW view on Zotero]; see also Zaitzevsky 2000, 286, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/BC7E58JM view on Zotero].</ref> His essay “The Art of Landscape Gardening,” which articulates the primary features of the [[modern style]] of landscape design, was incorporated into Thomas Fessenden’s ''The New American Gardener'' (1828). [[A. J. Downing]], in his ''Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', identified Parmentier as the first practitioner of this style in America, citing the layout and design of the [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Horticultural and Botanical Garden]], as well as Parmentier’s contributions to the design of [[David Hosack]]’s estate on the Hudson River, [[Hyde Park]] [Fig. 4].<ref>A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York & London: Wiley and Putnam; Boston: C. C. Little & Co., 1841), 22, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/QDVESTBX/q/treatise%20on%20the%20theory%20and%20practice%20 view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:2046.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Nathaniel Currier, ''Hyde Park, Hudson River'', c. 1835.]]
The degree of success André Parmentier achieved as a nurseryman and landscape designer in the United States belies the short six and a half years he lived in the country. On November 27, 1830, after “seven weeks and three days” of an undefined illness, he died at his home in Brooklyn. Following his death his daughter Adèle paid tribute to her father in a letter published in several newspapers, noting that his final wish was for his widow, Sylvie, “to continue the establishment for the good of his children.”<ref>The letter, dated November 29, 1830, was sent to the editor of the ''New England Farmer'' and republished in several newspapers; this excerpt is quoted from the ''New-York Spectator'' (December 28, 1830): 1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ME8ZMRZ3 view on Zotero].</ref> Sylvie Parmentier continued to maintain the nursery for the next three years, but ultimately sold it for $53,000 in October 1833. The plot was then divided into lots and auctioned off the following month.<ref>Some papers cite the original sale price as $57,000; see “Price of Farms,” ''New-York American'' (November 22, 1833): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZB28JDE7 view on Zotero]. For additional details of the sale and subsequent auction, see “Parmentier’s Garden,” ''Evening Post'' (October 23, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CSXXMK56/q/parmentier's%20garden view on Zotero], “All in the Wrong,” ''Commercial Advertiser'' [New York] (November 9, 1833): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AV8M7X3 view on Zotero], and ''New-York American'' (November 19, 1833): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CQZTHBC6 view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, June 28, 1824, “Horticultural Memoranda” (''American'' [New York])<ref>“Horticultural Memoranda,” ''American'' [New York] (June 28, 1824): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/XQW7ZAR4/q/horticultural%20memoranda view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Ninety-seven new members had signed the constitution [of the New-York Horticultural Society] since the last sitting and were unanimously elected: amongst this number are . . . two distinguished horticulturists from Europe, Mr. Stead, from the Botanic Garden of Liverpool, member of the Yorkshire Horticultural Society, and '''Mr. Parmentier''', of Enghien, a member of the scientific societies of that place, and of Brussels. These gentlemen have brought with them an extensive collection of fruit trees, rare plants, and seeds.”

*Anonymous, June 6, 1825, advertisement for [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden]] (''Evening Post'' [New York])<ref>Advertisement, ''Evening Post'' [New York] (June 6, 1825): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/DXBVT3AF view on Zotero].</ref>
:“'''ANDREW PARMENTIER''' has established himself in America with a view to Horticulture, and has already set on foot a nursery of considerable extent and variety, of ornamental & fruit-bearing trees, at the cross-roads formed by the intersection of the Jamaica & Flatbush turnpikes. . . . He has also a fine collection of [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, in [[pot]]s, for sale.

:“Mr. P. intends to devote particular care to adding to his collection, those European fruits and remarkable rare trees, which are as yet unknown here, or have not been generally introduced into the United States.

:“Mr. Parmentier will be happy to exhibit his garden and nursery to the ladies and gentlemen of New York, who may honor him with a visit.”

*Anonymous, April 6, 1827, “Mr. Parmentier” (''National Advocate'' [New York])<ref>“'Mr. Parmentier,” ''National Advocate'' [New York] (April 6, 1827): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/IAKCD7HA view on Zotero].</ref>
:“There are few individuals in our country to whom the friends of agriculture and Botany are more indebted than to '''Mr. Parmentier''' of King’s county, Long Island. At an immense expense he has imported, from all parts of Europe, the choicest seeds, fruit and other trees, the collection of which he is introducing into the United States with great success. He is deserving of all encouragement, and we strongly recommend his establishment to public patronage.”

*Anonymous, July 7, 1827, “Establishment of Vineyards in the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut” (''Salem Observer'')<ref> “Establishment of Vineyards in the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut,” ''Salem Observer'' (July 7, 1827): 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PKR5U3E8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Not less than seven vineyards have been established in these states from the plants furnished by '''Mr. Andrew Parmentier''', at the [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Horticultural Garden]], Brooklyn, L. I. and that they are all in the most flourishing condition. Two of these vineyards are at Middletown, (N. J.) and not a single plant has failed. Those at Yellow Hook, Flatbush, and Flatbush hill, (L. I.) are equally successful. The one at Bridgeport, (Conn.) is very flourishing, and that at Phillipstown, (N. Y.) is coming on well. Several other establishments of the same kind are about to be undertaken under the superintendence of Mr. P. who warrants his grape-vines to live, provided that his instructions are followed, and that the order sent is for more than one hundred plants.”

*Parmentier, André, 1828, “The Art of Landscape Gardening” (Fessenden 1828: 185–87)<ref>André Parmentier, “The Art of Landscape Gardening,” in Thomas Fessenden, ''The New American Gardener'' (Boston: J. B. Russell, 1828), 184–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3C29XRTH/q/fessenden view on Zotero].</ref>
:“. . . For where can we find an individual, sensible to the beauties and charms of nature, who would prefer a symmetric garden to one in [[modern style|modern]] taste; who would not prefer to walk in a plantation irregular and [[picturesque]], rather than in those straight and monotonous [[alley]]s, [[border|bordered]] with mournful box, the resort of noxious insects?

:“Where is the person, gifted with any taste, who would not choose those [[alley]]s that wind without constraint, in preference to those dull straight lines which can be measured by one glance of the eye, and the monotony of which is unvaried? Instead of this, the [[modern style]] presents to you a constant change of scene, perfectly in accordance with the desires of a man who loves, as he continues his walk, to have new objects laid open to his view. . . . Limited [[prospect]]s, and neighbouring houses and buildings not worthy of notice, should be concealed, and the [[view]] left open to those objects which strike the eye of the beholder agreeably. . . .

:“The [[plantation]]s and groups of trees near the house should be, if possible, of a deeper green;— they would extend the view and the perspective, and produce the effect of shades in a landscape-picture, where the groups of trees in front are of a darker shade, and seem to remove the perspective from the extremity of the landscape. . . .

:“The most should be made of the agreeable and interesting views which may be had in the neighbouring landscape. They may be made useful to the general plan by being represented as the property of the proprietor.

:“For this reason, I highly approve of blind [[fence]]s, and live [[hedge]]s. But [[fence]]s, necessary as enclosures, should be concealed so as not to appear as boundaries to the establishment, and present to the eye a disagreeable interruption in the [[prospect]]. The judicious use of [[hermitage]]s, [[arbor|arbours]], cottages, and rotundas will add to the effect, in [[picturesque]] gardens and [[ferme ornée|ornamented farms]]. If you use these ornaments, place the [[hermitage]] in some retired spot: a small rivulet would be an appropriate and beautiful accompaniment . . .

:“As to tombs and [[cemetery|cemeteries]], I should wish to banish them entirely from gardens. They always awaken melancholy reflections in old people, for they remind them of their approaching end; and a regard for their feelings should, I think, exclude from their places of resort every object which could have such an effect.”

*Anonymous, January 4, 1828, “Rural Scenery” (''New England Farmer'' 6: 187)<ref>“Rural Scenery,” ''The New England Farmer'' 6, no. 24 (January 4, 1828): 187, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/INS7XKSI/q/rural%20scenery view on Zotero].</ref>
:“''Landscape and Picturesque Gardens''.—Among the embellishments which attend the increase of wealth, the cultivation of the sciences, and the refinement of taste, none diversify and heighten the beauty of rural scenery, more than [[picturesque]] and landscape gardens. . . .

:“For the introduction into this country of the design and execution of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] and picturesque gardening, the public is much indebted to '''Mr. A. Parmentier''', proprietor of the [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Horticultural Botanic Garden]], Brooklyn, two miles from this city. His own garden, for which he made so advantageous a choice, may give us some idea of his taste. The [[border]]s are composed of every variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] that are found in his [[nursery|nurseries]]. The [[walk]]s are sinuous, adapted to the irregularity of the ground, and affording to visitors a continual change of scenery, which is not enjoyed in gardens laid out in even surfaces, and in right lines. His dwelling and French saloon are in accordance with the surrounding rural aspect. In his gardens are 25,000 vines planted and arranged in the manner of the vineyards of France.”

*Parmentier, Adèle, November 29, 1830, describing her father, '''André Parmentier''' (quoted in ''New-York Spectator'')<ref>“The Late Mr. Parmentier,” ''New-York Spectator'' (December 28, 1830): 1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ME8ZMRZ3 view on Zotero]</ref>
:“Mr. Smith.—My mother desires me to fulfil the painful duty of informing you of the terrible loss we have sustained in the death of my dear father, after an illness of seven weeks and three days. His personal qualities and mild character made him the best of husbands and fathers. The establishment under his good management and honest principles, had acquired a reputation which he so well merited, and which was about to enable him to reap the fruits of his labors and industry, when death cruelly took him away from his afflicted family. His last moments were those of a good christian. He was not only resigned to die, but wished for death. He bore with the greatest patience and courage his great sufferings, and spoke to us about all our duties, and expressed the hope that we would die like him a tranquil and calm conscience. He was sensible to his last moment, and wished my dear mother to continue the establishment for the good of his children, which she hopes to do. . . .”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], 1841, describing [[Hyde Park]], the residence of [[David Hosack]] (1841: 22)<ref>A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York & London: Wiley and Putnam; Boston: C. C. Little & Co., 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/QDVESTBX/q/treatise%20on%20the%20theor view on Zotero].</ref>
:“[[Hyde Park]], on the Hudson, the seat of the late [[David Hosack|Dr. Hosack]], has been justly celebrated as one of the finest specimens of the [[modern style]] of [[Landscape Gardening]] in America. Nature has indeed, done much for this place, as the grounds are finely varied, beautifully watered by a lively stream, and the [[view]]s from the neighbourhood of the house itself, including as they do the noble Hudson, and the superb wooded valley which stretches away until bounded at the horizon by the distant summits of the blue Cattskills, are unrivalled in [[picturesque]] beauty. But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[woods]], and beautifully undulating grounds are preserved in their original state, the [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]], roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in so tasteful a manner as to heighten the charms of nature. Large and costly [[hothouse|hot-houses]] were erected and elegant entrance lodges at two points on the estate, a fine [[bridge]] over the stream, and numerous [[pavilion]]s and [[seat]]s commanding extensive [[prospect]]s; in short, nothing was spared to render this [[seat]] one of the finest in America. The [[park]], which at one time contained some fine deer, afforded a delightful [[drive]] within itself, as the whole estate numbered about seven hundred acres. The plans for laying out the grounds were furnished by '''Parmentier''', and architects from New York were employed in designing and erecting the buildings. Since the death of [[David Hosack|Dr. Hosack]], the place has lost something of the high keeping which it formerly evinced, but we still consider it one of the most instructive [[seat]]s in this country.”

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
File:0064.jpg|Anonymous, ''Map of Mr. Andrew [[Parmentier’s Horticultural and Botanical Garden|Parmentier’s Horticultural & Botanical Garden]], at Brooklyn, Long Island, Two Miles From the City of New York'', c. 1828.

File:2033.jpg|Thomas Kelah Wharton, View of the [[David Hosack]] Estate at [[Hyde Park]], New York, from Western Bank of the Hudson River, c. 1832.

File:2034.jpg|Thomas Kelah Wharton, View of [[David Hosack]] Estate, [[Hyde Park]], New York, with a Sundial, c. 1832.

File:2035.jpg|Thomas Kelah Wharton, View of the [[David Hosack]] Estate, [[Hyde Park]], New York, from the South, c. 1832.

File:2036.jpg|Thomas Kelah Wharton, View of [[David Hosack]] Estate, Hyde Park, New York, from the East, c. 1832.

File:2046.jpg|Nathaniel Currier, ''[[Hyde Park]], Hudson River'', c. 1835.

File:2166.jpg|Nathaniel Currier, ''Upper Canada College (1831–1891)'', 1835.

File:0417.jpg|Anonymous, “Rustic prospect-arbor,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', 4th ed. (1849), 460, fig. 87.

</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:People|Parmentier, André]]

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2018-08-14T14:06:56Z

E-athens:

'''Mount Auburn Cemetery''' was founded by Harvard botanist Jacob Bigelow and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and was the first cemetery to be laid out according the principles of English landscape design. Its establishment marked the beginning of the rural cemetery movement in the United States.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Sweet Auburn 
'''Site Dates:''' 1831–present 
'''Site Owner:''' Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1831−35); Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1835−present) 
'''Associated People:''' Jacob Bigelow (1787−1879; original proponent of the cemetery); [[H. A. S. Dearborn]] (1783−1851; designer); Alexander Wadsworth (1806−1898; surveyor) 
'''Location:''' Cambridge, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt+Auburn+Cemetery+Inc/@39.2595428,-76.6391052,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3be7e05cf74a12a9?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi63Nmf3-rcAhWwmOAKHUs8AkEQ_BIwEHoECAkQCw View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0117.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1, Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.]]
Prior to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery [Fig. 1] in 1831, residents of New England were generally interred in graveyards associated with their respective churches; in Boston, these included the King’s Chapel, Old Granary, and Central Burying Grounds along the perimeter of the [[Common]], and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End. With the enormous growth of Boston’s population following the American Revolution, however, these sites were quickly overcrowded. Boston’s early [[burial ground|burying grounds]], with their disorganized jumble of headstones, came to be seen as an aesthetic blight on the developing city, and their close proximity to both residences and businesses was considered a public health hazard.<ref>Blanche M. G. Linden, ''Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston’s Mount Auburn Cemetery'' (1989; repr., Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 118–20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. See also David Charles Sloane, ''The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and James R. Cothran and Erica Danylchak, ''Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movement'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2018), 37–38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

In the mid-1820s Boston mayor Josiah Quincy passed the Ordinance on the Burial of the Dead, which forbade further interments at the King’s Chapel and Old Granary Burying Grounds and better regulated other burials within city limits.<ref>Sloane 1991, 44–45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; Linden 2007, 130, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]; and Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero]. For the text of the ordinance, see ''The Charter of the City of Boston, and Ordinances Made and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council'' (Boston: True and Greene, 1827), 182–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8Z9RGAV2 view on Zotero].</ref> About the same time, according to historian Blanche Linden, a growing movement for a “rural” cemetery emerged. In 1823 Dr. John Coffin, a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, published a pamphlet arguing that bodies should be interred in a pastoral setting where they could “naturally” return to the earth, and in 1825 Jacob Bigelow, a professor of botany at Harvard, established an association for creating a cemetery that situated burial plots within a carefully cultivated landscape.<ref>Linden 2007, 128–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1027.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.]]
Despite the crowding and public health concerns of city burials, Bigelow’s proposal for a rural cemetery had some resistance to overcome. Many Bostonians believed rural interment was appropriate only for social outcasts; they also feared burial outside the city limits might lead to the theft of bodies by “resurrection men”—body snatchers who stole corpses for medical study.<ref>Linden 2007, 161, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Bigelow and his associates argued that a pastoral setting would allow for a more socially productive, and more American, type of mourning. Graves situated in a beautiful landscape would highlight the naturalness of death and reduce the anxiety and fear associated with the end of life [Fig. 2]. Moreover, a rural setting would recall the original landscape of New England, inviting the general public to connect to the country’s past and engage with ideas of continuity and posterity.<ref>Sloane 1991, 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 141, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

The development of Mount Auburn Cemetery began in earnest in 1830, with the coordination of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded only a year earlier. The plan was to incorporate in one expansive site a rural burying ground, or “garden of graves,” alongside an experimental garden that together could foster “historical and horticultural consciousness.”<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. The phrase “Garden of Graves” was the title of an essay on Mount Auburn by John Pierpont, published in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ed., ''The Token'' (Boston: S. G. Goodrich, 1832), 374–90, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JKTSIA5Q view on Zotero].</ref> The land Bigelow’s association purchased for the cemetery’s construction—Stone’s Woods or “Sweet Auburn,” 72 acres of rolling, wooded hills across the Charles River from Boston—had long been a place of pastoral respite for locals, including Harvard students. Writing in his journal in 1824, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that “there is some wild land called Sweet Auburn . . . [and] the students will go in bands over a flat sandy road & in summer evenings the woods are full of them.”<ref>Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., ''Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820–24'' (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909), 350, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7APXZ4GT view on Zotero].</ref> Not surprisingly the connection between nature, culture, and the divine that drove the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery would also shape the views of Transcendentalists like Emerson.

[[File:0598.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.]]
The layout of Mount Auburn began in 1831 and was overseen by the first president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, [[H. A. S. Dearborn]], aided by Alexander Wadsworth [Fig. 3]. [[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn]] drew on the design of the Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise—the world’s first garden or “ornamental” cemetery—and laid out the grounds according to the [[natural style]] of English landscape design.<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, 49–50, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 173–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. As Linden notes, Alexander Wadsworth surveyed the site but the design was primarily Dearborn’s. For more on the design and architecture of Père Lachaise, see Richard A. Etlin, ''The Architecture of Death: The Transformation of the Cemetery in Eighteenth-Century Paris'' (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984), 310–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/G6QIFAZT/q/etlin view on Zotero].</ref> He incorporated winding gravel [[path]]s, wide planted [[border]]s, and small [[pond]]s among the rolling hills of the site, which created the variety of views so essential to the English garden.<ref>Linden 2007, 147, 155–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> It was also a means of keeping burial lots properly distanced from one another. These were sold by subscription, mostly to families, but also to several local organizations, such as Harvard College and the Tremont House, a Boston hotel. The few corporate lots were intended for deceased students and visitors whose bodies could not be shipped home.<ref> Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (New York: R. Martin, 1847), 68, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 164, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

Lingering concerns about a pastoral cemetery, particularly regarding the security of graves, did not seem to limit interest in Mount Auburn, but the cemetery faced other challenges. Revenue generated by the sale of lots failed to cover the cost of establishing an experimental garden, leading to the Massachusetts Historical Society’s withdrawal from the project in 1835 and the chartering of a new, charitable organization–the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn–to oversee the site.<ref>Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref> Another challenge was the behavior of some of Mount Auburn’s visitors: although originally designed as a fully public space, the cemetery was enclosed by [[fence]]s in 1833 to deter vandalism, and public visitation was limited to daylight hours. A system of fines was established to counter destructive behavior toward plants, trees, and burial markers.<ref>Linden 2007, 167, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1071.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.]]
Mount Auburn also came under scrutiny for its apparent elitism. The prohibitive costs of the average 300-square-foot lot—about $60—were thought by some to undermine the cemetery’s accessibility and openness.<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Early critics saw the cemetery less as a site of moral education and more as an aggrandizement of New England’s elite, a number of whom marked their burial sites with imposing monuments. Although the cemetery’s board encouraged simplicity in burial markers—preferring obelisks, tombs, and sarcophagi over more elaborate constructions—the lot of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Samuel Appleton boasted a 12-by-6-foot Grecian temple made of Italian marble, for which he paid the enormous sum of $10,000 [Fig. 4].<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 186–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> For those who could not afford the expense of a standard lot, Mount Auburn Cemetery offered 160 individual graves that could be purchased for $10 each, though this accommodation did not fully quash the view of rural interment as a luxury unattainable for many.<ref>Sloane 1991, 54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.]]
Many of Mount Auburn’s visitors were neither proprietors nor friends and family of people interred at the site; despite the restrictions placed on the public, the cemetery functioned as “a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens,” one whose “shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already . . . awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom.”<ref>Joseph Story, October 17, 1834, ''Records of Committees'', quoted in Linden 2007, 168, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> A market for Mount Auburn guidebooks quickly developed, beginning with ''The Picturesque Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, through Mount Auburn'' (1839) and perhaps reaching its apogee with Cornelia W. Walter’s ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847), which was frequently reprinted over the next decade. In her book Walter, a former editor of the ''Boston Transcript'', provided readers a brief history of the cemetery and an architectural tour through its more celebrated monuments, illustrated by the prolific engraver James Smillie. The volume begins with a description of the imposing Egyptian-style portal at the cemetery’s entrance [Fig. 5] and passes by a variety of architectural styles—the neo-Gothic design of the Chapel and the classicizing temple on Samuel Appleton’s lot—before concluding with a view from Mount Auburn’s highest point, the “mount” of its name.

[[File:1066.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.]]
Walter’s guidebook, organized by prospects both of and from Mount Auburn, offsets manmade structures against the site’s pastoral setting to underscore the restorative quality of nature. The mount of Mount Auburn, she observed, provides a view of “the numerous spires of the near city of Boston,” which—framed by the Charles River and the “varied undulations of the hills and dales, the tranquil lakes, and the deep shadows of the groves”—metamorphoses from an overcrowded metropolis into an image of solemnity and repose [Fig. 6].<ref>Walter 1847, 112–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref> The effect she described is the very one articulated by Mount Auburn’s promoters, who had intended to articulate a harmonious accord between life and death, culture and nature, history and horticulture.

The creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with the reframing of death and decay as wholly natural processes, permanently altered Americans’ practices of burial and mourning and led to development of rural cemeteries across the United States. Between 1831 and 1873, more than 175 such cemeteries were established, including Philadelphia’s celebrated [[Laurel Hill]] (1838) and Brooklyn’s [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] (1838).<ref>Sloane 1991, 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; see also Appendix C in Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 231–39, which provides a select list of rural cemeteries organized by name, date, and location, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

<hr>

==Texts==
*Story, Joseph, September 24, 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1831: 16–17, 29)<ref>Joseph Story, ''An Address Delivered on the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ABFHUWTP/q/address%20delivered%20on%20the%20dedication view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A rural [[Cemetery]] seems to combine in itself all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

:“And what spot can be more appropriate than this for such a purpose? Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade; and the silent [[grove]]. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that ‘wreaths its old fantastic roots so high,’ the rustling pine, and the drooping willow; —the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perennial shoots, instructing us, that ‘the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.’ Here is the thick [[shrubbery]] to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it murmurs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his evening song. . . .

:“The grounds of the [[Cemetery]] have been laid out with intersecting [[avenue]]s, so as to render every part of the [[wood]] accessible. These [[avenue]]s are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining at the same time the [[picturesque]] effect of [[landscape gardening]]. Over the more level portions, the [[avenue]]s are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 30 September 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Ward 1831: 48)<ref>Malthus Ward, ''An Address Pronounced Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society'' (Boston: J. T. & E Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/P7GWBEPX/q/an%20address%20pronounced%20before view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[nursery|nurseries]] may be established, the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and ornamental trees, [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, laid out and planted, a [[greenhouse|green house]] built, hot-[[bed]]s formed, the small ponds and morasses converted into [[picturesque]] sheets of water, and their margins diversified by clumps and belts of our most splendid native flowering trees, and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], requiring a soil thus constituted for their successful cultivation, while their surface may be spangled with the brilliant blossoms of Nymphae, and the other beautiful tribes of aquatic plants.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 1832, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Harris 1832: 63–65, 67–68, 72, 80)<ref>Thaddeus William Harris, ''A Discourse Delivered Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on the Celebration of its Fourth Anniversary, October 3, 1832'' (Cambridge, MA: E. W. Metcalf, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3A3UDHF3/q/a%20discourse%20delivered view on Zotero].</ref>
:“With the Experimental Garden it is recommended to unite a Rural [[Cemetery]]; for the period is not distant, when all the [[burial ground]]s within the city will be closed, and others must be formed in the country,—the primitive and only proper location. There the dead may repose undisturbed, through countless ages. There can be formed a public place of sepulture, where monuments can be erected to our illustrious men, whose remains, thus far, have unfortunately been consigned too obscure and isolated tombs, instead of being collected within one common depository, where their great deeds might be perpetuated and their memories cherished by succeeding generations. Though dead, they would be eternal admonitors to the living,—teaching them the way which leads to national glory and individual renown. . . .
:“For the accommodation of the Garden of Experiment and [[Cemetery]], at least seventy acres of land are deemed necessary; and in making the selection of a site, it was very important that from forty to fifty acres should be well or partially covered with forest trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], which could be appropriated for the latter establishment; and that it should present all possible varieties of soil, common in the vicinity of Boston; be diversified by hills, valleys, plains, brooks, and low [[meadow]]s and bogs, so as to afford proper localities for every kind of tree and plant, that will flourish in this climate;—be near to some large stream or river; and easy of access by land and water; but still sufficiently retired.

:“To realize these advantages it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, [[avenue]]s and [[walk]]s may be made through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] or [[picturesque]] gardening, in conformity to the [[modern style]] of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society. . . .

:“The establishment of rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] similar to that of Pere La Chaise, has often been the subject of conversation in this country, and frequently adverted to by the writers in our scientific and literary publications. . . .

:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[Cemetery]] may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]] bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]], and perennial flowers; rather as a line of demarcation than of disconnexion; for the ornamental grounds of the Garden should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.

