United States of America -- Connecticut -- Fairfield County -- Greenwich
Scope and Contents:
Grahampton related holdings consist of 2 folders, 6 photoprints and 32 digital images (1920-2017). The folders includes worksheets and copies of articles.
General:
Grahampton was purchased in 1916 and finished in 1917, the brick estate served as the retirement home of Pittsburgh's Henry William (Harry) Croft and his wife, Augusta Graham Croft, for whom Grahampton is named. The Crofts purchased five farms to create the property. The main house was completed in 1917 and sat on 287 acres of land. James L. Greenleaf designed the original garden, adjacent to the main house. The garden was originally the work of James Greenleaf, who worked closely with Mrs. Croft. Pastures, orchards, and marshy grounds were transformed into tended walks, stonework, and flowers. Greenleaf and Mrs. Croft created pools; boxwood-lined paths; flower beds of delphiniums, foxgloves, and irises; and steps leading up to a statue of Diana with her leaping dog. The Crofts later brought in Ellen Biddle Shipman to design another garden for the estate. Augusta Croft was a member of the Greenwich Garden Club. Her gardens were on tour at The Garden Club of America 1927 Annual Meeting in Rye, N.Y., and are described in the GCA Archives. Grahampton has since lost many of its designed spaces following its subdivisions over the years. The original house currently sits on a little more than five acres of land and the gardens surrounding it are primarily foundation plantings of Buxus, trees, flowering shrubs, and groundcovers. The 1920s oval driveway has been replaced with this rectangular portion of the driveway, lined with Amelanchier Canadensis is used as a parking area for guests. Pink rhododendron and Cornus kousa are visible just off the drive. There is a redesigned gate and set of stairs that leads to the lower backyard. The backyard features a large, rectangular pool near the back entrance to the house and a lawn that ends with a hedge of arborvitae to screen from the neighbor's property. Predominant plants on the property are Pachysandra, Rhododendron, Azalea, Peony, Boxwood, Cornus, Hemlock, Cedar, Pine and Japanese maple.
Persons and firms associated with the garden and property include: Henry and Augusta Croft (former owners); Johnson and Abbot (architect, 1916); William H. Nye (contractor, 1916); James L. Greenleaf (Landscape architect, 1916-); Ellen Biddle Shipman (Landscape architects, 1917-)
Related Materials:
Other documentation is located at Ellen McGowan Biddle Shipman papers, #1259