:“Among the hills, glades, and dales, which are now covered with evergreen and deciduous trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], may be selected sites for isolated graves, and tombs, and these, being surmounted with [[column]]s, [[obelisk]]s, and other appropriate monuments of granite and marble, may be rendered interesting specimens of art; they will also vary and embelish the scenery embraced within the scope of the numerous sinuous [[avenue]]s, which may be felicitously opened in all directions and to a vast extent, from the diversified and [[picturesque]] features which the topography of the tract of land presents. . . .

:“The approach from the main road leading to Watertown, was by a broad and umbrageous [[avenue]] to the foot of the hill, which closes the dale of consecration on the north. . . . In the rear, under the shade of a stately [[grove]] of walnuts, where the main [[avenue]] divides and gracefully sweeps round the lofty hills to the east and west, the company [attending the consecration] descended from their carriages, and entered the secluded and romantic silvan theatre, by two foot paths, which wound through lonely vales of arching verdure. . . .

:“The upper Garden [[Pond]] has been excavated, to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, with a fall at the outlet of three feet, and being embanked, [[avenue]]s with a [[border]] of six feet, for [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, have been made all round it. . . .

:“Arrangements have been made for excavating, to a greater depth, Forest and Consecration-Dell [[Pond]]s, and surrounding them by embellished pathways, like those of Garden-[[Pond]], and for cleaning the eastern portion of Garden and of [[Meadow]] [[Pond]]s, of bushes and weeds; all which will be done during the winter, that season being the most favorable for such work.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 3)<ref>Anonymous, ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor’s Guide through Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Otis, Broader, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:”The celebrity attained by '''Mount Auburn''', pronounced by European travellers the most beautiful [[Cemetery]] in existence, and which, perhaps, without assuming too much, may be called the Père la Chaise of America,—the extraordinary natural loveliness of the spot,—the admirable character of the establishment which is there maintained,—the fact that this was the first conspicuous example of the kind in our country.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 47–48)<ref>''The Picturesque Pocket Companion'' 1839, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[cemetery|CEMETERY]], may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]], bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]] and perennial flowers,—rather as a line of demarcation, than of disconnexion,—for the ornamental grounds of the GARDEN should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate, as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1841: 2:382)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A comparison has been often made between the Père la Chaise of Paris and the '''Mount Auburn''' of Boston, and the similarity of their situation and their purpose naturally forces this comparison on the mind. Having seen both, I may venture to offer an opinion on this subject, with great deference, however, to those who may think otherwise. In many respects, then, I think Mount '''Auburn''' superior to Père la Chaise. Its natural scenery of hill and dale, of river, [[lake]], and forest-trees, with other surrounding objects, presents a combination which is not to be found in the [[cemetery]] of Paris, and which is far more in harmony with the repose of the dead than the most sumptuous monuments, without these combinations, can be. In this last respect Père la Chaise is perhaps unrivalled.”

[[File:1063.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.]]
*[[Cornelia W. Walter|Walter, Cornelia W.]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1847: 14)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[avenues]] are winding in their course and exceedingly beautiful in their gentle circuits, adapted [[picturesque|picturesquely]] to the inequalities of the surface of the ground, and producing charming landscape effects from this natural arrangement, such as could never be had from straightness or regularity. . . .

:“The [[gate|gateway]] of '''Mount Auburn''' opened from what is known as the north boundary line of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[avenue]] forms a wide carriage-road, and is one of the most beautiful openings ever improved for such a purpose. With the exception of the necessary grading, levelling, and cutting done of the brushwood, and the planting of a few trees, it has been left as Nature has made it. On either side it is overshadowed by the foliage of forest-trees, firs, pines, and other evergreens; and here you first begin to see the monuments starting up from the surrounding verdure, like bright remembrances from the heart of earth” [Fig. 7].

*[[Nehemiah Cleaveland|Cleaveland, Nehemiah]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Walter 1847: 20)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“In 1844, the increasing funds of the corporation justified a new expenditure for the plain but massy iron [[fence]] which encloses the front of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[fence]] is ten feet in height, and supported on granite posts extending four feet into the ground. It measures half a mile in length, and will, when completed, effectually preserve the [[Cemetery]] inviolate from any rude intrusion. The cost of the [[gate|gateway]] was about $10,000—the [[fence]], $15,000.

:“A continuation of the iron [[fence]] on the easterly side is now under contract, and a strong wooden palisade is, as we learn, to be erected on the remaining boundary during the present year.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–10)<ref>A. J. Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I/q/public%20cemeteries%20and%20public%20gardens view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Indeed, in the absence of great [[public garden]]s, such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .

:“The character of each of the three great [[cemetery|cemeteries]] is essentially distinct. Greenwood, the largest, and unquestionably the finest, is grand, dignified, and [[park]]-like. It is laid out in a broad and simple style, commands noble ocean [[view]]s, and is admirably kept. '''Mount Auburn''' is richly [[picturesque]], in its varied hill and dale, and owes its charm mainly to this variety and intricacy of sylvan features. Laurel Hill is a charming [[pleasure ground|pleasure-ground]], filled with beautiful and rare [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers; at this season, a wilderness of roses, as well as fine trees and monuments.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing cemeteries in America (1850: 333)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed., corrected and improved (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/order/creator/q/loudon/sort/descc view on Zotero].</ref>
:“857. [[Cemeteries]]. . . .

:“A public [[cemetery]] was formed in 1831 at '''Mount Auburn''', about three miles from Boston, and is easily approached either by the road, or the river which washes its [[border]]s. . . . ‘This romantic and [[picturesque]] [[cemetery]],’ says Dr. Mease, ‘is the fashionable place of interment with the people of Boston.’ . . .

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery>
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0117.jpg|Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.

File:0598.jpg|Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.

File:1025.jpg|Anonymous, “Entrance to Mount Auburn,” in ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (September 1834): 9.

File:1026.jpg|Anonymous, “Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 10 (June 1835): 450.

File:1027.jpg|Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.

File:1035.jpg|Anonymous, “Garden Pond,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 85.

File:1034.jpg|Anonymous, “Monument of ‘Dr. Bigelow,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 113.

File:1031.jpg|Anonymous, “Tomb and obelisk of ‘George W. Coffin,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 147.

File:1032.jpg|Anonymous, “Consecration Dell,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 161.

File:1033.jpg|Anonymous, “Forest Pond," in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 171.

File:1304.jpg|John Warner Barber, “Entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery,” ''Historical Collections . . . Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts'' (1844), 361.

File:1063.jpg|James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.

File:1974.jpg|James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.

File:1074.jpg|James Smillie (artist), O. G. Hanks (engraver), “View of the Naval Monument (Central Avenue), Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 22.

File:1073.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Alfred Jones (engraver), “View of the Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 36.

File:1072.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Tomb to Spurzheim, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 40.

File:1070.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “View of the Central Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 61.

File:1071.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.

File:1975.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Battle Hill,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 79.

File:1976.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “Forest Pond, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 94.

File:1069.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Consecration Dell, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 100.

File:1068.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Bowditch Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 105.

File:1066.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.

File:1065.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of Gossler’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 115.

File:1064.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Rice & Buttre (engravers), “View of Oxnard’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 116.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
42.375208,-71.144974
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[https://mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery]

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Nursery of Robert Buist

2018-08-14T14:05:09Z

E-athens:

'''The nursery of Robert Buist''' was a key source of exotic flowers in Philadelphia in the 1830s and 40s. Robert Buist knew many of the gardeners and seedsmen from his native Britain, from whom he often procured rare species of camellias, dahlias, geraniums, and roses to sell at his city nursery on South 12th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>U. P. Hedrick, ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> Local naturalists, such as the botanist Thomas Nuttall, also provided plants collected on travels to different regions of the North American continent.

==Overview==
'''Alternative Names:''' Buist’s Nursery; R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery; Robert Buist’s City Nursery & Greenhouses 
'''Site Dates:''' 1833–c. 1850 
'''Site Owner:''' [[Robert Buist]] (1805–1880) 
'''Associated People:''' Mr. Scott (dates unknown; originally gardener at Knight’s Exotic Nursery in London) 
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA; Demolished 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lombard+St+%26+S+12th+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19147/@39.9442089,-75.1637345,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c6c6240bf4bb61:0x813489c0d3bbcdf9!8m2!3d39.9442048!4d-75.1615458 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[Robert Buist]] first entered the nursery business in 1830 as partner to Thomas Hibbert, whose garden and [[greenhouse]]s were located at South 13th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert was likely eager to join with Buist, a Scottish émigré, due to his familiarity with nurserymen in Scotland and England—one of Buist’s first tasks after partnering with Hibbert was to travel to Britain to import exotics not available in the United States.<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero], and William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero].</ref> According to an 1832 notice in the ''Gardener’s Magazine'', he brought back to Philadelphia “large collections of Chinese, Cape, and Botany Bay plants” to sell at Hibbert & Buist.<ref>Alexander Gordon, “Notices of Some of the Principal Nurseries and Private Gardens in the United States,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 283, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/2TVP4JIX/q/gordon view on Zotero].</ref> Unfortunately, their collaboration was brief due to Hibbert’s sudden illness and death in May 1833.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1734.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.]]

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]
Buist quickly established a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street and an independent [[nursery]] at 140 South 12th Street, which he opened by December 1833 [Fig. 1], using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> It was often referred to as “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” for the rich variety of rare plants it offered, both from abroad and from the Pacific Northwest, the latter of which had been collected by Thomas Nuttall during his 1834 expedition along the Columbia River.<ref>C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey, “Notes on Nurseries and Private Gardens, visited in the early part of March,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 205, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Descriptions of the [[nursery]] from 1833 and 1835 describe the layout and contents of his [[greenhouse]], which was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different climates his exotic plants required [Fig. 2]. The front compartment was the “New-Holland House” and featured various heaths, ''Banksia'', diosma (''Coleonema pulchellum''), and other plants then uncommon in the United States. A [[hothouse]] or stove occupied the second compartment, and the final three compartments were each dedicated to a specific flower: the geranium, the camellia, and the rose.<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZBUNJMGX view on Zotero], and C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later expanded his nursery in order to build an additional stove and an entirely separate, north-facing camellia house [Fig. 3]. He noted that camellias benefited when partially shaded, and advised patrons to white-wash the glass of their [[greenhouse]]s or place them in north-facing situations to protect the flowers.<ref>Hovey 1837, 202–3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846. A comparison with Buist’s calling card reveals the nursery’s expansion.]]
Camellias were not the only plant that was subject to Buist’s careful study; roses also received his focused attention, and he is known to have introduced the Jaune Desprez—a yellow climbing rose with a strong fragrance—to the American market.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, in 1844 Buist published the ''Rose Manual'', which described different types of roses and their cultivation and care. The book followed his 1832 publication of the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' that, along with the ''Rose Manual'', were important adjuncts to his [[nursery]] business. His publishing efforts allowed him to sell his customers exotic flowers, as well as directions for their proper maintenance, adding to his professional success.

By 1848 his business had outgrown 140 South 12th Street, and Buist purchased a [[plot]] of land southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, to accommodate its expansion. The Rosedale nursery was considered the largest in the United States at the time; a period description of the site indicated that it comprised about 100 acres of land and more that 20,000 feet of [[greenhouse]]s featuring “everything in the plant way.”<ref>“A Visit to Rosedale,” ''Florist and Horticultural Journal'' 4 (1854): 152–53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35KZG677 view on Zotero].</ref> He ultimately gave up his city nursery in 1850 in order to consolidate all of but his seed business at Rosedale.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, May 15, 1832, describing the nursery of Robert Buist (''National Gazette and Literary Register'')<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>
The [[greenhouse|Green House]] of [[Robert Buist]] is 150 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with correspondent glass framing. It is divided into five compartments, each appropriated to plants requiring the same treatment. In the New-Holland house there are several fine specimens of Banksias, such as speciosa, grandis, cunninghamia and verticillata. There is likewise a beautiful plant of dryandra; some of the heaths are very fine; erica rubida is a great picture; diosma is also a conspicuous genus; with plants of epacris, boronia, protea, and many others of more every day observation.

The [[hothouse|Hot House]] also contains some very rare plants, such as ardisia paniculata, justicia picta, dracaena terminalis, latania borbonica, pandanus, astrapaea, myrtus pimentiodes or allspice tree; —cactus are likewise improved with the fine blooming sorts, such as Ackermania, Jenkinsonia, and Buonapartea; — Buonapartea juncea is also a curious looking plant.

The Geranium House is well filled with fresh young and healthy plants: there are upwards of 100 varieties, some of which are very splendid; and a few years ago a single plant cost in London £2 2s sterling.

The Camellia House begins to appear in its glory: the plants are in great luxuriance, and display a profusion of buds. It is said that sixty varieties will bloom during the winter. It would be too tedious to give a detail of their characters—but suffice to say that nivalis, eximia, rosea, reticulata, imbricata, Gray’s invincible and Floyii have a place among seventy other sorts. As for the beautiful speciosa and the pretty fimbriata, they appear to be as plentiful as the common varieties.

The sixth [sic; fifth] is the Rose House, containing about eighty varieties and species of China rose: the yellow and white tea-scented rose is in great abundance. There are also odorata Golconda, odorata grandi and odorata superba, new sorts. Rosa smithii, or yellow noisette, is looked upon as a great treasure.

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1835, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery, 12th, near Lombard street” (''American Gardeners’ Magazine'' 1: 203)<ref>Hovey 1835, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
The range of [[greenhouse|green-houses]] is upwards of one hundred feet in length; it is built with a span roof, though in some places it is not glazed, and is divided into five compartments; he intends enlarging it the present summer, and also to build a house purposely for his Caméllias, of which he has a very fine collection. . . .

The arrangement of the plants throughout the whole range, is highly creditable to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] taste; and the general good order which exists throughout his establishment, where propagation is continually going on, is to be much commended. Too little attention is paid to neatness by many nurserymen. . . .

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1837, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 3: 202)<ref>Hovey 1837, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
Since the spring of 1835, the time of our last visit to this place, [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has erected a camellia house and a small stove. The former is about fifty feet in length, and twenty in width, and is built with a slope to the north instead of the south, as is usual in the erection of all similar structures. . . . We noticed that [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has the camellias placed at a good distance from the glass; this we much approve of: we know from our own personal experience that camellias, placed upon a stage near the glass, rarely make a healthy growth. . . . No plants will bear growing at a greater distance from the glass than camellias.

The interior of this house is constructed with a front shelf, about four feet in width; between this and the back [[border]] is the [[walk]]. In the [[border]] are planted out several camellias at various distances, and the space between them is filled with plants in [[pot]]s. The front shelf was filled with azaleas and other plants, which prefer a cool temperature and shady situation. . . .

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], June 1849, “Visit to Buist’s Nursery” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 43–4)<ref>“Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1, ed. Andrew Jackson Downing (July 1849): 43–4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WIF29SDV view on Zotero].</ref>
While we were in Philadelphia, early last month, we had a great deal of pleasure in visiting the exotic department of '''Buist’s nursery''' establishment. [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has for a long time, we believe, employed more capital in exotic floriculture than any other commercial grower in the country. His extensive trade, especially with the southern and western states has enabled him to introduce immediately every new species, and to maintain an immense stock of all the finest exotics in cultivation.

[[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] establishment consists at the present moment of three distinct departments—1st. An extensive seed warehouse, No. 99 Chestnut St.; —2d. The '''city Green-houses''' or '''exotic nursery''', 140 South Twelfth St.; —3d. The general hardy nursery of fruit and ornamental trees, and seed farm on the Darby road. The buildings have now so completely surrounded the city establishment, that [[Robert Buist|Mr. B.]] informed us it is his intention to remove all the exotic department next year to his general [[nursery]] and seed farm on the Darby road—thus consolidating the whole establishment as much as possible. Either the amateur or the professional horticulturist who wishes to see all the garden novelties of the day, will find a great deal to interest him in a visit to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]].

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
39.944208, -75.1637345
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

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[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T14:03:44Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common; The Park; Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html National Park Service]

[https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common City of Boston]

[http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml The Freedom Trail Foundation]

[http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common Friends of the Public Garden]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

[[Category:Places]]

Nursery of Robert Buist

2018-08-14T14:03:05Z

E-athens:

'''The nursery of Robert Buist''' was a key source of exotic flowers in Philadelphia in the 1830s and 40s. Robert Buist knew many of the gardeners and seedsmen from his native Britain, from whom he often procured rare species of camellias, dahlias, geraniums, and roses to sell at his city nursery on South 12th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>U. P. Hedrick, ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> Local naturalists, such as the botanist Thomas Nuttall, also provided plants collected on travels to different regions of the North American continent.

==Overview==
'''Alternative Names:''' Buist’s Nursery; R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery; Robert Buist’s City Nursery & Greenhouses 
'''Site Dates:''' 1833–c. 1850 
'''Site Owner:''' [[Robert Buist]] (1805–1880) 
'''Associated People:''' Mr. Scott (dates unknown; originally gardener at Knight’s Exotic Nursery in London) 
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA; Demolished 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lombard+St+%26+S+12th+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19147/@39.9442089,-75.1637345,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c6c6240bf4bb61:0x813489c0d3bbcdf9!8m2!3d39.9442048!4d-75.1615458 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[Robert Buist]] first entered the nursery business in 1830 as partner to Thomas Hibbert, whose garden and [[greenhouse]]s were located at South 13th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert was likely eager to join with Buist, a Scottish émigré, due to his familiarity with nurserymen in Scotland and England—one of Buist’s first tasks after partnering with Hibbert was to travel to Britain to import exotics not available in the United States.<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero], and William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero].</ref> According to an 1832 notice in the ''Gardener’s Magazine'', he brought back to Philadelphia “large collections of Chinese, Cape, and Botany Bay plants” to sell at Hibbert & Buist.<ref>Alexander Gordon, “Notices of Some of the Principal Nurseries and Private Gardens in the United States,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 283, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/2TVP4JIX/q/gordon view on Zotero].</ref> Unfortunately, their collaboration was brief due to Hibbert’s sudden illness and death in May 1833.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1734.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.]]

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]
Buist quickly established a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street and an independent [[nursery]] at 140 South 12th Street, which he opened by December 1833 [Fig. 1], using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> It was often referred to as “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” for the rich variety of rare plants it offered, both from abroad and from the Pacific Northwest, the latter of which had been collected by Thomas Nuttall during his 1834 expedition along the Columbia River.<ref>C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey, “Notes on Nurseries and Private Gardens, visited in the early part of March,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 205, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Descriptions of the [[nursery]] from 1833 and 1835 describe the layout and contents of his [[greenhouse]], which was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different climates his exotic plants required [Fig. 2]. The front compartment was the “New-Holland House” and featured various heaths, ''Banksia'', diosma (''Coleonema pulchellum''), and other plants then uncommon in the United States. A [[hothouse]] or stove occupied the second compartment, and the final three compartments were each dedicated to a specific flower: the geranium, the camellia, and the rose.<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZBUNJMGX view on Zotero], and C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later expanded his nursery in order to build an additional stove and an entirely separate, north-facing camellia house [Fig. 3]. He noted that camellias benefited when partially shaded, and advised patrons to white-wash the glass of their [[greenhouse]]s or place them in north-facing situations to protect the flowers.<ref>Hovey 1837, 202–3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846. A comparison with Buist’s calling card reveals the nursery’s expansion.]]
Camellias were not the only plant that was subject to Buist’s careful study; roses also received his focused attention, and he is known to have introduced the Jaune Desprez—a yellow climbing rose with a strong fragrance—to the American market.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, in 1844 Buist published the ''Rose Manual'', which described different types of roses and their cultivation and care. The book followed his 1832 publication of the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' that, along with the ''Rose Manual'', were important adjuncts to his [[nursery]] business. His publishing efforts allowed him to sell his customers exotic flowers, as well as directions for their proper maintenance, adding to his professional success.

By 1848 his business had outgrown 140 South 12th Street, and Buist purchased a [[plot]] of land southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, to accommodate its expansion. The Rosedale nursery was considered the largest in the United States at the time; a period description of the site indicated that it comprised about 100 acres of land and more that 20,000 feet of [[greenhouse]]s featuring “everything in the plant way.”<ref>“A Visit to Rosedale,” ''Florist and Horticultural Journal'' 4 (1854): 152–53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35KZG677 view on Zotero].</ref> He ultimately gave up his city nursery in 1850 in order to consolidate all of but his seed business at Rosedale.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, May 15, 1832, describing the nursery of Robert Buist (''National Gazette and Literary Register'')<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>
The [[greenhouse|Green House]] of [[Robert Buist]] is 150 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with correspondent glass framing. It is divided into five compartments, each appropriated to plants requiring the same treatment. In the New-Holland house there are several fine specimens of Banksias, such as speciosa, grandis, cunninghamia and verticillata. There is likewise a beautiful plant of dryandra; some of the heaths are very fine; erica rubida is a great picture; diosma is also a conspicuous genus; with plants of epacris, boronia, protea, and many others of more every day observation.

The [[hothouse|Hot House]] also contains some very rare plants, such as ardisia paniculata, justicia picta, dracaena terminalis, latania borbonica, pandanus, astrapaea, myrtus pimentiodes or allspice tree; —cactus are likewise improved with the fine blooming sorts, such as Ackermania, Jenkinsonia, and Buonapartea; — Buonapartea juncea is also a curious looking plant.

The Geranium House is well filled with fresh young and healthy plants: there are upwards of 100 varieties, some of which are very splendid; and a few years ago a single plant cost in London £2 2s sterling.

The Camellia House begins to appear in its glory: the plants are in great luxuriance, and display a profusion of buds. It is said that sixty varieties will bloom during the winter. It would be too tedious to give a detail of their characters—but suffice to say that nivalis, eximia, rosea, reticulata, imbricata, Gray’s invincible and Floyii have a place among seventy other sorts. As for the beautiful speciosa and the pretty fimbriata, they appear to be as plentiful as the common varieties.

The sixth [sic; fifth] is the Rose House, containing about eighty varieties and species of China rose: the yellow and white tea-scented rose is in great abundance. There are also odorata Golconda, odorata grandi and odorata superba, new sorts. Rosa smithii, or yellow noisette, is looked upon as a great treasure.

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1835, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery, 12th, near Lombard street” (''American Gardeners’ Magazine'' 1: 203)<ref>Hovey 1835, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
The range of [[greenhouse|green-houses]] is upwards of one hundred feet in length; it is built with a span roof, though in some places it is not glazed, and is divided into five compartments; he intends enlarging it the present summer, and also to build a house purposely for his Caméllias, of which he has a very fine collection. . . .

The arrangement of the plants throughout the whole range, is highly creditable to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] taste; and the general good order which exists throughout his establishment, where propagation is continually going on, is to be much commended. Too little attention is paid to neatness by many nurserymen. . . .

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1837, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 3: 202)<ref>Hovey 1837, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
Since the spring of 1835, the time of our last visit to this place, [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has erected a camellia house and a small stove. The former is about fifty feet in length, and twenty in width, and is built with a slope to the north instead of the south, as is usual in the erection of all similar structures. . . . We noticed that [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has the camellias placed at a good distance from the glass; this we much approve of: we know from our own personal experience that camellias, placed upon a stage near the glass, rarely make a healthy growth. . . . No plants will bear growing at a greater distance from the glass than camellias.

The interior of this house is constructed with a front shelf, about four feet in width; between this and the back [[border]] is the [[walk]]. In the [[border]] are planted out several camellias at various distances, and the space between them is filled with plants in [[pot]]s. The front shelf was filled with azaleas and other plants, which prefer a cool temperature and shady situation. . . .

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], June 1849, “Visit to Buist’s Nursery” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 43–4)<ref>“Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1, ed. Andrew Jackson Downing (July 1849): 43–4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WIF29SDV view on Zotero].</ref>
While we were in Philadelphia, early last month, we had a great deal of pleasure in visiting the exotic department of '''Buist’s nursery''' establishment. [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has for a long time, we believe, employed more capital in exotic floriculture than any other commercial grower in the country. His extensive trade, especially with the southern and western states has enabled him to introduce immediately every new species, and to maintain an immense stock of all the finest exotics in cultivation.

[[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] establishment consists at the present moment of three distinct departments—1st. An extensive seed warehouse, No. 99 Chestnut St.; —2d. The '''city Green-houses''' or '''exotic nursery''', 140 South Twelfth St.; —3d. The general hardy nursery of fruit and ornamental trees, and seed farm on the Darby road. The buildings have now so completely surrounded the city establishment, that [[Robert Buist|Mr. B.]] informed us it is his intention to remove all the exotic department next year to his general [[nursery]] and seed farm on the Darby road—thus consolidating the whole establishment as much as possible. Either the amateur or the professional horticulturist who wishes to see all the garden novelties of the day, will find a great deal to interest him in a visit to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]].

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Nursery of Robert Buist

2018-08-14T14:02:46Z

E-athens:

'''The nursery of Robert Buist''' was a key source of exotic flowers in Philadelphia in the 1830s and 40s. Robert Buist knew many of the gardeners and seedsmen from his native Britain, from whom he often procured rare species of camellias, dahlias, geraniums, and roses to sell at his city nursery on South 12th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>U. P. Hedrick, ''History of American Horticulture in America to 1860'' (1950; repr. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988), 248, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/N7ZAW9D6/q/hedrick view on Zotero].</ref> Local naturalists, such as the botanist Thomas Nuttall, also provided plants collected on travels to different regions of the North American continent.

==Overview==
'''Alternative Names:''' Buist’s Nursery; R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery; Robert Buist’s City Nursery & Greenhouses 
'''Site Dates:''' 1833–c. 1850 
'''Site Owner:''' [[Robert Buist]] (1805–1880) 
'''Associated People:''' Mr. Scott (dates unknown; originally gardener at Knight’s Exotic Nursery in London) 
'''Location:''' Philadelphia, PA; Demolished
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lombard+St+%26+S+12th+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19147/@39.9442089,-75.1637345,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c6c6240bf4bb61:0x813489c0d3bbcdf9!8m2!3d39.9442048!4d-75.1615458 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[Robert Buist]] first entered the nursery business in 1830 as partner to Thomas Hibbert, whose garden and [[greenhouse]]s were located at South 13th Street in Philadelphia.<ref>Thomas Meehan, “Robert Buist,” ''Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist'' 22, no. 264, ed. Thomas Meehan (December 1880): 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Hibbert was likely eager to join with Buist, a Scottish émigré, due to his familiarity with nurserymen in Scotland and England—one of Buist’s first tasks after partnering with Hibbert was to travel to Britain to import exotics not available in the United States.<ref>“Hibbert & Buist,” ''Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser'' (September 17, 1831): 4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7G43W85H view on Zotero], and William Wynne, “Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the Neighbourhood of Philadelphia,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 273, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CKN7ZG86/q/wynne view on Zotero].</ref> According to an 1832 notice in the ''Gardener’s Magazine'', he brought back to Philadelphia “large collections of Chinese, Cape, and Botany Bay plants” to sell at Hibbert & Buist.<ref>Alexander Gordon, “Notices of Some of the Principal Nurseries and Private Gardens in the United States,” ''Gardener’s Magazine, and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement'' 8, no. 30, ed. J. C. Loudon (June 1832): 283, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/2TVP4JIX/q/gordon view on Zotero].</ref> Unfortunately, their collaboration was brief due to Hibbert’s sudden illness and death in May 1833.<ref>“Died,” ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (May 13, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/X5TVB9VN view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1734.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.]]

[[File:0475.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.]]
Buist quickly established a seed warehouse on Chestnut Street and an independent [[nursery]] at 140 South 12th Street, which he opened by December 1833 [Fig. 1], using part of the Hibbert & Buist stock.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> It was often referred to as “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” for the rich variety of rare plants it offered, both from abroad and from the Pacific Northwest, the latter of which had been collected by Thomas Nuttall during his 1834 expedition along the Columbia River.<ref>C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey, “Notes on Nurseries and Private Gardens, visited in the early part of March,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 3, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1837): 205, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Descriptions of the [[nursery]] from 1833 and 1835 describe the layout and contents of his [[greenhouse]], which was divided into five compartments to accommodate the different climates his exotic plants required [Fig. 2]. The front compartment was the “New-Holland House” and featured various heaths, ''Banksia'', diosma (''Coleonema pulchellum''), and other plants then uncommon in the United States. A [[hothouse]] or stove occupied the second compartment, and the final three compartments were each dedicated to a specific flower: the geranium, the camellia, and the rose.<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (December 19, 1833): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZBUNJMGX view on Zotero], and C. M. H. [C. M. Hovey], “Notices of Some of the Gardens and Nurseries in the Neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia,” ''American Gardeners’ Magazine, and Register of Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Horticulture and Rural Affairs'' 1, no. 6, ed. C. M. Hovey (June 1835): 203, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref> Buist later expanded his nursery in order to build an additional stove and an entirely separate, north-facing camellia house [Fig. 3]. He noted that camellias benefited when partially shaded, and advised patrons to white-wash the glass of their [[greenhouse]]s or place them in north-facing situations to protect the flowers.<ref>Hovey 1837, 202–3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1289.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846. A comparison with Buist’s calling card reveals the nursery’s expansion.]]
Camellias were not the only plant that was subject to Buist’s careful study; roses also received his focused attention, and he is known to have introduced the Jaune Desprez—a yellow climbing rose with a strong fragrance—to the American market.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref> Indeed, in 1844 Buist published the ''Rose Manual'', which described different types of roses and their cultivation and care. The book followed his 1832 publication of the ''American Flower Garden Directory'' that, along with the ''Rose Manual'', were important adjuncts to his [[nursery]] business. His publishing efforts allowed him to sell his customers exotic flowers, as well as directions for their proper maintenance, adding to his professional success.

By 1848 his business had outgrown 140 South 12th Street, and Buist purchased a [[plot]] of land southwest of Philadelphia, called Rosedale, to accommodate its expansion. The Rosedale nursery was considered the largest in the United States at the time; a period description of the site indicated that it comprised about 100 acres of land and more that 20,000 feet of [[greenhouse]]s featuring “everything in the plant way.”<ref>“A Visit to Rosedale,” ''Florist and Horticultural Journal'' 4 (1854): 152–53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35KZG677 view on Zotero].</ref> He ultimately gave up his city nursery in 1850 in order to consolidate all of but his seed business at Rosedale.<ref>Meehan 1880, 373, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/FFJ3CCP6 view on Zotero].</ref>

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, May 15, 1832, describing the nursery of Robert Buist (''National Gazette and Literary Register'')<ref>''National Gazette and Literary Register'' (May 15, 1832): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/4AMHS44G view on Zotero].</ref>
The [[greenhouse|Green House]] of [[Robert Buist]] is 150 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with correspondent glass framing. It is divided into five compartments, each appropriated to plants requiring the same treatment. In the New-Holland house there are several fine specimens of Banksias, such as speciosa, grandis, cunninghamia and verticillata. There is likewise a beautiful plant of dryandra; some of the heaths are very fine; erica rubida is a great picture; diosma is also a conspicuous genus; with plants of epacris, boronia, protea, and many others of more every day observation.

The [[hothouse|Hot House]] also contains some very rare plants, such as ardisia paniculata, justicia picta, dracaena terminalis, latania borbonica, pandanus, astrapaea, myrtus pimentiodes or allspice tree; —cactus are likewise improved with the fine blooming sorts, such as Ackermania, Jenkinsonia, and Buonapartea; — Buonapartea juncea is also a curious looking plant.

The Geranium House is well filled with fresh young and healthy plants: there are upwards of 100 varieties, some of which are very splendid; and a few years ago a single plant cost in London £2 2s sterling.

The Camellia House begins to appear in its glory: the plants are in great luxuriance, and display a profusion of buds. It is said that sixty varieties will bloom during the winter. It would be too tedious to give a detail of their characters—but suffice to say that nivalis, eximia, rosea, reticulata, imbricata, Gray’s invincible and Floyii have a place among seventy other sorts. As for the beautiful speciosa and the pretty fimbriata, they appear to be as plentiful as the common varieties.

The sixth [sic; fifth] is the Rose House, containing about eighty varieties and species of China rose: the yellow and white tea-scented rose is in great abundance. There are also odorata Golconda, odorata grandi and odorata superba, new sorts. Rosa smithii, or yellow noisette, is looked upon as a great treasure.

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1835, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery, 12th, near Lombard street” (''American Gardeners’ Magazine'' 1: 203)<ref>Hovey 1835, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WGMGZFER/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
The range of [[greenhouse|green-houses]] is upwards of one hundred feet in length; it is built with a span roof, though in some places it is not glazed, and is divided into five compartments; he intends enlarging it the present summer, and also to build a house purposely for his Caméllias, of which he has a very fine collection. . . .

The arrangement of the plants throughout the whole range, is highly creditable to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] taste; and the general good order which exists throughout his establishment, where propagation is continually going on, is to be much commended. Too little attention is paid to neatness by many nurserymen. . . .

*[[C. M. (Charles Mason) Hovey|Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason)]], March 1837, “R. Buist’s Exotic Nursery” (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 3: 202)<ref>Hovey 1837, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3AJ3MAG/q/hovey view on Zotero].</ref>
Since the spring of 1835, the time of our last visit to this place, [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has erected a camellia house and a small stove. The former is about fifty feet in length, and twenty in width, and is built with a slope to the north instead of the south, as is usual in the erection of all similar structures. . . . We noticed that [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has the camellias placed at a good distance from the glass; this we much approve of: we know from our own personal experience that camellias, placed upon a stage near the glass, rarely make a healthy growth. . . . No plants will bear growing at a greater distance from the glass than camellias.

The interior of this house is constructed with a front shelf, about four feet in width; between this and the back [[border]] is the [[walk]]. In the [[border]] are planted out several camellias at various distances, and the space between them is filled with plants in [[pot]]s. The front shelf was filled with azaleas and other plants, which prefer a cool temperature and shady situation. . . .

*[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], June 1849, “Visit to Buist’s Nursery” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 43–4)<ref>“Notes made during a visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and intermediate places, from August 8th to the 23rd, 1841,” ''Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1, ed. Andrew Jackson Downing (July 1849): 43–4, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/WIF29SDV view on Zotero].</ref>
While we were in Philadelphia, early last month, we had a great deal of pleasure in visiting the exotic department of '''Buist’s nursery''' establishment. [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]] has for a long time, we believe, employed more capital in exotic floriculture than any other commercial grower in the country. His extensive trade, especially with the southern and western states has enabled him to introduce immediately every new species, and to maintain an immense stock of all the finest exotics in cultivation.

[[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist’s]] establishment consists at the present moment of three distinct departments—1st. An extensive seed warehouse, No. 99 Chestnut St.; —2d. The '''city Green-houses''' or '''exotic nursery''', 140 South Twelfth St.; —3d. The general hardy nursery of fruit and ornamental trees, and seed farm on the Darby road. The buildings have now so completely surrounded the city establishment, that [[Robert Buist|Mr. B.]] informed us it is his intention to remove all the exotic department next year to his general [[nursery]] and seed farm on the Darby road—thus consolidating the whole establishment as much as possible. Either the amateur or the professional horticulturist who wishes to see all the garden novelties of the day, will find a great deal to interest him in a visit to [[Robert Buist|Mr. Buist]].

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">

File:1734.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'', n.d.

File:0475.jpg|Oscar Alexander Lawson, ''Rob[er]t Buist, Nurseryman & Florist'' (calling card), n.d.

File:1289.jpg|A. Hoffy, “View of Robert Buist’s City Nursery and Greenhouses,” 1846.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T13:55:52Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common, The Park, Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html National Park Service]

[https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common City of Boston]

[http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml The Freedom Trail Foundation]

[http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common Friends of the Public Garden]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T13:55:34Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common, The Park, Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
[https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html National Park Service]

[https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common City of Boston]

[http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml The Freedom Trail Foundation]

[http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common Friends of the Pubic Garden]

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T13:51:20Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common, The Park, Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]], 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*Loudon, J. C., 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml

http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common/

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T13:50:10Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common, The Park, Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s, as shown in a daguerreotype taken by the Boston photographic firm Southworth & Hawes [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted on order of the Selectmen along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref> In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Under the direction of Josiah Quincy III, the second mayor of Boston, additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]], 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*Loudon, J. C., 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml

http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common/

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T13:30:29Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common, The Park, Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with a “burying place” (now the Granary Burying Ground) clearly marked on a 1722 map of Boston (see Fig. 1). Another interment site on the Common—the Central Burying Ground—was established by 1756.

The Common also served as a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s, as shown in a daguerreotype taken by the Boston photographic firm Southworth & Hawes [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref>In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Throughout the first decades of the 19th century additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]], 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*Loudon, J. C., 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml

http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common/

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T13:20:07Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common, The Park, Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record is somewhat unclear. As one historian noted, we know that the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 due to an oblique reference in early town documents that “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Better documented is the Common’s use as a [[burial ground]], with maps

The grounds were also a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s, as shown in a daguerreotype taken by the Boston photographic firm Southworth & Hawes [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref>In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Throughout the first decades of the 19th century additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]], 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*Loudon, J. C., 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml

http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common/

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]

Boston Common

2018-08-14T13:15:17Z

E-athens:

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' The Common, The Park, Training Field 
'''Site Dates:''' 1634 to present 
'''Site Owner(s):''' City of Boston 
'''Location:''' Boston, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boston+Common/@42.3549544,-71.0676773,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3709dbc6e232b:0x3f8683fc7ba94f04!8m2!3d42.3549544!4d-71.0654886 View on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0068.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.]]
Although the footprint of Boston Common has changed only marginally over its history, it has undergone numerous interventions that have transformed it from an open field into a landscaped [[park]]. Much of the nearly 50 acres that comprise the modern-day Common were purchased by the town from the Reverend William Blackstone in 1634 with the express purpose of preserving it as an open green space, held in common by the townspeople. Indeed, a 1640 decree by the Boston magistrates declared that “there shalbe noe land granted eyther for hous-[[plot|plott]] or garden to any person out of the open ground or Comon Field.”<ref>Quoted in M. A. D. Howe, ''Boston Common: Scenes from Four Centuries'' (Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), 7, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. For a more recent overview of the site, see James H. Charleton, National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, November 1985, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/35D9XBHW view on Zotero].</ref> As a 1722 map of Boston reveals [Fig. 1], the Common was left almost entirely open and unaltered, with its featureless rolling hills providing an ideal place to pasture livestock. It was so popular for this purpose that the land quickly became overgrazed, and by 1646 the town was forced to place restrictions on the animals pastured there. Limited numbers of cattle and sheep continued to roam the Common, however, until the 1830s [Fig. 2].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0613.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.]]
Beyond its use as pastureland, Boston Common fulfilled numerous judicial, religious, and military purposes from its inception. Public executions were apparently held on the grounds beginning in the 17th century, although the historical record tends to reference them obliquely. As one historian noted, we only know that the hills on the Common boasted a gallows as early as 1656 because, according to early town documents, “the gallows was [''sic''] ordered to be removed to the next knoll,” on March 31, 1656.<ref>Nathaniel Shurtleff, ''A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston'' (Boston: Printed by request of the City Council, 1871), 348, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Even the histories of well-documented executions—such as those of the Quakers Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyer, and William Leddra, who were hanged for heresy in 1659 and 1660<ref>One of the first publications to describe their deaths was Edward Burrough’s ''A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God'' (1661).</ref>—are unspecific regarding location. While the Quaker executions have traditionally been sited on Boston Common, other sources indicate that the gallows were, in fact, further south on Boston Neck. The lack of clarity on this point suggests that the number of executions on the Common remains unknown, even though they are believed to have been held there until 1812.<ref>Howe 1921, 8n1, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero]. See also Shurtleff 1871, 352, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref>

The grounds were also a regular venue for preaching by both itinerant and local ministers. In the autumn of 1740, for instance, the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield traveled to Boston to raise money for the development of the [[Bethesda Orphan House]]—a newly-founded school for orphaned and poor girls, located in Chatham County, Georgia.<ref>One of his Boston auditors, the 14-year-old Elizabeth Pitts, would travel south to live at the Bethesda Orphan House.</ref> His sermon, delivered on the Common, proved enormously popular, and the ''Boston Weekly News-Letter'' announced Whitefield had collected over £200 during his visit to the city. Celebrity was not, however, a precondition for preaching on Boston Common; in 1772, ''The Massachusetts Spy'' described how an unnamed young man “mounted a stage in the Common” and soon drew an audience of “several thousands.”<ref>''The Massachusetts Spy'' (June 25, 1772), quoted in Mary Farwell Ayer, ''Boston Common in Colonial and Provincial Days'' (Boston: Privately printed, 1903), 25, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/R3NVZQST view on Zotero]. See also Howe 1921, 35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0481_detail.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'' [detail], 1728.]]
As the conspicuously marked Powder House and Watch House on early maps indicate [Fig. 3], the Common provided an important arena for military activity, and local militias often trained and mustered on the grounds. In 1684, for instance, it was described as “a training field; which ever since and now is used for that purpose.”<ref>Quoted in Howe 1921, 3, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> Its displays of martial readiness made the Common a popular venue for political action, such as the Sons of Liberty protest against the 1765 Stamp Act (see [[Paul Revere]]), as well as a deeply contested site during the occupation of Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. As early as 1768 the British army regularly camped on the Common and, over the course of the conflict, constructed earthen fortifications for their encampment’s defense. Boston Common’s military associations remained well into the 19th century, with soldiers mustering on the grounds as late as the 1850s, as shown in a daguerreotype taken by the Boston photographic firm Southworth & Hawes [Fig. 4].

[[File:0479.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.]]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the various judicial, religious, and military roles of Boston Common were gradually overshadowed by its use as a recreational green space. Although it had always been used for leisure—in 1674, for instance, John Josselyn noted that it was a popular walking spot for “Gallants” and “their Marmalet-Madams”<ref>Quoted in John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), 141, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>—it was not until the 18th century that the Common underwent significant alterations to accommodate this function. A round of early improvements took place in 1728 and 1734 [see Fig. 4], when two rows of trees were planted along Tremont Street which together formed a shaded [[walk]] known as the [[Mall]]—prior to this, the natural features of the Common were limited to a few scattered trees, including the “Great Elm” at its center, and a small spring-fed Frog Pond nearby, which functioned as a wading hole in summer and a skating [[pond]] in winter.<ref>The “Great Elm” was believed to have predated European settlement in Boston and was cherished in the 19th century as a witness to the city’s early history. It was felled by a storm in February 1876. See Anne Beamish, “Venerable Relic: The Great Elm on Boston Common,” ''Arboricultural Journal'' 30, no. 3 (2017): 144–61, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/U2HUGF95 view on Zotero].</ref>In 1784 additional trees were planted on the Common and parts of it leveled and graded. Throughout the first decades of the 19th century additional walkways were created and trees planted, so that the entire Common was enclosed by [[mall]]s and crisscrossed with tree-lined paths by the 1830s [Fig. 5].<ref>Shurtleff 1871, 320–28, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/TKD7QQZW view on Zotero].</ref> Some, such as George Jacque, took issue with the strict regularity of the paths and plantings, which, though “convenient and useful,” was incapable of pleasing the eye.<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.]]
Part of the ongoing landscaping efforts included alterations to Boston Common’s Frog Pond. Although originally a natural body of water, in 1826 its interior was paved, transforming it into a manmade [[basin]].<ref>Howe 1921, 42, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/VH3MEITZ view on Zotero].</ref> It was later fitted with a [[fountain]] that, by 1848, was fed by a newly installed aqueduct that extended from Lake Cochituate in Natick, Massachusetts, to the Brookline Reservoir.<ref>For a brief overview of the development of the aqueduct, see: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-boston-holds-a-water-celebration-in-1848/.</ref> The aqueduct was a tremendous boon to the expanding city of Boston, and a celebration in Boston Common was organized to commemorate the event. “A great work has been effected,” the ''Boston Courier'' informed its readers, and “[e]very one among us will participate in the benefits thus secured to the dwellers in this busy and thriving metropolis.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848): 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref> A long procession of citizens marched through the city’s streets to the Common and gathered at the Frog Pond, which had been fitted with an ornamented scaffolding on which sat the mayor, water commissioners, and other dignitaries [Fig. 6]. As the water began to flow into the [[basin]], “[t]he [[fountain]] played in divers shapes, sometimes throwing a tall column of eighty feet into the air, and sometimes scattering a sheaf of [[jet]]s to a wide extent around. The force and copiousness of the stream surpassed all expectation.”<ref>“The Water Celebration,” ''Boston Courier'' (October 26, 1848), 2, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CEV3AJIH view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:0612.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.]]
A colored lithograph by John Bachmann, c. 1850, reveals how dramatically Boston Common changed over time [Fig. 7]. No longer the open field shown in the 1722 map, Bachmann’s view, taken from the west, portrays the Common as a place of “public convenience and comfort,” in the words of his contemporary, Louisa Tuthill. “[F]resh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s . . . and the little lake or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref> Moreover, it was no longer bordered on its western edge by water and mudflats, which had been filled, graded, and transformed into the Boston Public Garden by 1836. The history of Boston Common highlights the increasing degrees of intervention in early American landscape design, as the site’s more utilitarian purposes ultimately yielded to recreation and leisure.

—''Elizabeth Athens''

<hr>

==Texts==
*Anonymous, 1640 and 1646, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (quoted in Adams 1842: 7)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“[March 1660] Hereafter there shall be no land granted either for house [[plot]] or garden to any person, out of the open ground or '''common''' ﬁeld, which is left between the Sentry Hill and Mr. Colburn’s end. . . .
:“[May 1646] No dry cattle, young cattle, or horse, shall be free to go on the '''Common''' this year but one horse of Elder Oliver.”

*Josselyn, John, 1674, describing Boston, MA (quoted in Reps 1965: 141)<ref>John W. Reps, ''The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/Z3R75RFG/q/making%20of%20urban%20america view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the South there is a small but pleasant '''common''', where the Gallants a little before Sunset walk with their Marmalet-Madams.”

*Anonymous, May 19, 1766, ''Boston Evening-Post'' (quoted in Brigham 1954: 21)<ref>Clarence Brigham, ''Paul Revere’s Engravings'' (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8QDGHC3A/q/paul%20revere's%20engravings, view on Zotero].</ref>

:“ . . . [T]he Gentlemen Selectmen of Boston, have fix’d upon this Evening for the public Rejoicing, at whose Desire, will be exhibited on the '''Common''', an [[obelisk|OBELISK]].—A Description of which is engraved by Mr. [[Paul Revere]]; and is now selling by Edes & Gill.—The Signal of its Ending will be by firing a Horizontal Wheel on the Top of the [[Obelisk]], when its desired the Assembly would retire.”

*Wansey, Henry, May 11, 1794, describing the [[mall]] in Boston, MA (1794; repr., 1970: 60)<ref>Henry Wansey, Henry Wansey and His American Journal, ed. David John Jeremy (1794; repr., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/UQTHRX3W/q/wansey view on Zotero].</ref>

:“On the south west side of the town, there is a pleasant [[promenade]], called the [[Mall]], adjoining to '''Boston Common''', consisting of a long [[walk]] shaded by trees, about half the length of the [[Mall]] in St. James’s Park. At one end you have a fine [[view]] of the sea. The [[Common]] itself is a pleasant green field, with a gradual ascent from the sea shore, till it ends in Beacon Hill, a high point of land, commanding a very fine [[view]] of the country.”

*Anonymous, January 1, 1836, describing the Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 33)<ref>Anonymous, “Leaves from My Note Book,” ''Horticultural Register, and Gardener’s Magazine'' 2 (January 1, 1836): 29–33, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ZZDTSVNN/q/leaves%20from%20my%20note%20book view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Apart from the beautiful scenery connected with these resorts [public walks in New York], or in themselves alone, they cannot compare with our fine '''Common''', of which Bostonians deservedly pride themselves, and which at a little expense might be made one of the most splendid places of [[promenade]] in the country.”

*Adams, Nehemiah, 1838, describing the picturesque quality of Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1838: 40)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common, or, Rural Walks in Cities'' (Boston: G. W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/E29QRTC3/q/nehemiah%20adams view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Had its principles been regarded, we should have seen trees of various foliage, here standing alone, and there intermingled in [[copse]]s and [[grove]]s—arranged, indeed, so as to imitate nature herself, in her [[picturesque|picturesqueness]] as well as her beauty.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1841: 2:331)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistic, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/james%20silk%20buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>

:“This '''Common''', as it is called, or ‘The [[Park]],’ as it might with propriety be designated, with the ﬁne [[view]] of the surrounding country from its more elevated parts, and the noble trees and gravel-[[walk]]s throughout, is only inferior in size and beauty to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, and the Green Park in London; and is greatly superior to any similar enclosure in New-York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. It covers an area of seventy-ﬁve acres, and has upward of 600 trees planted in it. The whole is enclosed with an ornamental iron [[fence]] or railing, which cost 90,000 dollars, or nearly £20,000. Within it is a ﬁne sheet of water, surrounded with elms, called ‘The Crescent [[Pond]]’; and very near the centre of the whole are the remains or traces of a fortiﬁcation, thrown up by the British troops who were stationed here in 1775.
:“The '''Common''' is surrounded on three of its sides by noble rows or terraces of houses, like the [[park]]s in London; and as it was originally granted for the public use, and any farther encroachment upon it rendered impossible by a clause in the last charter of the city, it is of the utmost value to the inhabitants. It is not merely a beautifully ornamental appendage to their noble city, but is used as a place of healthful and innocent recreation for all classes, as a spot of constant exercise and [[promenade]]; and it is impossible to witness its advantages without regretting that every town in England is not provided with a similar extent of public grounds for the delight and enjoyment of its population.”

*[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]], 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (Adams 1842: 9, 11–12, 22, 28, 35, 51)<ref>Nehemiah Adams, ''Boston Common'' (Boston: William D. Ticknor and H. B. Williams, 1842), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58 view on Zotero].</ref>

:“Many, very many, in a great city, seldom see the [[arch]] of heaven. Even those who walk or ride for pleasure are often struck with the effect of a full [[view]] of the sky when they are out of the city. One of the great advantages of the '''Common''' is the unobstructed sight of the heavens above it. . . .
:“Indeed it is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversiﬁed in surface and combines so much in itself that is [[picturesque]], as the '''Common'''. There is hill and plain, [[meadow]] and upland, in it. It has sufﬁcient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difﬁcult for art to arrange the surface of the '''Common''' more agreeable for pleasing effect or use. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its [[mall]]s for hoops, and ball, and marbles, and wicker carriages, its Frog [[Pond]] for boats and skating, its hills for coasting, its new cut grass, its training days and military parades, and ﬁreworks, the governor taking his chair at ‘artillery election,’ and all its varied entertainments, contributes as largely as any place can do to the formation of those youthful impressions which make childhood happy, and the remembrances of it pleasant. . . .
:“The '''Common''' with its varied surface is admirably ﬁtted for military exhibitions. . . .
:“One of the most interesting exhibitions that ever took place on the '''Common''' was that of the Indians of the Sacs and Fox, the Sioux and Iowa tribes, who visited us in the fall of 1837. They held a war dance on the '''Common''' in the presence of seventy thousand spectators. . . .
:“The centre of the '''Common''' is obstructed by rows of young but thrifty and fast increasing trees. They were planted along the principal paths, for the benevolent purpose of affording shade to those who cross the '''Common'''. Their usefulness even in this respect is doubtful, and there is more than a doubt respecting their good inﬂuence upon the '''Common''' as a [[public ground]]. Our summers are so short, the air of the '''Common''' is generally so cool or in such good circulation, that the use of shaded [[walk]]s through its centre is very small compared with the desirableness of having one large open place, as the '''Common''' has always been, in a crowded city. We do not need the whole '''Common''' as a mere parasol; its wide and free grounds and [[prospect]] are its chief beauty, and the shaded [[mall]]s are sufﬁcient as places of resort from the heat. . . . There will soon be an end to great public exhibitions on the '''Common''', if the trees now in the centre should thrive.”

*Tuthill, Louisa C., 1848, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1848: 318)<ref>Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States . . .'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1848), 318, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK view on Zotero].</ref>

:“The Boston '''Common''' is the most spacious public [[pleasure-ground]] in the United States. Seventy-ﬁve acres were appropriated by the early ‘fathers of the town’ to this purpose, on the condition that it should ever remain devoted in this way to public convenience and comfort. The same venerable elms which shaded the patriots of the Revolution, still wave over the heads of their successors, and fresh young trees are planted from year to year by the side of the new-gravelled [[walk]]s, rendered necessary by the rapidly increasing population of the city. The undulating ground of the '''Common''' gives it a pleasing diversity of hill and vale, and the little [[lake]] or [[pond]] near the centre, adds to its [[picturesque]] beauty.”

*Loudon, J. C., 1850, describing Boston Common, Boston, MA (1850: 332–33)<ref>J. C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopeaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, and Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed. (London: Longman et al., 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/encyclopaedia view on Zotero].</ref>

:“856. [[Public Garden]]s. . . .

:“At Boston there are extensive public [[pleasure ground|pleasure-grounds]] called the '''Common''', consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides.”

*Jaques, George, February 1851, describing the planting of trees in Boston Common, Boston, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 50–52)<ref>George Jaques, “Trees in Cities,” ''Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs'' 17, no. 2 (February 1851): 50–52, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/87A6ZJSH view on Zotero].</ref>

:“I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-[[walk]]s. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriageway in the middle, and a ''[[walk]]'' for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriageway. . . .

:“Take as an example '''Boston Common'''. Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-[[walk]]s, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or [[walk]] were there, and a ''carte blanche'' were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor? Would you plant ''straight'' rows of ''equidistant'' trees there? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the [[picturesque]] beauty of trees growing in groups.”

<hr>

==Images==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0068.jpg|John Bonner, ''The Town of Boston in New England'', 1722.

File:0481.jpg|William Burgis, ''Plan of Boston in New England'', 1728.

File:0480.jpg|Francis Dewing after John Bonner, ''A New Plan of ye Great Town of Boston in New England in America'', 1743.

Image:0134.jpg|thumb|Christian Remick, ''A Prospective View of Part of the Commons'', c. 1768.

File:0613.jpg|Samuel Hill, “View of the Seat of his Excellency John Hancock, Esqr, Boston,” ''Massachusetts Magazine'' 1, no. 7 (July 1789): pl. 7, opp. 394.

File:0479.jpg|Fitz Hugh Lane after Charles Hubbard, ''The National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common'', 1837.

Image:0478.jpg|thumb|Benjamin Franklin Smith Jr., ''View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common October 25th 1848'', 1849.

File:0612.jpg|John Bachmann, ''Bird’s Eye View of Boston'', c. 1850.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==

{{#display_map:
42.355, -71.065556
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==
https://www.boston.gov/parks/boston-common

http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/boston-common.shtml

http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/the-common/

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/massachusetts_conservation/boston_common.html

<hr>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2018-08-13T19:40:40Z

E-athens:

'''Mount Auburn Cemetery''' was founded by Harvard botanist Jacob Bigelow and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and was the first cemetery to be laid out according the principles of English landscape design. Its establishment marked the beginning of the rural cemetery movement in the United States.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Sweet Auburn 
'''Site Dates:''' 1831–present 
'''Site Owner:''' Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1831−35); Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1835−present) 
'''Associated People:''' Dr. Jacob Bigelow (1787−1879; original proponent of the cemetery); [[H. A. S. Dearborn]] (1783−1851; designer); Alexander Wadsworth (1806−1898; surveyor) 
'''Location:''' Cambridge, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt+Auburn+Cemetery+Inc/@39.2595428,-76.6391052,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3be7e05cf74a12a9?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi63Nmf3-rcAhWwmOAKHUs8AkEQ_BIwEHoECAkQCw view on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0117.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1, Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.]]
Prior to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery [Fig. 1] in 1831, residents of New England were generally interred in graveyards associated with their respective churches; in Boston, these included the King’s Chapel, Old Granary, and Central Burying Grounds along the perimeter of the [[Common]], and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End. With the enormous growth of Boston’s population following the American Revolution, however, these sites were quickly overcrowded. Boston’s early [[burial ground|burying grounds]], with their disorganized jumble of headstones, came to be seen as an aesthetic blight on the developing city, and their close proximity to both residences and businesses was considered a public health hazard.<ref>Blanche M. G. Linden, ''Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston’s Mount Auburn Cemetery'' (1989; repr., Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 118–20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. See also David Charles Sloane, ''The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and James R. Cothran and Erica Danylchak, ''Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movement'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2018), 37–38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

In the mid-1820s Boston mayor Josiah Quincy passed the Ordinance on the Burial of the Dead, which forbade further interments at the King’s Chapel and Old Granary Burying Grounds and better regulated other burials within city limits.<ref>Sloane 1991, 44–45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; Linden 2007, 130, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]; and Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero]. For the text of the ordinance, see ''The Charter of the City of Boston, and Ordinances Made and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council'' (Boston: True and Greene, 1827), 182–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8Z9RGAV2 view on Zotero].</ref> About the same time, according to historian Blanche Linden, a growing movement for a “rural” cemetery emerged. In 1823 Dr. John Coffin, a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, published a pamphlet arguing that bodies should be interred in a pastoral setting where they could “naturally” return to the earth, and in 1825 Dr. Jacob Bigelow, a professor of botany at Harvard, established an association for creating a cemetery that situated burial plots within a carefully cultivated landscape.<ref>Linden 2007, 128–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1027.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.]]
Despite the crowding and public health concerns of city burials, Bigelow’s proposal for a rural cemetery had some resistance to overcome. Many Bostonians believed rural interment was appropriate only for social outcasts; they also feared burial outside the city limits might lead to the theft of bodies by “resurrection men”—body snatchers who stole corpses for medical study.<ref>Linden 2007, 161, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Bigelow and his associates argued that a pastoral setting would allow for a more socially productive, and more American, type of mourning. Graves situated in a beautiful landscape would highlight the naturalness of death and reduce the anxiety and fear associated with the end of life [Fig. 2]. Moreover, a rural setting would recall the original landscape of New England, inviting the general public to connect to the country’s past and engage with ideas of continuity and posterity.<ref>Sloane 1991, 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 141, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

The development of Mount Auburn Cemetery began in earnest in 1830, with the coordination of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded only a year earlier. The plan was to incorporate in one expansive site a rural burying ground, or “garden of graves,” alongside an experimental garden that together could foster “historical and horticultural consciousness.”<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. The phrase “Garden of Graves” was the title of an essay on Mount Auburn by John Pierpont, published in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ed., ''The Token'' (Boston: S. G. Goodrich, 1832), 374–90, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JKTSIA5Q view on Zotero].</ref> The land Bigelow’s association purchased for the cemetery’s construction—Stone’s Woods or “Sweet Auburn,” 72 acres of rolling, wooded hills across the Charles River from Boston—had long been a place of pastoral respite for locals, including Harvard students. Writing in his journal in 1824, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that “there is some wild land called Sweet Auburn . . . [and] the students will go in bands over a flat sandy road & in summer evenings the woods are full of them.”<ref>Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., ''Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820–24'' (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909), 350, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7APXZ4GT view on Zotero].</ref> Not surprisingly the connection between nature, culture, and the divine that drove the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery would also shape the views of Transcendentalists like Emerson.

[[File:0598.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.]]
The layout of Mount Auburn began in 1831 and was overseen by the first president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, [[H. A. S. Dearborn]], aided by Alexander Wadsworth [Fig. 3]. [[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn]] drew on the design of the Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise—the world’s first garden or “ornamental” cemetery—and laid out the grounds according to the [[natural style]] of English landscape design.<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, 49–50, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 173–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. As Linden notes, Alexander Wadsworth surveyed the site but the design was primarily Dearborn’s. For more on the design and architecture of Père Lachaise, see Richard A. Etlin, ''The Architecture of Death: The Transformation of the Cemetery in Eighteenth-Century Paris'' (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984), 310–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/G6QIFAZT/q/etlin view on Zotero].</ref> He incorporated winding gravel [[path]]s, wide planted [[border]]s, and small [[pond]]s among the rolling hills of the site, which created the variety of views so essential to the English garden.<ref>Linden 2007, 147, 155–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> It was also a means of keeping burial lots properly distanced from one another. These were sold by subscription, mostly to families, but also to several local organizations, such as Harvard College and the Tremont House, a Boston hotel. The few corporate lots were intended for deceased students and visitors whose bodies could not be shipped home.<ref> Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (New York: R. Martin, 1847), 68, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 164, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

Lingering concerns about a pastoral cemetery, particularly regarding the security of graves, did not seem to limit interest in Mount Auburn, but the cemetery faced other challenges. Revenue generated by the sale of lots failed to cover the cost of establishing an experimental garden, leading to the Massachusetts Historical Society’s withdrawal from the project in 1835 and the chartering of a new, charitable organization–the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn–to oversee the site.<ref>Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref> Another challenge was the behavior of some of Mount Auburn’s visitors: although originally designed as a fully public space, the cemetery was enclosed by [[fence]]s in 1833 to deter vandalism, and public visitation was limited to daylight hours. A system of fines was established to counter destructive behavior toward plants, trees, and burial markers.<ref>Linden 2007, 167, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1071.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.]]
Mount Auburn also came under scrutiny for its apparent elitism. The prohibitive costs of the average 300-square-foot lot—about $60—were thought by some to undermine the cemetery’s accessibility and openness.<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Early critics saw the cemetery less as a site of moral education and more as an aggrandizement of New England’s elite, a number of whom marked their burial sites with imposing monuments. Although the cemetery’s board encouraged simplicity in burial markers—preferring obelisks, tombs, and sarcophagi over more elaborate constructions—the lot of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Samuel Appleton boasted a 12-by-6-foot Grecian temple made of Italian marble, for which he paid the enormous sum of $10,000 [Fig. 4].<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 186–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> For those who could not afford the expense of a standard lot, Mount Auburn Cemetery offered 160 individual graves that could be purchased for $10 each, though this accommodation did not fully quash the view of rural interment as a luxury unattainable for many.<ref>Sloane 1991, 54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.]]
Many of Mount Auburn’s visitors were neither proprietors nor friends and family of people interred at the site; despite the restrictions placed on the public, the cemetery functioned as “a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens,” one whose “shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already . . . awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom.”<ref>Joseph Story, October 17, 1834, ''Records of Committees'', quoted in Linden 2007, 168, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> A market for Mount Auburn guidebooks quickly developed, beginning with ''The Picturesque Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, through Mount Auburn'' (1839) and perhaps reaching its apogee with Cornelia W. Walter’s ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847), which was frequently reprinted over the next decade. In her book Walter, a former editor of the ''Boston Transcript'', provided readers a brief history of the cemetery and an architectural tour through its more celebrated monuments, illustrated by the prolific engraver James Smillie. The volume begins with a description of the imposing Egyptian-style portal at the cemetery’s entrance [Fig. 5] and passes by a variety of architectural styles—the neo-Gothic design of the Chapel and the classicizing temple on Samuel Appleton’s lot—before concluding with a view from Mount Auburn’s highest point, the “mount” of its name.

[[File:1066.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.]]
Walter’s guidebook, organized by prospects both of and from Mount Auburn, offsets manmade structures against the site’s pastoral setting to underscore the restorative quality of nature. The mount of Mount Auburn, she observed, provides a view of “the numerous spires of the near city of Boston,” which—framed by the Charles River and the “varied undulations of the hills and dales, the tranquil lakes, and the deep shadows of the groves”—metamorphoses from an overcrowded metropolis into an image of solemnity and repose [Fig. 6].<ref>Walter 1847, 112–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref> The effect she described is the very one articulated by Mount Auburn’s promoters, who had intended to articulate a harmonious accord between life and death, culture and nature, history and horticulture.

The creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with the reframing of death and decay as wholly natural processes, permanently altered Americans’ practices of burial and mourning and led to development of rural cemeteries across the United States. Between 1831 and 1873, more than 175 such cemeteries were established, including Philadelphia’s celebrated [[Laurel Hill]] (1838) and Brooklyn’s [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] (1838).<ref>Sloane 1991, 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; see also Appendix C in Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 231–39, which provides a select list of rural cemeteries organized by name, date, and location, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

<hr>

==Texts==
*Story, Joseph, September 24, 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1831: 16–17, 29)<ref>Joseph Story, ''An Address Delivered on the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ABFHUWTP/q/address%20delivered%20on%20the%20dedication view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A rural [[Cemetery]] seems to combine in itself all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

:“And what spot can be more appropriate than this for such a purpose? Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade; and the silent [[grove]]. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that ‘wreaths its old fantastic roots so high,’ the rustling pine, and the drooping willow; —the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perennial shoots, instructing us, that ‘the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.’ Here is the thick [[shrubbery]] to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it murmurs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his evening song. . . .

:“The grounds of the [[Cemetery]] have been laid out with intersecting [[avenue]]s, so as to render every part of the [[wood]] accessible. These [[avenue]]s are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining at the same time the [[picturesque]] effect of [[landscape gardening]]. Over the more level portions, the [[avenue]]s are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 30 September 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Ward 1831: 48)<ref>Malthus Ward, ''An Address Pronounced Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society'' (Boston: J. T. & E Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/P7GWBEPX/q/an%20address%20pronounced%20before view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[nursery|nurseries]] may be established, the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and ornamental trees, [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, laid out and planted, a [[greenhouse|green house]] built, hot-[[bed]]s formed, the small ponds and morasses converted into [[picturesque]] sheets of water, and their margins diversified by clumps and belts of our most splendid native flowering trees, and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], requiring a soil thus constituted for their successful cultivation, while their surface may be spangled with the brilliant blossoms of Nymphae, and the other beautiful tribes of aquatic plants.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 1832, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Harris 1832: 63–65, 67–68, 72, 80)<ref>Thaddeus William Harris, ''A Discourse Delivered Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on the Celebration of its Fourth Anniversary, October 3, 1832'' (Cambridge, MA: E. W. Metcalf, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3A3UDHF3/q/a%20discourse%20delivered view on Zotero].</ref>
:“With the Experimental Garden it is recommended to unite a Rural [[Cemetery]]; for the period is not distant, when all the [[burial ground]]s within the city will be closed, and others must be formed in the country,—the primitive and only proper location. There the dead may repose undisturbed, through countless ages. There can be formed a public place of sepulture, where monuments can be erected to our illustrious men, whose remains, thus far, have unfortunately been consigned too obscure and isolated tombs, instead of being collected within one common depository, where their great deeds might be perpetuated and their memories cherished by succeeding generations. Though dead, they would be eternal admonitors to the living,—teaching them the way which leads to national glory and individual renown. . . .
:“For the accommodation of the Garden of Experiment and [[Cemetery]], at least seventy acres of land are deemed necessary; and in making the selection of a site, it was very important that from forty to fifty acres should be well or partially covered with forest trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], which could be appropriated for the latter establishment; and that it should present all possible varieties of soil, common in the vicinity of Boston; be diversified by hills, valleys, plains, brooks, and low [[meadow]]s and bogs, so as to afford proper localities for every kind of tree and plant, that will flourish in this climate;—be near to some large stream or river; and easy of access by land and water; but still sufficiently retired.

:“To realize these advantages it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, [[avenue]]s and [[walk]]s may be made through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] or [[picturesque]] gardening, in conformity to the [[modern style]] of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society. . . .

:“The establishment of rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] similar to that of Pere La Chaise, has often been the subject of conversation in this country, and frequently adverted to by the writers in our scientific and literary publications. . . .

:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[Cemetery]] may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]] bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]], and perennial flowers; rather as a line of demarcation than of disconnexion; for the ornamental grounds of the Garden should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.

:“Among the hills, glades, and dales, which are now covered with evergreen and deciduous trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], may be selected sites for isolated graves, and tombs, and these, being surmounted with [[column]]s, [[obelisk]]s, and other appropriate monuments of granite and marble, may be rendered interesting specimens of art; they will also vary and embelish the scenery embraced within the scope of the numerous sinuous [[avenue]]s, which may be felicitously opened in all directions and to a vast extent, from the diversified and [[picturesque]] features which the topography of the tract of land presents. . . .

:“The approach from the main road leading to Watertown, was by a broad and umbrageous [[avenue]] to the foot of the hill, which closes the dale of consecration on the north. . . . In the rear, under the shade of a stately [[grove]] of walnuts, where the main [[avenue]] divides and gracefully sweeps round the lofty hills to the east and west, the company [attending the consecration] descended from their carriages, and entered the secluded and romantic silvan theatre, by two foot paths, which wound through lonely vales of arching verdure. . . .

:“The upper Garden [[Pond]] has been excavated, to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, with a fall at the outlet of three feet, and being embanked, [[avenue]]s with a [[border]] of six feet, for [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, have been made all round it. . . .

:“Arrangements have been made for excavating, to a greater depth, Forest and Consecration-Dell [[Pond]]s, and surrounding them by embellished pathways, like those of Garden-[[Pond]], and for cleaning the eastern portion of Garden and of [[Meadow]] [[Pond]]s, of bushes and weeds; all which will be done during the winter, that season being the most favorable for such work.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 3)<ref>Anonymous, ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor’s Guide through Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Otis, Broader, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:”The celebrity attained by '''Mount Auburn''', pronounced by European travellers the most beautiful [[Cemetery]] in existence, and which, perhaps, without assuming too much, may be called the Père la Chaise of America,—the extraordinary natural loveliness of the spot,—the admirable character of the establishment which is there maintained,—the fact that this was the first conspicuous example of the kind in our country.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 47–48)<ref>''The Picturesque Pocket Companion'' 1839, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[cemetery|CEMETERY]], may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]], bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]] and perennial flowers,—rather as a line of demarcation, than of disconnexion,—for the ornamental grounds of the GARDEN should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate, as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1841: 2:382)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A comparison has been often made between the Père la Chaise of Paris and the '''Mount Auburn''' of Boston, and the similarity of their situation and their purpose naturally forces this comparison on the mind. Having seen both, I may venture to offer an opinion on this subject, with great deference, however, to those who may think otherwise. In many respects, then, I think Mount '''Auburn''' superior to Père la Chaise. Its natural scenery of hill and dale, of river, [[lake]], and forest-trees, with other surrounding objects, presents a combination which is not to be found in the [[cemetery]] of Paris, and which is far more in harmony with the repose of the dead than the most sumptuous monuments, without these combinations, can be. In this last respect Père la Chaise is perhaps unrivalled.”

[[File:1063.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.]]
*[[Cornelia W. Walter|Walter, Cornelia W.]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1847: 14)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[avenues]] are winding in their course and exceedingly beautiful in their gentle circuits, adapted [[picturesque|picturesquely]] to the inequalities of the surface of the ground, and producing charming landscape effects from this natural arrangement, such as could never be had from straightness or regularity. . . .

:“The [[gate|gateway]] of '''Mount Auburn''' opened from what is known as the north boundary line of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[avenue]] forms a wide carriage-road, and is one of the most beautiful openings ever improved for such a purpose. With the exception of the necessary grading, levelling, and cutting done of the brushwood, and the planting of a few trees, it has been left as Nature has made it. On either side it is overshadowed by the foliage of forest-trees, firs, pines, and other evergreens; and here you first begin to see the monuments starting up from the surrounding verdure, like bright remembrances from the heart of earth” [Fig. 7].

*[[Nehemiah Cleaveland|Cleaveland, Nehemiah]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Walter 1847: 20)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“In 1844, the increasing funds of the corporation justified a new expenditure for the plain but massy iron [[fence]] which encloses the front of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[fence]] is ten feet in height, and supported on granite posts extending four feet into the ground. It measures half a mile in length, and will, when completed, effectually preserve the [[Cemetery]] inviolate from any rude intrusion. The cost of the [[gate|gateway]] was about $10,000—the [[fence]], $15,000.

:“A continuation of the iron [[fence]] on the easterly side is now under contract, and a strong wooden palisade is, as we learn, to be erected on the remaining boundary during the present year.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–10)<ref>A. J. Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I/q/public%20cemeteries%20and%20public%20gardens view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Indeed, in the absence of great [[public garden]]s, such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .

:“The character of each of the three great [[cemetery|cemeteries]] is essentially distinct. Greenwood, the largest, and unquestionably the finest, is grand, dignified, and [[park]]-like. It is laid out in a broad and simple style, commands noble ocean [[view]]s, and is admirably kept. '''Mount Auburn''' is richly [[picturesque]], in its varied hill and dale, and owes its charm mainly to this variety and intricacy of sylvan features. Laurel Hill is a charming [[pleasure ground|pleasure-ground]], filled with beautiful and rare [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers; at this season, a wilderness of roses, as well as fine trees and monuments.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing cemeteries in America (1850: 333)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', new ed., corrected and improved (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/order/creator/q/loudon/sort/descc view on Zotero].</ref>
:“857. [[Cemeteries]]. . . .

:“A public [[cemetery]] was formed in 1831 at '''Mount Auburn''', about three miles from Boston, and is easily approached either by the road, or the river which washes its [[border]]s. . . . ‘This romantic and [[picturesque]] [[cemetery]],’ says Dr. Mease, ‘is the fashionable place of interment with the people of Boston.’ . . .

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery>
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0117.jpg|Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.

File:0598.jpg|Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.

File:1025.jpg|Anonymous, “Entrance to Mount Auburn,” in ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (September 1834): 9.

File:1026.jpg|Anonymous, “Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 10 (June 1835): 450.

File:1027.jpg|Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.

File:1035.jpg|Anonymous, “Garden Pond,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 85.

File:1034.jpg|Anonymous, “Monument of ‘Dr. Bigelow,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 113.

File:1031.jpg|Anonymous, “Tomb and obelisk of ‘George W. Coffin,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 147.

File:1032.jpg|Anonymous, “Consecration Dell,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 161.

File:1033.jpg|Anonymous, “Forest Pond," in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 171.

File:1304.jpg|John Warner Barber, “Entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery,” ''Historical Collections . . . Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts'' (1844), 361.

File:1063.jpg|James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.

File:1974.jpg|James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.

File:1074.jpg|James Smillie (artist), O. G. Hanks (engraver), “View of the Naval Monument (Central Avenue), Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 22.

File:1073.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Alfred Jones (engraver), “View of the Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 36.

File:1072.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Tomb to Spurzheim, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 40.

File:1070.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “View of the Central Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 61.

File:1071.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.

File:1975.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Battle Hill,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 79.

File:1976.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “Forest Pond, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 94.

File:1069.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Consecration Dell, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 100.

File:1068.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Bowditch Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 105.

File:1066.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.

File:1065.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of Gossler’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 115.

File:1064.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Rice & Buttre (engravers), “View of Oxnard’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 116.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
42.375208,-71.144974
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[https://mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery]

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2018-08-13T19:37:01Z

E-athens:

'''Mount Auburn Cemetery''' was founded by Harvard botanist Jacob Bigelow and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and was the first cemetery to be laid out according the principles of English landscape design. Its establishment marked the beginning of the rural cemetery movement in the United States.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Sweet Auburn 
'''Site Dates:''' 1831–present 
'''Site Owner:''' Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1831−35); Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1835−present) 
'''Associated People:''' Dr. Jacob Bigelow (1787−1879; original proponent of the cemetery); [[H. A. S. Dearborn]] (1783−1851; designer); Alexander Wadsworth (1806−1898; surveyor) 
'''Location:''' Cambridge, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt+Auburn+Cemetery+Inc/@39.2595428,-76.6391052,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3be7e05cf74a12a9?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi63Nmf3-rcAhWwmOAKHUs8AkEQ_BIwEHoECAkQCw view on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0117.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1, Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.]]
Prior to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery [Fig. 1] in 1831, residents of New England were generally interred in graveyards associated with their respective churches; in Boston, these included the King’s Chapel, Old Granary, and Central Burying Grounds along the perimeter of the [[Common]], and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End. With the enormous growth of Boston’s population following the American Revolution, however, these sites were quickly overcrowded. Boston’s early [[burial ground|burying grounds]], with their disorganized jumble of headstones, came to be seen as an aesthetic blight on the developing city, and their close proximity to both residences and businesses was considered a public health hazard.<ref>Blanche M. G. Linden, ''Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston’s Mount Auburn Cemetery'' (1989; repr., Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 118–20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. See also David Charles Sloane, ''The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and James R. Cothran and Erica Danylchak, ''Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movement'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2018), 37–38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

In the mid-1820s Boston mayor Josiah Quincy passed the Ordinance on the Burial of the Dead, which forbade further interments at the King’s Chapel and Old Granary Burying Grounds and better regulated other burials within city limits.<ref>Sloane 1991, 44–45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; Linden 2007, 130, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]; and Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero]. For the text of the ordinance, see ''The Charter of the City of Boston, and Ordinances Made and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council'' (Boston: True and Greene, 1827), 182–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8Z9RGAV2 view on Zotero].</ref> About the same time, according to historian Blanche Linden, a growing movement for a “rural” cemetery emerged. In 1823 Dr. John Coffin, a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, published a pamphlet arguing that bodies should be interred in a pastoral setting where they could “naturally” return to the earth, and in 1825 Dr. Jacob Bigelow, a professor of botany at Harvard, established an association for creating a cemetery that situated burial plots within a carefully cultivated landscape.<ref>Linden 2007, 128–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1027.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.]]
Despite the crowding and public health concerns of city burials, Bigelow’s proposal for a rural cemetery had some resistance to overcome. Many Bostonians believed rural interment was appropriate only for social outcasts; they also feared burial outside the city limits might lead to the theft of bodies by “resurrection men”—body snatchers who stole corpses for medical study.<ref>Linden 2007, 161, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Bigelow and his associates argued that a pastoral setting would allow for a more socially productive, and more American, type of mourning. Graves situated in a beautiful landscape would highlight the naturalness of death and reduce the anxiety and fear associated with the end of life [Fig. 2]. Moreover, a rural setting would recall the original landscape of New England, inviting the general public to connect to the country’s past and engage with ideas of continuity and posterity.<ref>Sloane 1991, 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 141, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

The development of Mount Auburn Cemetery began in earnest in 1830, with the coordination of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded only a year earlier. The plan was to incorporate in one expansive site a rural burying ground, or “garden of graves,” alongside an experimental garden that together could foster “historical and horticultural consciousness.”<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. The phrase “Garden of Graves” was the title of an essay on Mount Auburn by John Pierpont, published in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ed., ''The Token'' (Boston: S. G. Goodrich, 1832), 374–90, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JKTSIA5Q view on Zotero].</ref> The land Bigelow’s association purchased for the cemetery’s construction—Stone’s Woods or “Sweet Auburn,” 72 acres of rolling, wooded hills across the Charles River from Boston—had long been a place of pastoral respite for locals, including Harvard students. Writing in his journal in 1824, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that “there is some wild land called Sweet Auburn . . . [and] the students will go in bands over a flat sandy road & in summer evenings the woods are full of them.”<ref>Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., ''Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820–24'' (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909), 350, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7APXZ4GT view on Zotero].</ref> Not surprisingly the connection between nature, culture, and the divine that drove the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery would also shape the views of Transcendentalists like Emerson.

[[File:0598.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.]]
The layout of Mount Auburn began in 1831 and was overseen by the first president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, [[H. A. S. Dearborn]], aided by Alexander Wadsworth [Fig. 3]. [[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn]] drew on the design of the Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise—the world’s first garden or “ornamental” cemetery—and laid out the grounds according to the [[natural style]] of English landscape design.<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, 49–50, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 173–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. As Linden notes, Alexander Wadsworth surveyed the site but the design was primarily Dearborn’s. For more on the design and architecture of Père Lachaise, see Richard A. Etlin, ''The Architecture of Death: The Transformation of the Cemetery in Eighteenth-Century Paris'' (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984), 310–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/G6QIFAZT/q/etlin view on Zotero].</ref> He incorporated winding gravel [[path]]s, wide planted [[border]]s, and small [[pond]]s among the rolling hills of the site, which created the variety of views so essential to the English garden.<ref>Linden 2007, 147, 155–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> It was also a means of keeping burial lots properly distanced from one another. These were sold by subscription, mostly to families, but also to several local organizations, such as Harvard College and the Tremont House, a Boston hotel. The few corporate lots were intended for deceased students and visitors whose bodies could not be shipped home.<ref> Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (New York: R. Martin, 1847), 68, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 164, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

Lingering concerns about a pastoral cemetery, particularly regarding the security of graves, did not seem to limit interest in Mount Auburn, but the cemetery faced other challenges. Revenue generated by the sale of lots failed to cover the cost of establishing an experimental garden, leading to the Massachusetts Historical Society’s withdrawal from the project in 1835 and the chartering of a new, charitable organization–the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn–to oversee the site.<ref>Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref> Another challenge was the behavior of some of Mount Auburn’s visitors: although originally designed as a fully public space, the cemetery was enclosed by [[fence]]s in 1833 to deter vandalism, and public visitation was limited to daylight hours. A system of fines was established to counter destructive behavior toward plants, trees, and burial markers.<ref>Linden 2007, 167, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1071.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.]]
Mount Auburn also came under scrutiny for its apparent elitism. The prohibitive costs of the average 300-square-foot lot—about $60—were thought by some to undermine the cemetery’s accessibility and openness.<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Early critics saw the cemetery less as a site of moral education and more as an aggrandizement of New England’s elite, a number of whom marked their burial sites with imposing monuments. Although the cemetery’s board encouraged simplicity in burial markers—preferring obelisks, tombs, and sarcophagi over more elaborate constructions—the lot of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Samuel Appleton boasted a 12-by-6-foot Grecian temple made of Italian marble, for which he paid the enormous sum of $10,000 [Fig. 4].<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 186–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> For those who could not afford the expense of a standard lot, Mount Auburn Cemetery offered 160 individual graves that could be purchased for $10 each, though this accommodation did not fully quash the view of rural interment as a luxury unattainable for many.<ref>Sloane 1991, 54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.]]
Many of Mount Auburn’s visitors were neither proprietors nor friends and family of people interred at the site; despite the restrictions placed on the public, the cemetery functioned as “a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens,” one whose “shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already . . . awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom.”<ref>Joseph Story, October 17, 1834, ''Records of Committees'', quoted in Linden 2007, 168, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> A market for Mount Auburn guidebooks quickly developed, beginning with ''The Picturesque Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, through Mount Auburn'' (1839) and perhaps reaching its apogee with Cornelia W. Walter’s ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847), which was frequently reprinted over the next decade. In her book Walter, a former editor of the ''Boston Transcript'', provided readers a brief history of the cemetery and an architectural tour through its more celebrated monuments, illustrated by the prolific engraver James Smillie. The volume begins with a description of the imposing Egyptian-style portal at the cemetery’s entrance [Fig. 5] and passes by a variety of architectural styles—the neo-Gothic design of the Chapel and the classicizing temple on Samuel Appleton’s lot—before concluding with a view from Mount Auburn’s highest point, the “mount” of its name.

[[File:1066.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.]]
Walter’s guidebook, organized by prospects both of and from Mount Auburn, offsets manmade structures against the site’s pastoral setting to underscore the restorative quality of nature. The mount of Mount Auburn, she observed, provides a view of “the numerous spires of the near city of Boston,” which—framed by the Charles River and the “varied undulations of the hills and dales, the tranquil lakes, and the deep shadows of the groves”—metamorphoses from an overcrowded metropolis into an image of solemnity and repose [Fig. 6].<ref>Walter 1847, 112–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref> The effect she described is the very one articulated by Mount Auburn’s promoters, who had intended to articulate a harmonious accord between life and death, culture and nature, history and horticulture.

The creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with the reframing of death and decay as wholly natural processes, permanently altered Americans’ practices of burial and mourning and led to development of rural cemeteries across the United States. Between 1831 and 1873, more than 175 such cemeteries were established, including Philadelphia’s celebrated [[Laurel Hill]] (1838) and Brooklyn’s [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] (1838).<ref>Sloane 1991, 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; see also Appendix C in Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 231–39, which provides a select list of rural cemeteries organized by name, date, and location, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

<hr>

==Texts==
*Story, Joseph, September 24, 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1831: 16–17, 29)<ref>Joseph Story, ''An Address Delivered on the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ABFHUWTP/q/address%20delivered%20on%20the%20dedication view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A rural [[Cemetery]] seems to combine in itself all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

:“And what spot can be more appropriate than this for such a purpose? Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade; and the silent [[grove]]. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that ‘wreaths its old fantastic roots so high,’ the rustling pine, and the drooping willow; —the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perennial shoots, instructing us, that ‘the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.’ Here is the thick [[shrubbery]] to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it murmurs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his evening song. . . .

:“The grounds of the [[Cemetery]] have been laid out with intersecting [[avenue]]s, so as to render every part of the [[wood]] accessible. These [[avenue]]s are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining at the same time the [[picturesque]] effect of [[landscape gardening]]. Over the more level portions, the [[avenue]]s are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 30 September 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Ward 1831: 48)<ref>Malthus Ward, ''An Address Pronounced Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society'' (Boston: J. T. & E Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/P7GWBEPX/q/an%20address%20pronounced%20before view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[nursery|nurseries]] may be established, the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and ornamental trees, [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, laid out and planted, a [[greenhouse|green house]] built, hot-[[bed]]s formed, the small ponds and morasses converted into [[picturesque]] sheets of water, and their margins diversified by clumps and belts of our most splendid native flowering trees, and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], requiring a soil thus constituted for their successful cultivation, while their surface may be spangled with the brilliant blossoms of Nymphae, and the other beautiful tribes of aquatic plants.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 1832, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Harris 1832: 63–65, 67–68, 72, 80)<ref>Thaddeus William Harris, ''A Discourse Delivered Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on the Celebration of its Fourth Anniversary, October 3, 1832'' (Cambridge, MA: E. W. Metcalf, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3A3UDHF3/q/a%20discourse%20delivered view on Zotero].</ref>
:“With the Experimental Garden it is recommended to unite a Rural [[Cemetery]]; for the period is not distant, when all the [[burial ground]]s within the city will be closed, and others must be formed in the country,—the primitive and only proper location. There the dead may repose undisturbed, through countless ages. There can be formed a public place of sepulture, where monuments can be erected to our illustrious men, whose remains, thus far, have unfortunately been consigned too obscure and isolated tombs, instead of being collected within one common depository, where their great deeds might be perpetuated and their memories cherished by succeeding generations. Though dead, they would be eternal admonitors to the living,—teaching them the way which leads to national glory and individual renown. . . .
:“For the accommodation of the Garden of Experiment and [[Cemetery]], at least seventy acres of land are deemed necessary; and in making the selection of a site, it was very important that from forty to fifty acres should be well or partially covered with forest trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], which could be appropriated for the latter establishment; and that it should present all possible varieties of soil, common in the vicinity of Boston; be diversified by hills, valleys, plains, brooks, and low [[meadow]]s and bogs, so as to afford proper localities for every kind of tree and plant, that will flourish in this climate;—be near to some large stream or river; and easy of access by land and water; but still sufficiently retired.

:“To realize these advantages it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, [[avenue]]s and [[walk]]s may be made through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] or [[picturesque]] gardening, in conformity to the [[modern style]] of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society. . . .

:“The establishment of rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] similar to that of Pere La Chaise, has often been the subject of conversation in this country, and frequently adverted to by the writers in our scientific and literary publications. . . .

:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[Cemetery]] may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]] bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]], and perennial flowers; rather as a line of demarcation than of disconnexion; for the ornamental grounds of the Garden should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.

:“Among the hills, glades, and dales, which are now covered with evergreen and deciduous trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], may be selected sites for isolated graves, and tombs, and these, being surmounted with [[column]]s, [[obelisk]]s, and other appropriate monuments of granite and marble, may be rendered interesting specimens of art; they will also vary and embelish the scenery embraced within the scope of the numerous sinuous [[avenue]]s, which may be felicitously opened in all directions and to a vast extent, from the diversified and [[picturesque]] features which the topography of the tract of land presents. . . .

:“The approach from the main road leading to Watertown, was by a broad and umbrageous [[avenue]] to the foot of the hill, which closes the dale of consecration on the north. . . . In the rear, under the shade of a stately [[grove]] of walnuts, where the main [[avenue]] divides and gracefully sweeps round the lofty hills to the east and west, the company [attending the consecration] descended from their carriages, and entered the secluded and romantic silvan theatre, by two foot paths, which wound through lonely vales of arching verdure. . . .

:“The upper Garden [[Pond]] has been excavated, to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, with a fall at the outlet of three feet, and being embanked, [[avenue]]s with a [[border]] of six feet, for [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, have been made all round it. . . .

:“Arrangements have been made for excavating, to a greater depth, Forest and Consecration-Dell [[Pond]]s, and surrounding them by embellished pathways, like those of Garden-[[Pond]], and for cleaning the eastern portion of Garden and of [[Meadow]] [[Pond]]s, of bushes and weeds; all which will be done during the winter, that season being the most favorable for such work.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 3)<ref>Anonymous, ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor’s Guide through Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Otis, Broader, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:”The celebrity attained by '''Mount Auburn''', pronounced by European travellers the most beautiful [[Cemetery]] in existence, and which, perhaps, without assuming too much, may be called the Père la Chaise of America,—the extraordinary natural loveliness of the spot,—the admirable character of the establishment which is there maintained,—the fact that this was the first conspicuous example of the kind in our country.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 47–48)<ref>''The Picturesque Pocket Companion'' 1839, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[cemetery|CEMETERY]], may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]], bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]] and perennial flowers,—rather as a line of demarcation, than of disconnexion,—for the ornamental grounds of the GARDEN should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate, as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1841: 2:382)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A comparison has been often made between the Père la Chaise of Paris and the '''Mount Auburn''' of Boston, and the similarity of their situation and their purpose naturally forces this comparison on the mind. Having seen both, I may venture to offer an opinion on this subject, with great deference, however, to those who may think otherwise. In many respects, then, I think Mount '''Auburn''' superior to Père la Chaise. Its natural scenery of hill and dale, of river, [[lake]], and forest-trees, with other surrounding objects, presents a combination which is not to be found in the [[cemetery]] of Paris, and which is far more in harmony with the repose of the dead than the most sumptuous monuments, without these combinations, can be. In this last respect Père la Chaise is perhaps unrivalled.”

[[File:1063.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.]]
*[[Cornelia W. Walter|Walter, Cornelia W.]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1847: 14)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[avenues]] are winding in their course and exceedingly beautiful in their gentle circuits, adapted [[picturesque|picturesquely]] to the inequalities of the surface of the ground, and producing charming landscape effects from this natural arrangement, such as could never be had from straightness or regularity. . . .

:“The [[gate|gateway]] of '''Mount Auburn''' opened from what is known as the north boundary line of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[avenue]] forms a wide carriage-road, and is one of the most beautiful openings ever improved for such a purpose. With the exception of the necessary grading, levelling, and cutting done of the brushwood, and the planting of a few trees, it has been left as Nature has made it. On either side it is overshadowed by the foliage of forest-trees, firs, pines, and other evergreens; and here you first begin to see the monuments starting up from the surrounding verdure, like bright remembrances from the heart of earth” [Fig. 7].

*[[Nehemiah Cleaveland|Cleaveland, Nehemiah]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Walter 1847: 20)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“In 1844, the increasing funds of the corporation justified a new expenditure for the plain but massy iron [[fence]] which encloses the front of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[fence]] is ten feet in height, and supported on granite posts extending four feet into the ground. It measures half a mile in length, and will, when completed, effectually preserve the [[Cemetery]] inviolate from any rude intrusion. The cost of the [[gate|gateway]] was about $10,000—the [[fence]], $15,000.

:“A continuation of the iron [[fence]] on the easterly side is now under contract, and a strong wooden palisade is, as we learn, to be erected on the remaining boundary during the present year.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–10)<ref>A. J. Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I/q/public%20cemeteries%20and%20public%20gardens view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Indeed, in the absence of great [[public garden]]s, such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .

:“The character of each of the three great [[cemetery|cemeteries]] is essentially distinct. Greenwood, the largest, and unquestionably the finest, is grand, dignified, and [[park]]-like. It is laid out in a broad and simple style, commands noble ocean [[view]]s, and is admirably kept. '''Mount Auburn''' is richly [[picturesque]], in its varied hill and dale, and owes its charm mainly to this variety and intricacy of sylvan features. Laurel Hill is a charming [[pleasure ground|pleasure-ground]], filled with beautiful and rare [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers; at this season, a wilderness of roses, as well as fine trees and monuments.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing cemeteries in America (1850; repr. 1968: 333)
:“857. [[Cemeteries]]. . . .

:“A public [[cemetery]] was formed in 1831 at '''Mount Auburn''', about three miles from Boston, and is easily approached either by the road, or the river which washes its [[border]]s. . . . ‘This romantic and [[picturesque]] [[cemetery]],’ says Dr. Mease, ‘is the fashionable place of interment with the people of Boston.’ . . .

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery>
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0117.jpg|Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.

File:0598.jpg|Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.

File:1025.jpg|Anonymous, “Entrance to Mount Auburn,” in ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (September 1834): 9.

File:1026.jpg|Anonymous, “Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 10 (June 1835): 450.

File:1027.jpg|Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.

File:1035.jpg|Anonymous, “Garden Pond,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 85.

File:1034.jpg|Anonymous, “Monument of ‘Dr. Bigelow,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 113.

File:1031.jpg|Anonymous, “Tomb and obelisk of ‘George W. Coffin,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 147.

File:1032.jpg|Anonymous, “Consecration Dell,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 161.

File:1033.jpg|Anonymous, “Forest Pond," in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 171.

File:1304.jpg|John Warner Barber, “Entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery,” ''Historical Collections . . . Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts'' (1844), 361.

File:1063.jpg|James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.

File:1974.jpg|James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.

File:1074.jpg|James Smillie (artist), O. G. Hanks (engraver), “View of the Naval Monument (Central Avenue), Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 22.

File:1073.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Alfred Jones (engraver), “View of the Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 36.

File:1072.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Tomb to Spurzheim, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 40.

File:1070.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “View of the Central Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 61.

File:1071.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.

File:1975.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Battle Hill,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 79.

File:1976.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “Forest Pond, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 94.

File:1069.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Consecration Dell, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 100.

File:1068.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Bowditch Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 105.

File:1066.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.

File:1065.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of Gossler’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 115.

File:1064.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Rice & Buttre (engravers), “View of Oxnard’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 116.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
42.375208,-71.144974
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[https://mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery]

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2018-08-13T19:36:22Z

E-athens:

'''Mount Auburn Cemetery''' was founded by Harvard botanist Jacob Bigelow and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and was the first cemetery to be laid out according the principles of English landscape design. Its establishment marked the beginning of the rural cemetery movement in the United States.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Sweet Auburn 
'''Site Dates:''' 1831–present 
'''Site Owner:''' Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1831−35); Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1835−present) 
'''Associated People:''' Dr. Jacob Bigelow (1787−1879; original proponent of the cemetery); [[H. A. S. Dearborn]] (1783−1851; designer); Alexander Wadsworth (1806−1898; surveyor) 
'''Location:''' Cambridge, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt+Auburn+Cemetery+Inc/@39.2595428,-76.6391052,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3be7e05cf74a12a9?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi63Nmf3-rcAhWwmOAKHUs8AkEQ_BIwEHoECAkQCw view on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0117.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1, Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.]]
Prior to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery [Fig. 1] in 1831, residents of New England were generally interred in graveyards associated with their respective churches; in Boston, these included the King’s Chapel, Old Granary, and Central Burying Grounds along the perimeter of the [[Common]], and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End. With the enormous growth of Boston’s population following the American Revolution, however, these sites were quickly overcrowded. Boston’s early [[burial ground|burying grounds]], with their disorganized jumble of headstones, came to be seen as an aesthetic blight on the developing city, and their close proximity to both residences and businesses was considered a public health hazard.<ref>Blanche M. G. Linden, ''Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston’s Mount Auburn Cemetery'' (1989; repr., Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 118–20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. See also David Charles Sloane, ''The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and James R. Cothran and Erica Danylchak, ''Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movement'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2018), 37–38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

In the mid-1820s Boston mayor Josiah Quincy passed the Ordinance on the Burial of the Dead, which forbade further interments at the King’s Chapel and Old Granary Burying Grounds and better regulated other burials within city limits.<ref>Sloane 1991, 44–45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; Linden 2007, 130, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]; and Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero]. For the text of the ordinance, see ''The Charter of the City of Boston, and Ordinances Made and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council'' (Boston: True and Greene, 1827), 182–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8Z9RGAV2 view on Zotero].</ref> About the same time, according to historian Blanche Linden, a growing movement for a “rural” cemetery emerged. In 1823 Dr. John Coffin, a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, published a pamphlet arguing that bodies should be interred in a pastoral setting where they could “naturally” return to the earth, and in 1825 Dr. Jacob Bigelow, a professor of botany at Harvard, established an association for creating a cemetery that situated burial plots within a carefully cultivated landscape.<ref>Linden 2007, 128–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1027.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.]]
Despite the crowding and public health concerns of city burials, Bigelow’s proposal for a rural cemetery had some resistance to overcome. Many Bostonians believed rural interment was appropriate only for social outcasts; they also feared burial outside the city limits might lead to the theft of bodies by “resurrection men”—body snatchers who stole corpses for medical study.<ref>Linden 2007, 161, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Bigelow and his associates argued that a pastoral setting would allow for a more socially productive, and more American, type of mourning. Graves situated in a beautiful landscape would highlight the naturalness of death and reduce the anxiety and fear associated with the end of life [Fig. 2]. Moreover, a rural setting would recall the original landscape of New England, inviting the general public to connect to the country’s past and engage with ideas of continuity and posterity.<ref>Sloane 1991, 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 141, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

The development of Mount Auburn Cemetery began in earnest in 1830, with the coordination of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded only a year earlier. The plan was to incorporate in one expansive site a rural burying ground, or “garden of graves,” alongside an experimental garden that together could foster “historical and horticultural consciousness.”<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. The phrase “Garden of Graves” was the title of an essay on Mount Auburn by John Pierpont, published in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ed., ''The Token'' (Boston: S. G. Goodrich, 1832), 374–90, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JKTSIA5Q view on Zotero].</ref> The land Bigelow’s association purchased for the cemetery’s construction—Stone’s Woods or “Sweet Auburn,” 72 acres of rolling, wooded hills across the Charles River from Boston—had long been a place of pastoral respite for locals, including Harvard students. Writing in his journal in 1824, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that “there is some wild land called Sweet Auburn . . . [and] the students will go in bands over a flat sandy road & in summer evenings the woods are full of them.”<ref>Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., ''Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820–24'' (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909), 350, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7APXZ4GT view on Zotero].</ref> Not surprisingly the connection between nature, culture, and the divine that drove the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery would also shape the views of Transcendentalists like Emerson.

[[File:0598.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.]]
The layout of Mount Auburn began in 1831 and was overseen by the first president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, [[H. A. S. Dearborn]], aided by Alexander Wadsworth [Fig. 3]. [[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn]] drew on the design of the Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise—the world’s first garden or “ornamental” cemetery—and laid out the grounds according to the [[natural style]] of English landscape design.<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, 49–50, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 173–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. As Linden notes, Alexander Wadsworth surveyed the site but the design was primarily Dearborn’s. For more on the design and architecture of Père Lachaise, see Richard A. Etlin, ''The Architecture of Death: The Transformation of the Cemetery in Eighteenth-Century Paris'' (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984), 310–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/G6QIFAZT/q/etlin view on Zotero].</ref> He incorporated winding gravel [[path]]s, wide planted [[border]]s, and small [[pond]]s among the rolling hills of the site, which created the variety of views so essential to the English garden.<ref>Linden 2007, 147, 155–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> It was also a means of keeping burial lots properly distanced from one another. These were sold by subscription, mostly to families, but also to several local organizations, such as Harvard College and the Tremont House, a Boston hotel. The few corporate lots were intended for deceased students and visitors whose bodies could not be shipped home.<ref> Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (New York: R. Martin, 1847), 68, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 164, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

Lingering concerns about a pastoral cemetery, particularly regarding the security of graves, did not seem to limit interest in Mount Auburn, but the cemetery faced other challenges. Revenue generated by the sale of lots failed to cover the cost of establishing an experimental garden, leading to the Massachusetts Historical Society’s withdrawal from the project in 1835 and the chartering of a new, charitable organization–the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn–to oversee the site.<ref>Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref> Another challenge was the behavior of some of Mount Auburn’s visitors: although originally designed as a fully public space, the cemetery was enclosed by [[fence]]s in 1833 to deter vandalism, and public visitation was limited to daylight hours. A system of fines was established to counter destructive behavior toward plants, trees, and burial markers.<ref>Linden 2007, 167, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1071.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.]]
Mount Auburn also came under scrutiny for its apparent elitism. The prohibitive costs of the average 300-square-foot lot—about $60—were thought by some to undermine the cemetery’s accessibility and openness.<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Early critics saw the cemetery less as a site of moral education and more as an aggrandizement of New England’s elite, a number of whom marked their burial sites with imposing monuments. Although the cemetery’s board encouraged simplicity in burial markers—preferring obelisks, tombs, and sarcophagi over more elaborate constructions—the lot of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Samuel Appleton boasted a 12-by-6-foot Grecian temple made of Italian marble, for which he paid the enormous sum of $10,000 [Fig. 4].<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 186–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> For those who could not afford the expense of a standard lot, Mount Auburn Cemetery offered 160 individual graves that could be purchased for $10 each, though this accommodation did not fully quash the view of rural interment as a luxury unattainable for many.<ref>Sloane 1991, 54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.]]
Many of Mount Auburn’s visitors were neither proprietors nor friends and family of people interred at the site; despite the restrictions placed on the public, the cemetery functioned as “a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens,” one whose “shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already . . . awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom.”<ref>Joseph Story, October 17, 1834, ''Records of Committees'', quoted in Linden 2007, 168, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> A market for Mount Auburn guidebooks quickly developed, beginning with ''The Picturesque Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, through Mount Auburn'' (1839) and perhaps reaching its apogee with Cornelia W. Walter’s ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847), which was frequently reprinted over the next decade. In her book Walter, a former editor of the ''Boston Transcript'', provided readers a brief history of the cemetery and an architectural tour through its more celebrated monuments, illustrated by the prolific engraver James Smillie. The volume begins with a description of the imposing Egyptian-style portal at the cemetery’s entrance [Fig. 5] and passes by a variety of architectural styles—the neo-Gothic design of the Chapel and the classicizing temple on Samuel Appleton’s lot—before concluding with a view from Mount Auburn’s highest point, the “mount” of its name.

[[File:1066.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.]]
Walter’s guidebook, organized by prospects both of and from Mount Auburn, offsets manmade structures against the site’s pastoral setting to underscore the restorative quality of nature. The mount of Mount Auburn, she observed, provides a view of “the numerous spires of the near city of Boston,” which—framed by the Charles River and the “varied undulations of the hills and dales, the tranquil lakes, and the deep shadows of the groves”—metamorphoses from an overcrowded metropolis into an image of solemnity and repose [Fig. 6].<ref>Walter 1847, 112–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref> The effect she described is the very one articulated by Mount Auburn’s promoters, who had intended to articulate a harmonious accord between life and death, culture and nature, history and horticulture.

The creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with the reframing of death and decay as wholly natural processes, permanently altered Americans’ practices of burial and mourning and led to development of rural cemeteries across the United States. Between 1831 and 1873, more than 175 such cemeteries were established, including Philadelphia’s celebrated [[Laurel Hill]] (1838) and Brooklyn’s [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] (1838).<ref>Sloane 1991, 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; see also Appendix C in Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 231–39, which provides a select list of rural cemeteries organized by name, date, and location, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

<hr>

==Texts==
*Story, Joseph, September 24, 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1831: 16–17, 29)<ref>Joseph Story, ''An Address Delivered on the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ABFHUWTP/q/address%20delivered%20on%20the%20dedication view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A rural [[Cemetery]] seems to combine in itself all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

:“And what spot can be more appropriate than this for such a purpose? Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade; and the silent [[grove]]. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that ‘wreaths its old fantastic roots so high,’ the rustling pine, and the drooping willow; —the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perennial shoots, instructing us, that ‘the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.’ Here is the thick [[shrubbery]] to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it murmurs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his evening song. . . .

:“The grounds of the [[Cemetery]] have been laid out with intersecting [[avenue]]s, so as to render every part of the [[wood]] accessible. These [[avenue]]s are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining at the same time the [[picturesque]] effect of [[landscape gardening]]. Over the more level portions, the [[avenue]]s are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 30 September 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Ward 1831: 48)<ref>Malthus Ward, ''An Address Pronounced Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society'' (Boston: J. T. & E Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/P7GWBEPX/q/an%20address%20pronounced%20before view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[nursery|nurseries]] may be established, the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and ornamental trees, [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, laid out and planted, a [[greenhouse|green house]] built, hot-[[bed]]s formed, the small ponds and morasses converted into [[picturesque]] sheets of water, and their margins diversified by clumps and belts of our most splendid native flowering trees, and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], requiring a soil thus constituted for their successful cultivation, while their surface may be spangled with the brilliant blossoms of Nymphae, and the other beautiful tribes of aquatic plants.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 1832, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Harris 1832: 63–65, 67–68, 72, 80)<ref>Thaddeus William Harris, ''A Discourse Delivered Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on the Celebration of its Fourth Anniversary, October 3, 1832'' (Cambridge, MA: E. W. Metcalf, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3A3UDHF3/q/a%20discourse%20delivered view on Zotero].</ref>
:“With the Experimental Garden it is recommended to unite a Rural [[Cemetery]]; for the period is not distant, when all the [[burial ground]]s within the city will be closed, and others must be formed in the country,—the primitive and only proper location. There the dead may repose undisturbed, through countless ages. There can be formed a public place of sepulture, where monuments can be erected to our illustrious men, whose remains, thus far, have unfortunately been consigned too obscure and isolated tombs, instead of being collected within one common depository, where their great deeds might be perpetuated and their memories cherished by succeeding generations. Though dead, they would be eternal admonitors to the living,—teaching them the way which leads to national glory and individual renown. . . .
:“For the accommodation of the Garden of Experiment and [[Cemetery]], at least seventy acres of land are deemed necessary; and in making the selection of a site, it was very important that from forty to fifty acres should be well or partially covered with forest trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], which could be appropriated for the latter establishment; and that it should present all possible varieties of soil, common in the vicinity of Boston; be diversified by hills, valleys, plains, brooks, and low [[meadow]]s and bogs, so as to afford proper localities for every kind of tree and plant, that will flourish in this climate;—be near to some large stream or river; and easy of access by land and water; but still sufficiently retired.

:“To realize these advantages it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, [[avenue]]s and [[walk]]s may be made through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] or [[picturesque]] gardening, in conformity to the [[modern style]] of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society. . . .

:“The establishment of rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] similar to that of Pere La Chaise, has often been the subject of conversation in this country, and frequently adverted to by the writers in our scientific and literary publications. . . .

:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[Cemetery]] may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]] bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]], and perennial flowers; rather as a line of demarcation than of disconnexion; for the ornamental grounds of the Garden should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.

:“Among the hills, glades, and dales, which are now covered with evergreen and deciduous trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], may be selected sites for isolated graves, and tombs, and these, being surmounted with [[column]]s, [[obelisk]]s, and other appropriate monuments of granite and marble, may be rendered interesting specimens of art; they will also vary and embelish the scenery embraced within the scope of the numerous sinuous [[avenue]]s, which may be felicitously opened in all directions and to a vast extent, from the diversified and [[picturesque]] features which the topography of the tract of land presents. . . .

:“The approach from the main road leading to Watertown, was by a broad and umbrageous [[avenue]] to the foot of the hill, which closes the dale of consecration on the north. . . . In the rear, under the shade of a stately [[grove]] of walnuts, where the main [[avenue]] divides and gracefully sweeps round the lofty hills to the east and west, the company [attending the consecration] descended from their carriages, and entered the secluded and romantic silvan theatre, by two foot paths, which wound through lonely vales of arching verdure. . . .

:“The upper Garden [[Pond]] has been excavated, to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, with a fall at the outlet of three feet, and being embanked, [[avenue]]s with a [[border]] of six feet, for [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, have been made all round it. . . .

:“Arrangements have been made for excavating, to a greater depth, Forest and Consecration-Dell [[Pond]]s, and surrounding them by embellished pathways, like those of Garden-[[Pond]], and for cleaning the eastern portion of Garden and of [[Meadow]] [[Pond]]s, of bushes and weeds; all which will be done during the winter, that season being the most favorable for such work.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 3)<ref>Anonymous, ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor’s Guide through Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Otis, Broader, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:”The celebrity attained by '''Mount Auburn''', pronounced by European travellers the most beautiful [[Cemetery]] in existence, and which, perhaps, without assuming too much, may be called the Père la Chaise of America,—the extraordinary natural loveliness of the spot,—the admirable character of the establishment which is there maintained,—the fact that this was the first conspicuous example of the kind in our country.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 47–48)<ref>''The Picturesque Pocket Companion'' 1839, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[cemetery|CEMETERY]], may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]], bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]] and perennial flowers,—rather as a line of demarcation, than of disconnexion,—for the ornamental grounds of the GARDEN should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate, as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1841: 2:382)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A comparison has been often made between the Père la Chaise of Paris and the '''Mount Auburn''' of Boston, and the similarity of their situation and their purpose naturally forces this comparison on the mind. Having seen both, I may venture to offer an opinion on this subject, with great deference, however, to those who may think otherwise. In many respects, then, I think Mount '''Auburn''' superior to Père la Chaise. Its natural scenery of hill and dale, of river, [[lake]], and forest-trees, with other surrounding objects, presents a combination which is not to be found in the [[cemetery]] of Paris, and which is far more in harmony with the repose of the dead than the most sumptuous monuments, without these combinations, can be. In this last respect Père la Chaise is perhaps unrivalled.”

[[File:1063.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.]]
*[[Cornelia W. Walter|Walter, Cornelia W.]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1847: 14)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[avenues]] are winding in their course and exceedingly beautiful in their gentle circuits, adapted [[picturesque|picturesquely]] to the inequalities of the surface of the ground, and producing charming landscape effects from this natural arrangement, such as could never be had from straightness or regularity. . . .

:“The [[gate|gateway]] of '''Mount Auburn''' opened from what is known as the north boundary line of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[avenue]] forms a wide carriage-road, and is one of the most beautiful openings ever improved for such a purpose. With the exception of the necessary grading, levelling, and cutting done of the brushwood, and the planting of a few trees, it has been left as Nature has made it. On either side it is overshadowed by the foliage of forest-trees, firs, pines, and other evergreens; and here you first begin to see the monuments starting up from the surrounding verdure, like bright remembrances from the heart of earth” [Fig. 7].

*[[Nehemiah Cleaveland|Cleaveland, Nehemiah]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Walter 1847: 20)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“In 1844, the increasing funds of the corporation justified a new expenditure for the plain but massy iron [[fence]] which encloses the front of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[fence]] is ten feet in height, and supported on granite posts extending four feet into the ground. It measures half a mile in length, and will, when completed, effectually preserve the [[Cemetery]] inviolate from any rude intrusion. The cost of the [[gate|gateway]] was about $10,000—the [[fence]], $15,000.

:“A continuation of the iron [[fence]] on the easterly side is now under contract, and a strong wooden palisade is, as we learn, to be erected on the remaining boundary during the present year.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–10)<ref>A. J. Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I/q/public%20cemeteries%20and%20public%20gardens view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Indeed, in the absence of great [[public garden]]s, such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .

:“The character of each of the three great [[cemetery|cemeteries]] is essentially distinct. Greenwood, the largest, and unquestionably the finest, is grand, dignified, and [[park]]-like. It is laid out in a broad and simple style, commands noble ocean [[view]]s, and is admirably kept. '''Mount Auburn''' is richly [[picturesque]], in its varied hill and dale, and owes its charm mainly to this variety and intricacy of sylvan features. Laurel Hill is a charming [[pleasure ground|pleasure-ground]], filled with beautiful and rare [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers; at this season, a wilderness of roses, as well as fine trees and monuments.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing cemeteries in America (1850; repr. 1968: 333)
:“857. [[Cemeteries]]. . . .

:“A public [[cemetery]] was formed in 1831 at '''Mount Auburn''', about three miles from Boston, and is easily approached either by the road, or the river which washes its [[border]]s. . . . ‘This romantic and [[picturesque]] [[cemetery]],’ says Dr. Mease, ‘is the fashionable place of interment with the people of Boston.’ . . .

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery>
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0117.jpg|Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.

File:0598.jpg|Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.

File:1025.jpg|Anonymous, “Entrance to Mount Auburn,” in ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (September 1834): 9.

File:1026.jpg|Anonymous, “Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 10 (June 1835): 450.

File:1027.jpg|Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.

File:1035.jpg|Anonymous, “Garden Pond,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 85.

File:1034.jpg|Anonymous, “Monument of ‘Dr. Bigelow,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 113.

File:1031.jpg|Anonymous, “Tomb and obelisk of ‘George W. Coffin,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 147.

File:1032.jpg|Anonymous, “Consecration Dell,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 161.

File:1033.jpg|Anonymous, “Forest Pond," in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 171.

File:1304.jpg|John Warner Barber, “Entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery,” ''Historical Collections . . . Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts'' (1844), 361.

File:1063.jpg|James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.

File:1974.jpg|James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.

File:1074.jpg|James Smillie (artist), O. G. Hanks (engraver), “View of the Naval Monument (Central Avenue), Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 22.

File:1073.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Alfred Jones (engraver), “View of the Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 36.

File:1072.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Tomb to Spurzheim, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 40.

File:1070.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “View of the Central Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 61.

File:1071.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.

File:1975.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Battle Hill,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 79.

File:1976.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “Forest Pond, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 94.

File:1069.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Consecration Dell, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 100.

File:1068.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Bowditch Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 105.

File:1066.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.

File:1065.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of Gossler’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 115.

File:1064.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Rice & Buttre (engravers), “View of Oxnard’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 116.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
42.375208,-71.144974
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[https://mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery]

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2018-08-13T19:36:05Z

E-athens:

'''Mount Auburn Cemetery''' was founded by Harvard botanist Jacob Bigelow and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and was the first cemetery to be laid out according the principles of English [[landscape design]]. Its establishment marked the beginning of the rural cemetery movement in the United States.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Sweet Auburn 
'''Site Dates:''' 1831–present 
'''Site Owner:''' Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1831−35); Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1835−present) 
'''Associated People:''' Dr. Jacob Bigelow (1787−1879; original proponent of the cemetery); [[H. A. S. Dearborn]] (1783−1851; designer); Alexander Wadsworth (1806−1898; surveyor) 
'''Location:''' Cambridge, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt+Auburn+Cemetery+Inc/@39.2595428,-76.6391052,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3be7e05cf74a12a9?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi63Nmf3-rcAhWwmOAKHUs8AkEQ_BIwEHoECAkQCw view on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0117.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1, Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.]]
Prior to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery [Fig. 1] in 1831, residents of New England were generally interred in graveyards associated with their respective churches; in Boston, these included the King’s Chapel, Old Granary, and Central Burying Grounds along the perimeter of the [[Common]], and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End. With the enormous growth of Boston’s population following the American Revolution, however, these sites were quickly overcrowded. Boston’s early [[burial ground|burying grounds]], with their disorganized jumble of headstones, came to be seen as an aesthetic blight on the developing city, and their close proximity to both residences and businesses was considered a public health hazard.<ref>Blanche M. G. Linden, ''Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston’s Mount Auburn Cemetery'' (1989; repr., Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 118–20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. See also David Charles Sloane, ''The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and James R. Cothran and Erica Danylchak, ''Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movement'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2018), 37–38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

In the mid-1820s Boston mayor Josiah Quincy passed the Ordinance on the Burial of the Dead, which forbade further interments at the King’s Chapel and Old Granary Burying Grounds and better regulated other burials within city limits.<ref>Sloane 1991, 44–45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; Linden 2007, 130, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]; and Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero]. For the text of the ordinance, see ''The Charter of the City of Boston, and Ordinances Made and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council'' (Boston: True and Greene, 1827), 182–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8Z9RGAV2 view on Zotero].</ref> About the same time, according to historian Blanche Linden, a growing movement for a “rural” cemetery emerged. In 1823 Dr. John Coffin, a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, published a pamphlet arguing that bodies should be interred in a pastoral setting where they could “naturally” return to the earth, and in 1825 Dr. Jacob Bigelow, a professor of botany at Harvard, established an association for creating a cemetery that situated burial plots within a carefully cultivated landscape.<ref>Linden 2007, 128–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1027.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.]]
Despite the crowding and public health concerns of city burials, Bigelow’s proposal for a rural cemetery had some resistance to overcome. Many Bostonians believed rural interment was appropriate only for social outcasts; they also feared burial outside the city limits might lead to the theft of bodies by “resurrection men”—body snatchers who stole corpses for medical study.<ref>Linden 2007, 161, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Bigelow and his associates argued that a pastoral setting would allow for a more socially productive, and more American, type of mourning. Graves situated in a beautiful landscape would highlight the naturalness of death and reduce the anxiety and fear associated with the end of life [Fig. 2]. Moreover, a rural setting would recall the original landscape of New England, inviting the general public to connect to the country’s past and engage with ideas of continuity and posterity.<ref>Sloane 1991, 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 141, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

The development of Mount Auburn Cemetery began in earnest in 1830, with the coordination of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded only a year earlier. The plan was to incorporate in one expansive site a rural burying ground, or “garden of graves,” alongside an experimental garden that together could foster “historical and horticultural consciousness.”<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. The phrase “Garden of Graves” was the title of an essay on Mount Auburn by John Pierpont, published in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ed., ''The Token'' (Boston: S. G. Goodrich, 1832), 374–90, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JKTSIA5Q view on Zotero].</ref> The land Bigelow’s association purchased for the cemetery’s construction—Stone’s Woods or “Sweet Auburn,” 72 acres of rolling, wooded hills across the Charles River from Boston—had long been a place of pastoral respite for locals, including Harvard students. Writing in his journal in 1824, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that “there is some wild land called Sweet Auburn . . . [and] the students will go in bands over a flat sandy road & in summer evenings the woods are full of them.”<ref>Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., ''Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820–24'' (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909), 350, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7APXZ4GT view on Zotero].</ref> Not surprisingly the connection between nature, culture, and the divine that drove the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery would also shape the views of Transcendentalists like Emerson.

[[File:0598.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.]]
The layout of Mount Auburn began in 1831 and was overseen by the first president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, [[H. A. S. Dearborn]], aided by Alexander Wadsworth [Fig. 3]. [[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn]] drew on the design of the Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise—the world’s first garden or “ornamental” cemetery—and laid out the grounds according to the [[natural style]] of English landscape design.<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, 49–50, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 173–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. As Linden notes, Alexander Wadsworth surveyed the site but the design was primarily Dearborn’s. For more on the design and architecture of Père Lachaise, see Richard A. Etlin, ''The Architecture of Death: The Transformation of the Cemetery in Eighteenth-Century Paris'' (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984), 310–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/G6QIFAZT/q/etlin view on Zotero].</ref> He incorporated winding gravel [[path]]s, wide planted [[border]]s, and small [[pond]]s among the rolling hills of the site, which created the variety of views so essential to the English garden.<ref>Linden 2007, 147, 155–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> It was also a means of keeping burial lots properly distanced from one another. These were sold by subscription, mostly to families, but also to several local organizations, such as Harvard College and the Tremont House, a Boston hotel. The few corporate lots were intended for deceased students and visitors whose bodies could not be shipped home.<ref> Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (New York: R. Martin, 1847), 68, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 164, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

Lingering concerns about a pastoral cemetery, particularly regarding the security of graves, did not seem to limit interest in Mount Auburn, but the cemetery faced other challenges. Revenue generated by the sale of lots failed to cover the cost of establishing an experimental garden, leading to the Massachusetts Historical Society’s withdrawal from the project in 1835 and the chartering of a new, charitable organization–the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn–to oversee the site.<ref>Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref> Another challenge was the behavior of some of Mount Auburn’s visitors: although originally designed as a fully public space, the cemetery was enclosed by [[fence]]s in 1833 to deter vandalism, and public visitation was limited to daylight hours. A system of fines was established to counter destructive behavior toward plants, trees, and burial markers.<ref>Linden 2007, 167, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1071.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.]]
Mount Auburn also came under scrutiny for its apparent elitism. The prohibitive costs of the average 300-square-foot lot—about $60—were thought by some to undermine the cemetery’s accessibility and openness.<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Early critics saw the cemetery less as a site of moral education and more as an aggrandizement of New England’s elite, a number of whom marked their burial sites with imposing monuments. Although the cemetery’s board encouraged simplicity in burial markers—preferring obelisks, tombs, and sarcophagi over more elaborate constructions—the lot of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Samuel Appleton boasted a 12-by-6-foot Grecian temple made of Italian marble, for which he paid the enormous sum of $10,000 [Fig. 4].<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 186–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> For those who could not afford the expense of a standard lot, Mount Auburn Cemetery offered 160 individual graves that could be purchased for $10 each, though this accommodation did not fully quash the view of rural interment as a luxury unattainable for many.<ref>Sloane 1991, 54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.]]
Many of Mount Auburn’s visitors were neither proprietors nor friends and family of people interred at the site; despite the restrictions placed on the public, the cemetery functioned as “a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens,” one whose “shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already . . . awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom.”<ref>Joseph Story, October 17, 1834, ''Records of Committees'', quoted in Linden 2007, 168, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> A market for Mount Auburn guidebooks quickly developed, beginning with ''The Picturesque Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, through Mount Auburn'' (1839) and perhaps reaching its apogee with Cornelia W. Walter’s ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847), which was frequently reprinted over the next decade. In her book Walter, a former editor of the ''Boston Transcript'', provided readers a brief history of the cemetery and an architectural tour through its more celebrated monuments, illustrated by the prolific engraver James Smillie. The volume begins with a description of the imposing Egyptian-style portal at the cemetery’s entrance [Fig. 5] and passes by a variety of architectural styles—the neo-Gothic design of the Chapel and the classicizing temple on Samuel Appleton’s lot—before concluding with a view from Mount Auburn’s highest point, the “mount” of its name.

[[File:1066.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.]]
Walter’s guidebook, organized by prospects both of and from Mount Auburn, offsets manmade structures against the site’s pastoral setting to underscore the restorative quality of nature. The mount of Mount Auburn, she observed, provides a view of “the numerous spires of the near city of Boston,” which—framed by the Charles River and the “varied undulations of the hills and dales, the tranquil lakes, and the deep shadows of the groves”—metamorphoses from an overcrowded metropolis into an image of solemnity and repose [Fig. 6].<ref>Walter 1847, 112–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref> The effect she described is the very one articulated by Mount Auburn’s promoters, who had intended to articulate a harmonious accord between life and death, culture and nature, history and horticulture.

The creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with the reframing of death and decay as wholly natural processes, permanently altered Americans’ practices of burial and mourning and led to development of rural cemeteries across the United States. Between 1831 and 1873, more than 175 such cemeteries were established, including Philadelphia’s celebrated [[Laurel Hill]] (1838) and Brooklyn’s [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] (1838).<ref>Sloane 1991, 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; see also Appendix C in Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 231–39, which provides a select list of rural cemeteries organized by name, date, and location, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

<hr>

==Texts==
*Story, Joseph, September 24, 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1831: 16–17, 29)<ref>Joseph Story, ''An Address Delivered on the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ABFHUWTP/q/address%20delivered%20on%20the%20dedication view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A rural [[Cemetery]] seems to combine in itself all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

:“And what spot can be more appropriate than this for such a purpose? Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade; and the silent [[grove]]. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that ‘wreaths its old fantastic roots so high,’ the rustling pine, and the drooping willow; —the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perennial shoots, instructing us, that ‘the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.’ Here is the thick [[shrubbery]] to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it murmurs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his evening song. . . .

:“The grounds of the [[Cemetery]] have been laid out with intersecting [[avenue]]s, so as to render every part of the [[wood]] accessible. These [[avenue]]s are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining at the same time the [[picturesque]] effect of [[landscape gardening]]. Over the more level portions, the [[avenue]]s are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 30 September 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Ward 1831: 48)<ref>Malthus Ward, ''An Address Pronounced Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society'' (Boston: J. T. & E Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/P7GWBEPX/q/an%20address%20pronounced%20before view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[nursery|nurseries]] may be established, the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and ornamental trees, [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, laid out and planted, a [[greenhouse|green house]] built, hot-[[bed]]s formed, the small ponds and morasses converted into [[picturesque]] sheets of water, and their margins diversified by clumps and belts of our most splendid native flowering trees, and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], requiring a soil thus constituted for their successful cultivation, while their surface may be spangled with the brilliant blossoms of Nymphae, and the other beautiful tribes of aquatic plants.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 1832, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Harris 1832: 63–65, 67–68, 72, 80)<ref>Thaddeus William Harris, ''A Discourse Delivered Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on the Celebration of its Fourth Anniversary, October 3, 1832'' (Cambridge, MA: E. W. Metcalf, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3A3UDHF3/q/a%20discourse%20delivered view on Zotero].</ref>
:“With the Experimental Garden it is recommended to unite a Rural [[Cemetery]]; for the period is not distant, when all the [[burial ground]]s within the city will be closed, and others must be formed in the country,—the primitive and only proper location. There the dead may repose undisturbed, through countless ages. There can be formed a public place of sepulture, where monuments can be erected to our illustrious men, whose remains, thus far, have unfortunately been consigned too obscure and isolated tombs, instead of being collected within one common depository, where their great deeds might be perpetuated and their memories cherished by succeeding generations. Though dead, they would be eternal admonitors to the living,—teaching them the way which leads to national glory and individual renown. . . .
:“For the accommodation of the Garden of Experiment and [[Cemetery]], at least seventy acres of land are deemed necessary; and in making the selection of a site, it was very important that from forty to fifty acres should be well or partially covered with forest trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], which could be appropriated for the latter establishment; and that it should present all possible varieties of soil, common in the vicinity of Boston; be diversified by hills, valleys, plains, brooks, and low [[meadow]]s and bogs, so as to afford proper localities for every kind of tree and plant, that will flourish in this climate;—be near to some large stream or river; and easy of access by land and water; but still sufficiently retired.

:“To realize these advantages it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, [[avenue]]s and [[walk]]s may be made through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] or [[picturesque]] gardening, in conformity to the [[modern style]] of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society. . . .

:“The establishment of rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] similar to that of Pere La Chaise, has often been the subject of conversation in this country, and frequently adverted to by the writers in our scientific and literary publications. . . .

:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[Cemetery]] may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]] bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]], and perennial flowers; rather as a line of demarcation than of disconnexion; for the ornamental grounds of the Garden should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.

:“Among the hills, glades, and dales, which are now covered with evergreen and deciduous trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], may be selected sites for isolated graves, and tombs, and these, being surmounted with [[column]]s, [[obelisk]]s, and other appropriate monuments of granite and marble, may be rendered interesting specimens of art; they will also vary and embelish the scenery embraced within the scope of the numerous sinuous [[avenue]]s, which may be felicitously opened in all directions and to a vast extent, from the diversified and [[picturesque]] features which the topography of the tract of land presents. . . .

:“The approach from the main road leading to Watertown, was by a broad and umbrageous [[avenue]] to the foot of the hill, which closes the dale of consecration on the north. . . . In the rear, under the shade of a stately [[grove]] of walnuts, where the main [[avenue]] divides and gracefully sweeps round the lofty hills to the east and west, the company [attending the consecration] descended from their carriages, and entered the secluded and romantic silvan theatre, by two foot paths, which wound through lonely vales of arching verdure. . . .

:“The upper Garden [[Pond]] has been excavated, to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, with a fall at the outlet of three feet, and being embanked, [[avenue]]s with a [[border]] of six feet, for [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, have been made all round it. . . .

:“Arrangements have been made for excavating, to a greater depth, Forest and Consecration-Dell [[Pond]]s, and surrounding them by embellished pathways, like those of Garden-[[Pond]], and for cleaning the eastern portion of Garden and of [[Meadow]] [[Pond]]s, of bushes and weeds; all which will be done during the winter, that season being the most favorable for such work.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 3)<ref>Anonymous, ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor’s Guide through Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Otis, Broader, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:”The celebrity attained by '''Mount Auburn''', pronounced by European travellers the most beautiful [[Cemetery]] in existence, and which, perhaps, without assuming too much, may be called the Père la Chaise of America,—the extraordinary natural loveliness of the spot,—the admirable character of the establishment which is there maintained,—the fact that this was the first conspicuous example of the kind in our country.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 47–48)<ref>''The Picturesque Pocket Companion'' 1839, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[cemetery|CEMETERY]], may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]], bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]] and perennial flowers,—rather as a line of demarcation, than of disconnexion,—for the ornamental grounds of the GARDEN should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate, as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1841: 2:382)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A comparison has been often made between the Père la Chaise of Paris and the '''Mount Auburn''' of Boston, and the similarity of their situation and their purpose naturally forces this comparison on the mind. Having seen both, I may venture to offer an opinion on this subject, with great deference, however, to those who may think otherwise. In many respects, then, I think Mount '''Auburn''' superior to Père la Chaise. Its natural scenery of hill and dale, of river, [[lake]], and forest-trees, with other surrounding objects, presents a combination which is not to be found in the [[cemetery]] of Paris, and which is far more in harmony with the repose of the dead than the most sumptuous monuments, without these combinations, can be. In this last respect Père la Chaise is perhaps unrivalled.”

[[File:1063.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.]]
*[[Cornelia W. Walter|Walter, Cornelia W.]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1847: 14)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[avenues]] are winding in their course and exceedingly beautiful in their gentle circuits, adapted [[picturesque|picturesquely]] to the inequalities of the surface of the ground, and producing charming landscape effects from this natural arrangement, such as could never be had from straightness or regularity. . . .

:“The [[gate|gateway]] of '''Mount Auburn''' opened from what is known as the north boundary line of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[avenue]] forms a wide carriage-road, and is one of the most beautiful openings ever improved for such a purpose. With the exception of the necessary grading, levelling, and cutting done of the brushwood, and the planting of a few trees, it has been left as Nature has made it. On either side it is overshadowed by the foliage of forest-trees, firs, pines, and other evergreens; and here you first begin to see the monuments starting up from the surrounding verdure, like bright remembrances from the heart of earth” [Fig. 7].

*[[Nehemiah Cleaveland|Cleaveland, Nehemiah]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Walter 1847: 20)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“In 1844, the increasing funds of the corporation justified a new expenditure for the plain but massy iron [[fence]] which encloses the front of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[fence]] is ten feet in height, and supported on granite posts extending four feet into the ground. It measures half a mile in length, and will, when completed, effectually preserve the [[Cemetery]] inviolate from any rude intrusion. The cost of the [[gate|gateway]] was about $10,000—the [[fence]], $15,000.

:“A continuation of the iron [[fence]] on the easterly side is now under contract, and a strong wooden palisade is, as we learn, to be erected on the remaining boundary during the present year.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–10)<ref>A. J. Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I/q/public%20cemeteries%20and%20public%20gardens view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Indeed, in the absence of great [[public garden]]s, such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .

:“The character of each of the three great [[cemetery|cemeteries]] is essentially distinct. Greenwood, the largest, and unquestionably the finest, is grand, dignified, and [[park]]-like. It is laid out in a broad and simple style, commands noble ocean [[view]]s, and is admirably kept. '''Mount Auburn''' is richly [[picturesque]], in its varied hill and dale, and owes its charm mainly to this variety and intricacy of sylvan features. Laurel Hill is a charming [[pleasure ground|pleasure-ground]], filled with beautiful and rare [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers; at this season, a wilderness of roses, as well as fine trees and monuments.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing cemeteries in America (1850; repr. 1968: 333)
:“857. [[Cemeteries]]. . . .

:“A public [[cemetery]] was formed in 1831 at '''Mount Auburn''', about three miles from Boston, and is easily approached either by the road, or the river which washes its [[border]]s. . . . ‘This romantic and [[picturesque]] [[cemetery]],’ says Dr. Mease, ‘is the fashionable place of interment with the people of Boston.’ . . .

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery>
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0117.jpg|Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.

File:0598.jpg|Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.

File:1025.jpg|Anonymous, “Entrance to Mount Auburn,” in ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (September 1834): 9.

File:1026.jpg|Anonymous, “Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 10 (June 1835): 450.

File:1027.jpg|Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.

File:1035.jpg|Anonymous, “Garden Pond,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 85.

File:1034.jpg|Anonymous, “Monument of ‘Dr. Bigelow,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 113.

File:1031.jpg|Anonymous, “Tomb and obelisk of ‘George W. Coffin,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 147.

File:1032.jpg|Anonymous, “Consecration Dell,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 161.

File:1033.jpg|Anonymous, “Forest Pond," in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 171.

File:1304.jpg|John Warner Barber, “Entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery,” ''Historical Collections . . . Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts'' (1844), 361.

File:1063.jpg|James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.

File:1974.jpg|James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.

File:1074.jpg|James Smillie (artist), O. G. Hanks (engraver), “View of the Naval Monument (Central Avenue), Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 22.

File:1073.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Alfred Jones (engraver), “View of the Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 36.

File:1072.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Tomb to Spurzheim, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 40.

File:1070.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “View of the Central Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 61.

File:1071.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.

File:1975.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Battle Hill,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 79.

File:1976.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “Forest Pond, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 94.

File:1069.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Consecration Dell, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 100.

File:1068.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Bowditch Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 105.

File:1066.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.

File:1065.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of Gossler’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 115.

File:1064.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Rice & Buttre (engravers), “View of Oxnard’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 116.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
42.375208,-71.144974
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[https://mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery]

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2018-08-13T19:32:32Z

E-athens:

'''Mount Auburn Cemetery''' was founded by Harvard botanist Jacob Bigelow and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and was the first cemetery to be laid out according the principles of English landscape design. Its establishment marked the beginning of the rural cemetery movement in the United States.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Sweet Auburn 
'''Site Dates:''' 1831–present 
'''Site Owner:''' Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1831−35); Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1835−present) 
'''Associated People:''' Dr. Jacob Bigelow (1787−1879; original proponent of the cemetery); [[H. A. S. Dearborn]] (1783−1851; designer); Alexander Wadsworth (1806−1898; surveyor) 
'''Location:''' Cambridge, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt+Auburn+Cemetery+Inc/@39.2595428,-76.6391052,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3be7e05cf74a12a9?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi63Nmf3-rcAhWwmOAKHUs8AkEQ_BIwEHoECAkQCw view on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0117.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1, Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.]]
Prior to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery [Fig. 1] in 1831, residents of New England were generally interred in graveyards associated with their respective churches; in Boston, these included the King’s Chapel, Old Granary, and Central Burying Grounds along the perimeter of the [[Common]], and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End. With the enormous growth of Boston’s population following the American Revolution, however, these sites were quickly overcrowded. Boston’s early [[burial ground|burying grounds]], with their disorganized jumble of headstones, came to be seen as an aesthetic blight on the developing city, and their close proximity to both residences and businesses was considered a public health hazard.<ref>Blanche M. G. Linden, ''Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston’s Mount Auburn Cemetery'' (1989; repr., Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 118–20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. See also David Charles Sloane, ''The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and James R. Cothran and Erica Danylchak, ''Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movement'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2018), 37–38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

In the mid-1820s Boston mayor Josiah Quincy passed the Ordinance on the Burial of the Dead, which forbade further interments at the King’s Chapel and Old Granary Burying Grounds and better regulated other burials within city limits.<ref>Sloane 1991, 44–45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; Linden 2007, 130, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]; and Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero]. For the text of the ordinance, see ''The Charter of the City of Boston, and Ordinances Made and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council'' (Boston: True and Greene, 1827), 182–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8Z9RGAV2 view on Zotero].</ref> About the same time, according to historian Blanche Linden, a growing movement for a “rural” cemetery emerged. In 1823 Dr. John Coffin, a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, published a pamphlet arguing that bodies should be interred in a pastoral setting where they could “naturally” return to the earth, and in 1825 Dr. Jacob Bigelow, a professor of botany at Harvard, established an association for creating a cemetery that situated burial plots within a carefully cultivated landscape.<ref>Linden 2007, 128–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1027.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.]]
Despite the crowding and public health concerns of city burials, Bigelow’s proposal for a rural cemetery had some resistance to overcome. Many Bostonians believed rural interment was appropriate only for social outcasts; they also feared burial outside the city limits might lead to the theft of bodies by “resurrection men”—body snatchers who stole corpses for medical study.<ref>Linden 2007, 161, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Bigelow and his associates argued that a pastoral setting would allow for a more socially productive, and more American, type of mourning. Graves situated in a beautiful landscape would highlight the naturalness of death and reduce the anxiety and fear associated with the end of life [Fig. 2]. Moreover, a rural setting would recall the original landscape of New England, inviting the general public to connect to the country’s past and engage with ideas of continuity and posterity.<ref>Sloane 1991, 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 141, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

The development of Mount Auburn Cemetery began in earnest in 1830, with the coordination of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded only a year earlier. The plan was to incorporate in one expansive site a rural burying ground, or “garden of graves,” alongside an experimental garden that together could foster “historical and horticultural consciousness.”<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. The phrase “Garden of Graves” was the title of an essay on Mount Auburn by John Pierpont, published in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ed., ''The Token'' (Boston: S. G. Goodrich, 1832), 374–90, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JKTSIA5Q view on Zotero].</ref> The land Bigelow’s association purchased for the cemetery’s construction—Stone’s Woods or “Sweet Auburn,” 72 acres of rolling, wooded hills across the Charles River from Boston—had long been a place of pastoral respite for locals, including Harvard students. Writing in his journal in 1824, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that “there is some wild land called Sweet Auburn . . . [and] the students will go in bands over a flat sandy road & in summer evenings the woods are full of them.”<ref>Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., ''Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820–24'' (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909), 350, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7APXZ4GT view on Zotero].</ref> Not surprisingly the connection between nature, culture, and the divine that drove the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery would also shape the views of Transcendentalists like Emerson.

[[File:0598.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.]]
The layout of Mount Auburn began in 1831 and was overseen by the first president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, [[H. A. S. Dearborn]], aided by Alexander Wadsworth [Fig. 3]. [[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn]] drew on the design of the Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise—the world’s first garden or “ornamental” cemetery—and laid out the grounds according to the [[natural style]] of English landscape design.<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, 49–50, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 173–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. As Linden notes, Alexander Wadsworth surveyed the site but the design was primarily Dearborn’s. For more on the design and architecture of Père Lachaise, see Richard A. Etlin, ''The Architecture of Death: The Transformation of the Cemetery in Eighteenth-Century Paris'' (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984), 310–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/G6QIFAZT/q/etlin view on Zotero].</ref> He incorporated winding gravel [[path]]s, wide planted [[border]]s, and small [[pond]]s among the rolling hills of the site, which created the variety of views so essential to the English garden.<ref>Linden 2007, 147, 155–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> It was also a means of keeping burial lots properly distanced from one another. These were sold by subscription, mostly to families, but also to several local organizations, such as Harvard College and the Tremont House, a Boston hotel. The few corporate lots were intended for deceased students and visitors whose bodies could not be shipped home.<ref> Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (New York: R. Martin, 1847), 68, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 164, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

Lingering concerns about a pastoral cemetery, particularly regarding the security of graves, did not seem to limit interest in Mount Auburn, but the cemetery faced other challenges. Revenue generated by the sale of lots failed to cover the cost of establishing an experimental garden, leading to the Massachusetts Historical Society’s withdrawal from the project in 1835 and the chartering of a new, charitable organization–the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn–to oversee the site.<ref>Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref> Another challenge was the behavior of some of Mount Auburn’s visitors: although originally designed as a fully public space, the cemetery was enclosed by [[fence]]s in 1833 to deter vandalism, and public visitation was limited to daylight hours. A system of fines was established to counter destructive behavior toward plants, trees, and burial markers.<ref>Linden 2007, 167, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1071.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.]]
Mount Auburn also came under scrutiny for its apparent elitism. The prohibitive costs of the average 300-square-foot lot—about $60—were thought by some to undermine the cemetery’s accessibility and openness.<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Early critics saw the cemetery less as a site of moral education and more as an aggrandizement of New England’s elite, a number of whom marked their burial sites with imposing monuments. Although the cemetery’s board encouraged simplicity in burial markers—preferring obelisks, tombs, and sarcophagi over more elaborate constructions—the lot of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Samuel Appleton boasted a 12-by-6-foot Grecian temple made of Italian marble, for which he paid the enormous sum of $10,000 [Fig. 4].<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 186–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> For those who could not afford the expense of a standard lot, Mount Auburn Cemetery offered 160 individual graves that could be purchased for $10 each, though this accommodation did not fully quash the view of rural interment as a luxury unattainable for many.<ref>Sloane 1991, 54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.]]
Many of Mount Auburn’s visitors were neither proprietors nor friends and family of people interred at the site; despite the restrictions placed on the public, the cemetery functioned as “a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens,” one whose “shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already . . . awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom.”<ref>Joseph Story, October 17, 1834, ''Records of Committees'', quoted in Linden 2007, 168, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> A market for Mount Auburn guidebooks quickly developed, beginning with ''The Picturesque Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, through Mount Auburn'' (1839) and perhaps reaching its apogee with Cornelia W. Walter’s ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847), which was frequently reprinted over the next decade. In her book Walter, a former editor of the ''Boston Transcript'', provided readers a brief history of the cemetery and an architectural tour through its more celebrated monuments, illustrated by the prolific engraver James Smillie. The volume begins with a description of the imposing Egyptian-style portal at the cemetery’s entrance [Fig. 5] and passes by a variety of architectural styles—the neo-Gothic design of the Chapel and the classicizing temple on Samuel Appleton’s lot—before concluding with a view from Mount Auburn’s highest point, the “mount” of its name.

[[File:1066.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.]]
Walter’s guidebook, organized by prospects both of and from Mount Auburn, offsets manmade structures against the site’s pastoral setting to underscore the restorative quality of nature. The mount of Mount Auburn, she observed, provides a view of “the numerous spires of the near city of Boston,” which—framed by the Charles River and the “varied undulations of the hills and dales, the tranquil lakes, and the deep shadows of the groves”—metamorphoses from an overcrowded metropolis into an image of solemnity and repose [Fig. 6].<ref>Walter 1847, 112–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref> The effect she described is the very one articulated by Mount Auburn’s promoters, who had intended to articulate a harmonious accord between life and death, culture and nature, history and horticulture.

The creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with the reframing of death and decay as wholly natural processes, permanently altered Americans’ practices of burial and mourning and led to development of rural cemeteries across the United States. Between 1831 and 1873, more than 175 such cemeteries were established, including Philadelphia’s celebrated [[Laurel Hill]] (1838) and Brooklyn’s [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] (1838).<ref>Sloane 1991, 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; see also Appendix C in Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 231–39, which provides a select list of rural cemeteries organized by name, date, and location, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

<hr>

==Texts==
*Story, Joseph, September 24, 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1831: 16–17, 29)<ref>Joseph Story, ''An Address Delivered on the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ABFHUWTP/q/address%20delivered%20on%20the%20dedication view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A rural [[Cemetery]] seems to combine in itself all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

:“And what spot can be more appropriate than this for such a purpose? Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade; and the silent [[grove]]. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that ‘wreaths its old fantastic roots so high,’ the rustling pine, and the drooping willow; —the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perennial shoots, instructing us, that ‘the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.’ Here is the thick [[shrubbery]] to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it murmurs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his evening song. . . .

:“The grounds of the [[Cemetery]] have been laid out with intersecting [[avenue]]s, so as to render every part of the [[wood]] accessible. These [[avenue]]s are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining at the same time the [[picturesque]] effect of [[landscape gardening]]. Over the more level portions, the [[avenue]]s are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 30 September 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Ward 1831: 48)<ref>Malthus Ward, ''An Address Pronounced Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society'' (Boston: J. T. & E Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/P7GWBEPX/q/an%20address%20pronounced%20before view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[nursery|nurseries]] may be established, the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and ornamental trees, [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, laid out and planted, a [[greenhouse|green house]] built, hot-[[bed]]s formed, the small ponds and morasses converted into [[picturesque]] sheets of water, and their margins diversified by clumps and belts of our most splendid native flowering trees, and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], requiring a soil thus constituted for their successful cultivation, while their surface may be spangled with the brilliant blossoms of Nymphae, and the other beautiful tribes of aquatic plants.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 1832, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Harris 1832: 63–65, 67–68, 72, 80)<ref>Thaddeus William Harris, ''A Discourse Delivered Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on the Celebration of its Fourth Anniversary, October 3, 1832'' (Cambridge, MA: E. W. Metcalf, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3A3UDHF3/q/a%20discourse%20delivered view on Zotero].</ref>
:“With the Experimental Garden it is recommended to unite a Rural [[Cemetery]]; for the period is not distant, when all the [[burial ground]]s within the city will be closed, and others must be formed in the country,—the primitive and only proper location. There the dead may repose undisturbed, through countless ages. There can be formed a public place of sepulture, where monuments can be erected to our illustrious men, whose remains, thus far, have unfortunately been consigned too obscure and isolated tombs, instead of being collected within one common depository, where their great deeds might be perpetuated and their memories cherished by succeeding generations. Though dead, they would be eternal admonitors to the living,—teaching them the way which leads to national glory and individual renown. . . .
:“For the accommodation of the Garden of Experiment and [[Cemetery]], at least seventy acres of land are deemed necessary; and in making the selection of a site, it was very important that from forty to fifty acres should be well or partially covered with forest trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], which could be appropriated for the latter establishment; and that it should present all possible varieties of soil, common in the vicinity of Boston; be diversified by hills, valleys, plains, brooks, and low [[meadow]]s and bogs, so as to afford proper localities for every kind of tree and plant, that will flourish in this climate;—be near to some large stream or river; and easy of access by land and water; but still sufficiently retired.

:“To realize these advantages it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, [[avenue]]s and [[walk]]s may be made through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] or [[picturesque]] gardening, in conformity to the [[modern style]] of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society. . . .

:“The establishment of rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] similar to that of Pere La Chaise, has often been the subject of conversation in this country, and frequently adverted to by the writers in our scientific and literary publications. . . .

:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[Cemetery]] may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]] bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]], and perennial flowers; rather as a line of demarcation than of disconnexion; for the ornamental grounds of the Garden should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.

:“Among the hills, glades, and dales, which are now covered with evergreen and deciduous trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], may be selected sites for isolated graves, and tombs, and these, being surmounted with [[column]]s, [[obelisk]]s, and other appropriate monuments of granite and marble, may be rendered interesting specimens of art; they will also vary and embelish the scenery embraced within the scope of the numerous sinuous [[avenue]]s, which may be felicitously opened in all directions and to a vast extent, from the diversified and [[picturesque]] features which the topography of the tract of land presents. . . .

:“The approach from the main road leading to Watertown, was by a broad and umbrageous [[avenue]] to the foot of the hill, which closes the dale of consecration on the north. . . . In the rear, under the shade of a stately [[grove]] of walnuts, where the main [[avenue]] divides and gracefully sweeps round the lofty hills to the east and west, the company [attending the consecration] descended from their carriages, and entered the secluded and romantic silvan theatre, by two foot paths, which wound through lonely vales of arching verdure. . . .

:“The upper Garden [[Pond]] has been excavated, to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, with a fall at the outlet of three feet, and being embanked, [[avenue]]s with a [[border]] of six feet, for [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, have been made all round it. . . .

:“Arrangements have been made for excavating, to a greater depth, Forest and Consecration-Dell [[Pond]]s, and surrounding them by embellished pathways, like those of Garden-[[Pond]], and for cleaning the eastern portion of Garden and of [[Meadow]] [[Pond]]s, of bushes and weeds; all which will be done during the winter, that season being the most favorable for such work.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 3)<ref>Anonymous, ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor’s Guide through Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Otis, Broader, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:”The celebrity attained by '''Mount Auburn''', pronounced by European travellers the most beautiful [[Cemetery]] in existence, and which, perhaps, without assuming too much, may be called the Père la Chaise of America,—the extraordinary natural loveliness of the spot,—the admirable character of the establishment which is there maintained,—the fact that this was the first conspicuous example of the kind in our country.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 47–48)<ref>''The Picturesque Pocket Companion'' 1839, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[cemetery|CEMETERY]], may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]], bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]] and perennial flowers,—rather as a line of demarcation, than of disconnexion,—for the ornamental grounds of the GARDEN should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate, as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1841: 2:382)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A comparison has been often made between the Père la Chaise of Paris and the '''Mount Auburn''' of Boston, and the similarity of their situation and their purpose naturally forces this comparison on the mind. Having seen both, I may venture to offer an opinion on this subject, with great deference, however, to those who may think otherwise. In many respects, then, I think Mount '''Auburn''' superior to Père la Chaise. Its natural scenery of hill and dale, of river, [[lake]], and forest-trees, with other surrounding objects, presents a combination which is not to be found in the [[cemetery]] of Paris, and which is far more in harmony with the repose of the dead than the most sumptuous monuments, without these combinations, can be. In this last respect Père la Chaise is perhaps unrivalled.”

*[[Cornelia W. Walter|Walter, Cornelia W.]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1847: 14)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[avenues]] are winding in their course and exceedingly beautiful in their gentle circuits, adapted [[picturesque|picturesquely]] to the inequalities of the surface of the ground, and producing charming landscape effects from this natural arrangement, such as could never be had from straightness or regularity. . . .

:“The [[gate|gateway]] of '''Mount Auburn''' opened from what is known as the north boundary line of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[avenue]] forms a wide carriage-road, and is one of the most beautiful openings ever improved for such a purpose. With the exception of the necessary grading, levelling, and cutting done of the brushwood, and the planting of a few trees, it has been left as Nature has made it. On either side it is overshadowed by the foliage of forest-trees, firs, pines, and other evergreens; and here you first begin to see the monuments starting up from the surrounding verdure, like bright remembrances from the heart of earth.”

*[[Nehemiah Cleaveland|Cleaveland, Nehemiah]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Walter 1847: 20)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“In 1844, the increasing funds of the corporation justified a new expenditure for the plain but massy iron [[fence]] which encloses the front of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[fence]] is ten feet in height, and supported on granite posts extending four feet into the ground. It measures half a mile in length, and will, when completed, effectually preserve the [[Cemetery]] inviolate from any rude intrusion. The cost of the [[gate|gateway]] was about $10,000—the [[fence]], $15,000.

:“A continuation of the iron [[fence]] on the easterly side is now under contract, and a strong wooden palisade is, as we learn, to be erected on the remaining boundary during the present year.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–10)<ref>A. J. Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I/q/public%20cemeteries%20and%20public%20gardens view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Indeed, in the absence of great [[public garden]]s, such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .

:“The character of each of the three great [[cemetery|cemeteries]] is essentially distinct. Greenwood, the largest, and unquestionably the finest, is grand, dignified, and [[park]]-like. It is laid out in a broad and simple style, commands noble ocean [[view]]s, and is admirably kept. '''Mount Auburn''' is richly [[picturesque]], in its varied hill and dale, and owes its charm mainly to this variety and intricacy of sylvan features. Laurel Hill is a charming [[pleasure ground|pleasure-ground]], filled with beautiful and rare [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers; at this season, a wilderness of roses, as well as fine trees and monuments.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing cemeteries in America (1850; repr. 1968: 333)
:“857. [[Cemeteries]]. . . .

:“A public [[cemetery]] was formed in 1831 at '''Mount Auburn''', about three miles from Boston, and is easily approached either by the road, or the river which washes its [[border]]s. . . . ‘This romantic and [[picturesque]] [[cemetery]],’ says Dr. Mease, ‘is the fashionable place of interment with the people of Boston.’ . . .

<hr>

==Images==
<gallery>
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0117.jpg|Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.

File:0598.jpg|Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.

File:1025.jpg|Anonymous, “Entrance to Mount Auburn,” in ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (September 1834): 9.

File:1026.jpg|Anonymous, “Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 10 (June 1835): 450.

File:1027.jpg|Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.

File:1035.jpg|Anonymous, “Garden Pond,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 85.

File:1034.jpg|Anonymous, “Monument of ‘Dr. Bigelow,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 113.

File:1031.jpg|Anonymous, “Tomb and obelisk of ‘George W. Coffin,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 147.

File:1032.jpg|Anonymous, “Consecration Dell,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 161.

File:1033.jpg|Anonymous, “Forest Pond," in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 171.

File:1304.jpg|John Warner Barber, “Entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery,” ''Historical Collections . . . Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts'' (1844), 361.

File:1063.jpg|James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.

File:1974.jpg|James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.

File:1074.jpg|James Smillie (artist), O. G. Hanks (engraver), “View of the Naval Monument (Central Avenue), Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 22.

File:1073.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Alfred Jones (engraver), “View of the Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 36.

File:1072.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Tomb to Spurzheim, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 40.

File:1070.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “View of the Central Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 61.

File:1071.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.

File:1975.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Battle Hill,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 79.

File:1976.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “Forest Pond, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 94.

File:1069.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Consecration Dell, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 100.

File:1068.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Bowditch Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 105.

File:1066.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.

File:1065.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of Gossler’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 115.

File:1064.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Rice & Buttre (engravers), “View of Oxnard’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 116.
</gallery>

<hr>

==Map==
{{#display_map:
42.375208,-71.144974
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

<hr>

==Other Resources==

[https://mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery]

<hr>

==Notes==

<references/>

<hr>

[[Category:Places]]

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2018-08-13T19:19:20Z

E-athens:

'''Mount Auburn Cemetery''' was founded by Harvard botanist Jacob Bigelow and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and was the first cemetery to be laid out according the principles of English landscape design. Its establishment marked the beginning of the rural cemetery movement in the United States.

==Overview==
'''Alternate Names:''' Sweet Auburn 
'''Site Dates:''' 1831–present 
'''Site Owner:''' Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1831−35); Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1835−present) 
'''Associated People:''' Dr. Jacob Bigelow (1787−1879; original proponent of the cemetery); [[H. A. S. Dearborn]] (1783−1851; designer); Alexander Wadsworth (1806−1898; surveyor) 
'''Location:''' Cambridge, MA; Extant 
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt+Auburn+Cemetery+Inc/@39.2595428,-76.6391052,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3be7e05cf74a12a9?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi63Nmf3-rcAhWwmOAKHUs8AkEQ_BIwEHoECAkQCw view on Google maps]

<hr>

==History==
[[File:0117.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1, Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.]]
Prior to the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery [Fig. 1] in 1831, residents of New England were generally interred in graveyards associated with their respective churches; in Boston, these included the King’s Chapel, Old Granary, and Central Burying Grounds along the perimeter of the [[Common]], and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End. With the enormous growth of Boston’s population following the American Revolution, however, these sites were quickly overcrowded. Boston’s early [[burial ground|burying grounds]], with their disorganized jumble of headstones, came to be seen as an aesthetic blight on the developing city, and their close proximity to both residences and businesses was considered a public health hazard.<ref>Blanche M. G. Linden, ''Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston’s Mount Auburn Cemetery'' (1989; repr., Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 118–20, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. See also David Charles Sloane, ''The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and James R. Cothran and Erica Danylchak, ''Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth-Century Rural Cemetery Movement'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2018), 37–38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

In the mid-1820s Boston mayor Josiah Quincy passed the Ordinance on the Burial of the Dead, which forbade further interments at the King’s Chapel and Old Granary Burying Grounds and better regulated other burials within city limits.<ref>Sloane 1991, 44–45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; Linden 2007, 130, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]; and Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero]. For the text of the ordinance, see ''The Charter of the City of Boston, and Ordinances Made and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council'' (Boston: True and Greene, 1827), 182–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/8Z9RGAV2 view on Zotero].</ref> About the same time, according to historian Blanche Linden, a growing movement for a “rural” cemetery emerged. In 1823 Dr. John Coffin, a fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society, published a pamphlet arguing that bodies should be interred in a pastoral setting where they could “naturally” return to the earth, and in 1825 Dr. Jacob Bigelow, a professor of botany at Harvard, established an association for creating a cemetery that situated burial plots within a carefully cultivated landscape.<ref>Linden 2007, 128–35, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1027.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 2, Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.]]
Despite the crowding and public health concerns of city burials, Bigelow’s proposal for a rural cemetery had some resistance to overcome. Many Bostonians believed rural interment was appropriate only for social outcasts; they also feared burial outside the city limits might lead to the theft of bodies by “resurrection men”—body snatchers who stole corpses for medical study.<ref>Linden 2007, 161, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Bigelow and his associates argued that a pastoral setting would allow for a more socially productive, and more American, type of mourning. Graves situated in a beautiful landscape would highlight the naturalness of death and reduce the anxiety and fear associated with the end of life [Fig. 2]. Moreover, a rural setting would recall the original landscape of New England, inviting the general public to connect to the country’s past and engage with ideas of continuity and posterity.<ref>Sloane 1991, 45, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 141, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

The development of Mount Auburn Cemetery began in earnest in 1830, with the coordination of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded only a year earlier. The plan was to incorporate in one expansive site a rural burying ground, or “garden of graves,” alongside an experimental garden that together could foster “historical and horticultural consciousness.”<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 145, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. The phrase “Garden of Graves” was the title of an essay on Mount Auburn by John Pierpont, published in Nathaniel Parker Willis, ed., ''The Token'' (Boston: S. G. Goodrich, 1832), 374–90, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/JKTSIA5Q view on Zotero].</ref> The land Bigelow’s association purchased for the cemetery’s construction—Stone’s Woods or “Sweet Auburn,” 72 acres of rolling, wooded hills across the Charles River from Boston—had long been a place of pastoral respite for locals, including Harvard students. Writing in his journal in 1824, Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that “there is some wild land called Sweet Auburn . . . [and] the students will go in bands over a flat sandy road & in summer evenings the woods are full of them.”<ref>Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., ''Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820–24'' (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909), 350, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/7APXZ4GT view on Zotero].</ref> Not surprisingly the connection between nature, culture, and the divine that drove the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery would also shape the views of Transcendentalists like Emerson.

[[File:0598.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.]]
The layout of Mount Auburn began in 1831 and was overseen by the first president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, [[H. A. S. Dearborn]], aided by Alexander Wadsworth [Fig. 3]. [[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn]] drew on the design of the Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise—the world’s first garden or “ornamental” cemetery—and laid out the grounds according to the [[natural style]] of English landscape design.<ref>Sloane 1991, 46, 49–50, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 173–74, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero]. As Linden notes, Alexander Wadsworth surveyed the site but the design was primarily Dearborn’s.</ref> He incorporated winding gravel [[path]]s, wide planted [[border]]s, and small [[pond]]s among the rolling hills of the site, which created the variety of views so essential to the English garden.<ref>Linden 2007, 147, 155–59, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> It was also a means of keeping burial lots properly distanced from one another. These were sold by subscription, mostly to families, but also to several local organizations, such as Harvard College and the Tremont House, a Boston hotel. The few corporate lots were intended for deceased students and visitors whose bodies could not be shipped home.<ref> Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (New York: R. Martin, 1847), 68, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 164, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

Lingering concerns about a pastoral cemetery, particularly regarding the security of graves, did not seem to limit interest in Mount Auburn, but the cemetery faced other challenges. Revenue generated by the sale of lots failed to cover the cost of establishing an experimental garden, leading to the Massachusetts Historical Society’s withdrawal from the project in 1835 and the chartering of a new, charitable organization–the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn–to oversee the site.<ref>Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 38, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref> Another challenge was the behavior of some of Mount Auburn’s visitors: although originally designed as a fully public space, the cemetery was enclosed by [[fence]]s in 1833 to deter vandalism, and public visitation was limited to daylight hours. A system of fines was established to counter destructive behavior toward plants, trees, and burial markers.<ref>Linden 2007, 167, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1071.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.]]
Mount Auburn also came under scrutiny for its apparent elitism. The prohibitive costs of the average 300-square-foot lot—about $60—were thought by some to undermine the cemetery’s accessibility and openness.<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> Early critics saw the cemetery less as a site of moral education and more as an aggrandizement of New England’s elite, a number of whom marked their burial sites with imposing monuments. Although the cemetery’s board encouraged simplicity in burial markers—preferring obelisks, tombs, and sarcophagi over more elaborate constructions—the lot of the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Samuel Appleton boasted a 12-by-6-foot Grecian temple made of Italian marble, for which he paid the enormous sum of $10,000 [Fig. 4].<ref>Sloane 1991, 53, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 186–87, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> For those who could not afford the expense of a standard lot, Mount Auburn Cemetery offered 160 individual graves that could be purchased for $10 each, though this accommodation did not fully quash the view of rural interment as a luxury unattainable for many.<ref>Sloane 1991, 54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero], and Linden 2007, 163, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref>

[[File:1974.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.]]
Many of Mount Auburn’s visitors were neither proprietors nor friends and family of people interred at the site; despite the restrictions placed on the public, the cemetery functioned as “a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens,” one whose “shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already . . . awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom.”<ref>Joseph Story, October 17, 1834, ''Records of Committees'', quoted in Linden 2007, 168, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/NJ7267GQ/q/linden view on Zotero].</ref> A market for Mount Auburn guidebooks quickly developed, beginning with ''The Picturesque Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, through Mount Auburn'' (1839) and perhaps reaching its apogee with Cornelia W. Walter’s ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847), which was frequently reprinted over the next decade. In her book Walter, a former editor of the ''Boston Transcript'', provided readers a brief history of the cemetery and an architectural tour through its more celebrated monuments, illustrated by the prolific engraver James Smillie. The volume begins with a description of the imposing Egyptian-style portal at the cemetery’s entrance [Fig. 5] and passes by a variety of architectural styles—the neo-Gothic design of the Chapel and the classicizing temple on Samuel Appleton’s lot—before concluding with a view from Mount Auburn’s highest point, the “mount” of its name.

[[File:1066.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.]]
Walter’s guidebook, organized by prospects both of and from Mount Auburn, offsets manmade structures against the site’s pastoral setting to underscore the restorative quality of nature. The mount of Mount Auburn, she observed, provides a view of “the numerous spires of the near city of Boston,” which—framed by the Charles River and the “varied undulations of the hills and dales, the tranquil lakes, and the deep shadows of the groves”—metamorphoses from an overcrowded metropolis into an image of solemnity and repose [Fig. 6].<ref>Walter 1847, 112–13, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref> The effect she described is the very one articulated by Mount Auburn’s promoters, who had intended to articulate a harmonious accord between life and death, culture and nature, history and horticulture.

The creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, along with the reframing of death and decay as wholly natural processes, permanently altered Americans’ practices of burial and mourning and led to development of rural cemeteries across the United States. Between 1831 and 1873, more than 175 such cemeteries were established, including Philadelphia’s celebrated [[Laurel Hill]] (1838) and Brooklyn’s [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] (1838).<ref>Sloane 1991, 63, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/972MSSSH/q/sloane view on Zotero]; see also Appendix C in Cothran and Danylchak 2018, 231–39, which provides a select list of rural cemeteries organized by name, date, and location, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/THCP4J2V view on Zotero].</ref>

<hr>

==Texts==
*Story, Joseph, September 24, 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1831: 16–17, 29)<ref>Joseph Story, ''An Address Delivered on the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/ABFHUWTP/q/address%20delivered%20on%20the%20dedication view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A rural [[Cemetery]] seems to combine in itself all the advantages, which can be proposed to gratify human feelings, or tranquillize human fears; to secure the best religious influences, and to cherish all those associations, which cast a cheerful light over the darkness of the grave.

:“And what spot can be more appropriate than this for such a purpose? Nature seems to point it out with significant energy, as the favorite retirement for the dead. There are around us all the varied features of her beauty and grandeur—the forest-crowned height; the abrupt acclivity; the sheltered valley; the deep glen; the grassy glade; and the silent [[grove]]. Here are the lofty oak, the beech, that ‘wreaths its old fantastic roots so high,’ the rustling pine, and the drooping willow; —the tree, that sheds its pale leaves with every autumn, a fit emblem of our own transitory bloom; and the evergreen, with its perennial shoots, instructing us, that ‘the wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue.’ Here is the thick [[shrubbery]] to protect and conceal the new-made grave; and there is the wild-flower creeping along the narrow path, and planting its seeds in the upturned earth. All around us there breathes a solemn calm, as if we were in the bosom of a wilderness, broken only by the breeze as it murmurs through the tops of the forest, or by the notes of the warbler pouring forth his matin or his evening song. . . .

:“The grounds of the [[Cemetery]] have been laid out with intersecting [[avenue]]s, so as to render every part of the [[wood]] accessible. These [[avenue]]s are curved and variously winding in their course, so as to be adapted to the natural inequalities of the surface. By this arrangement, the greatest economy of the land is produced, combining at the same time the [[picturesque]] effect of [[landscape gardening]]. Over the more level portions, the [[avenue]]s are made twenty feet wide, and are suitable for carriage roads.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 30 September 1831, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Ward 1831: 48)<ref>Malthus Ward, ''An Address Pronounced Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society'' (Boston: J. T. & E Buckingham, 1831), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/P7GWBEPX/q/an%20address%20pronounced%20before view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[nursery|nurseries]] may be established, the departments for culinary vegetables, fruit, and ornamental trees, [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, laid out and planted, a [[greenhouse|green house]] built, hot-[[bed]]s formed, the small ponds and morasses converted into [[picturesque]] sheets of water, and their margins diversified by clumps and belts of our most splendid native flowering trees, and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], requiring a soil thus constituted for their successful cultivation, while their surface may be spangled with the brilliant blossoms of Nymphae, and the other beautiful tribes of aquatic plants.”

*[[H. A. S. Dearborn|Dearborn, H. A. S.]], 1832, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Harris 1832: 63–65, 67–68, 72, 80)<ref>Thaddeus William Harris, ''A Discourse Delivered Before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on the Celebration of its Fourth Anniversary, October 3, 1832'' (Cambridge, MA: E. W. Metcalf, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/3A3UDHF3/q/a%20discourse%20delivered view on Zotero].</ref>
:“With the Experimental Garden it is recommended to unite a Rural [[Cemetery]]; for the period is not distant, when all the [[burial ground]]s within the city will be closed, and others must be formed in the country,—the primitive and only proper location. There the dead may repose undisturbed, through countless ages. There can be formed a public place of sepulture, where monuments can be erected to our illustrious men, whose remains, thus far, have unfortunately been consigned too obscure and isolated tombs, instead of being collected within one common depository, where their great deeds might be perpetuated and their memories cherished by succeeding generations. Though dead, they would be eternal admonitors to the living,—teaching them the way which leads to national glory and individual renown. . . .
:“For the accommodation of the Garden of Experiment and [[Cemetery]], at least seventy acres of land are deemed necessary; and in making the selection of a site, it was very important that from forty to fifty acres should be well or partially covered with forest trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], which could be appropriated for the latter establishment; and that it should present all possible varieties of soil, common in the vicinity of Boston; be diversified by hills, valleys, plains, brooks, and low [[meadow]]s and bogs, so as to afford proper localities for every kind of tree and plant, that will flourish in this climate;—be near to some large stream or river; and easy of access by land and water; but still sufficiently retired.

:“To realize these advantages it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, [[avenue]]s and [[walk]]s may be made through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of [[landscape gardening|landscape]] or [[picturesque]] gardening, in conformity to the [[modern style]] of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society. . . .

:“The establishment of rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] similar to that of Pere La Chaise, has often been the subject of conversation in this country, and frequently adverted to by the writers in our scientific and literary publications. . . .

:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[Cemetery]] may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]] bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]], and perennial flowers; rather as a line of demarcation than of disconnexion; for the ornamental grounds of the Garden should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.

:“Among the hills, glades, and dales, which are now covered with evergreen and deciduous trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]], may be selected sites for isolated graves, and tombs, and these, being surmounted with [[column]]s, [[obelisk]]s, and other appropriate monuments of granite and marble, may be rendered interesting specimens of art; they will also vary and embelish the scenery embraced within the scope of the numerous sinuous [[avenue]]s, which may be felicitously opened in all directions and to a vast extent, from the diversified and [[picturesque]] features which the topography of the tract of land presents. . . .

:“The approach from the main road leading to Watertown, was by a broad and umbrageous [[avenue]] to the foot of the hill, which closes the dale of consecration on the north. . . . In the rear, under the shade of a stately [[grove]] of walnuts, where the main [[avenue]] divides and gracefully sweeps round the lofty hills to the east and west, the company [attending the consecration] descended from their carriages, and entered the secluded and romantic silvan theatre, by two foot paths, which wound through lonely vales of arching verdure. . . .

:“The upper Garden [[Pond]] has been excavated, to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, with a fall at the outlet of three feet, and being embanked, [[avenue]]s with a [[border]] of six feet, for [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers, have been made all round it. . . .

:“Arrangements have been made for excavating, to a greater depth, Forest and Consecration-Dell [[Pond]]s, and surrounding them by embellished pathways, like those of Garden-[[Pond]], and for cleaning the eastern portion of Garden and of [[Meadow]] [[Pond]]s, of bushes and weeds; all which will be done during the winter, that season being the most favorable for such work.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 3)<ref>Anonymous, ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor’s Guide through Mount Auburn'' (Boston: Otis, Broader, 1839), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:”The celebrity attained by '''Mount Auburn''', pronounced by European travellers the most beautiful [[Cemetery]] in existence, and which, perhaps, without assuming too much, may be called the Père la Chaise of America,—the extraordinary natural loveliness of the spot,—the admirable character of the establishment which is there maintained,—the fact that this was the first conspicuous example of the kind in our country.”

*Anonymous, 1839, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1839: 47–48)<ref>''The Picturesque Pocket Companion'' 1839, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TFW4IVDB view on Zotero].</ref>
:“That part of the land which has been recommended for a [[cemetery|CEMETERY]], may be circumvallated by a spacious [[avenue]], bordered by trees, [[shrubbery]] and perennial flowers,—rather as a line of demarcation, than of disconnexion,—for the ornamental grounds of the GARDEN should be apparently blended with those of the [[Cemetery]], and the [[walk]]s of each so intercommunicate, as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain.”

*Buckingham, James Silk, 1841, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1841: 2:382)<ref>James Silk Buckingham, ''America, Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/PIANFMVK/q/buckingham view on Zotero].</ref>
:“A comparison has been often made between the Père la Chaise of Paris and the '''Mount Auburn''' of Boston, and the similarity of their situation and their purpose naturally forces this comparison on the mind. Having seen both, I may venture to offer an opinion on this subject, with great deference, however, to those who may think otherwise. In many respects, then, I think Mount '''Auburn''' superior to Père la Chaise. Its natural scenery of hill and dale, of river, [[lake]], and forest-trees, with other surrounding objects, presents a combination which is not to be found in the [[cemetery]] of Paris, and which is far more in harmony with the repose of the dead than the most sumptuous monuments, without these combinations, can be. In this last respect Père la Chaise is perhaps unrivalled.”

*[[Cornelia W. Walter|Walter, Cornelia W.]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (1847: 14)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“The [[avenues]] are winding in their course and exceedingly beautiful in their gentle circuits, adapted [[picturesque|picturesquely]] to the inequalities of the surface of the ground, and producing charming landscape effects from this natural arrangement, such as could never be had from straightness or regularity. . . .

:“The [[gate|gateway]] of '''Mount Auburn''' opened from what is known as the north boundary line of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[avenue]] forms a wide carriage-road, and is one of the most beautiful openings ever improved for such a purpose. With the exception of the necessary grading, levelling, and cutting done of the brushwood, and the planting of a few trees, it has been left as Nature has made it. On either side it is overshadowed by the foliage of forest-trees, firs, pines, and other evergreens; and here you first begin to see the monuments starting up from the surrounding verdure, like bright remembrances from the heart of earth.”

*[[Nehemiah Cleaveland|Cleaveland, Nehemiah]], 1847, describing '''Mount Auburn Cemetery''', Cambridge, MA (quoted in Walter 1847: 20)<ref>Walter 1847, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/CN79BMN8 view on Zotero].</ref>
:“In 1844, the increasing funds of the corporation justified a new expenditure for the plain but massy iron [[fence]] which encloses the front of the [[Cemetery]]. This [[fence]] is ten feet in height, and supported on granite posts extending four feet into the ground. It measures half a mile in length, and will, when completed, effectually preserve the [[Cemetery]] inviolate from any rude intrusion. The cost of the [[gate|gateway]] was about $10,000—the [[fence]], $15,000.

:“A continuation of the iron [[fence]] on the easterly side is now under contract, and a strong wooden palisade is, as we learn, to be erected on the remaining boundary during the present year.”

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, Alexander Jackson]], July 1849, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens” (''Horticulturist'' 4: 9–10)<ref>A. J. Downing, “Public Cemeteries and Public Gardens,” ''The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste'' 4, no. 1 (July 1849): 9–12, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/keywords_in_early_american_landscape_design/items/itemKey/EI9BER3I/q/public%20cemeteries%20and%20public%20gardens view on Zotero].</ref>
:“Indeed, in the absence of great [[public garden]]s, such as we must surely one day have in America, our rural [[cemetery|cemeteries]] are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment. They are for the most part laid out with admirable taste; they contain the greatest variety of trees and [[shrubbery|shrubs]] to be found in the country, and several of them are kept in a manner seldom equalled in private places. . . .

:“The character of each of the three great [[cemetery|cemeteries]] is essentially distinct. Greenwood, the largest, and unquestionably the finest, is grand, dignified, and [[park]]-like. It is laid out in a broad and simple style, commands noble ocean [[view]]s, and is admirably kept. '''Mount Auburn''' is richly [[picturesque]], in its varied hill and dale, and owes its charm mainly to this variety and intricacy of sylvan features. Laurel Hill is a charming [[pleasure ground|pleasure-ground]], filled with beautiful and rare [[shrubbery|shrubs]] and flowers; at this season, a wilderness of roses, as well as fine trees and monuments.”

*[[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1850, describing cemeteries in America (1850; repr. 1968: 333)
:“857. [[Cemeteries]]. . . .

:“A public [[cemetery]] was formed in 1831 at '''Mount Auburn''', about three miles from Boston, and is easily approached either by the road, or the river which washes its [[border]]s. . . . ‘This romantic and [[picturesque]] [[cemetery]],’ says Dr. Mease, ‘is the fashionable place of interment with the people of Boston.’ . . .

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==Images==
<gallery>
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">

File:0117.jpg|Thomas Chambers, ''Mount Auburn Cemetery'', mid-19th century.

File:0598.jpg|Alexander Wadsworth, “Plan of Mount Auburn,” November 1831.

File:1025.jpg|Anonymous, “Entrance to Mount Auburn,” in ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (September 1834): 9.

File:1026.jpg|Anonymous, “Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 10 (June 1835): 450.

File:1027.jpg|Anonymous, “View of Mount Auburn,” ''American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 2, no. 6 (February 1836): 234.

File:1035.jpg|Anonymous, “Garden Pond,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 85.

File:1034.jpg|Anonymous, “Monument of ‘Dr. Bigelow,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 113.

File:1031.jpg|Anonymous, “Tomb and obelisk of ‘George W. Coffin,’” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 147.

File:1032.jpg|Anonymous, “Consecration Dell,” in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 161.

File:1033.jpg|Anonymous, “Forest Pond," in ''The Picturesque Pocket Companion, and Visitor’s Guide, Through Mount Auburn'' (1839), 171.

File:1304.jpg|John Warner Barber, “Entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery,” ''Historical Collections . . . Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts'' (1844), 361.

File:1063.jpg|James Smillie, “Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), frontispiece.

File:1974.jpg|James Smillie, “Entrance to the Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), title page.

File:1074.jpg|James Smillie (artist), O. G. Hanks (engraver), “View of the Naval Monument (Central Avenue), Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 22.

File:1073.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Alfred Jones (engraver), “View of the Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 36.

File:1072.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Tomb to Spurzheim, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 40.

File:1070.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “View of the Central Square, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 61.

File:1071.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of the Appleton Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 76.

File:1975.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Battle Hill,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 79.

File:1976.jpg|James Smillie (artist), J. A. Rolph (engraver), “Forest Pond, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 94.

File:1069.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Consecration Dell, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 100.

File:1068.jpg|James Smillie, “View of the Bowditch Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 105.

File:1066.jpg|James Smillie, “View from Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 112.

File:1065.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Robert Hinshelwood (engraver), “View of Gossler’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 115.

File:1064.jpg|James Smillie (artist), Rice & Buttre (engravers), “View of Oxnard’s Monument, Mount Auburn Cemetery,” in Cornelia W. Walter, ''Mount Auburn Illustrated'' (1847; repr., 1850), opp. 116.
</gallery>

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==Map==
{{#display_map:
42.375208,-71.144974
| service=google
| enablefullscreen=yes
}}

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==Other Resources==

[https://mountauburn.org/ Mount Auburn Cemetery]

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==Notes==

<references/>

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[[Category:Places]]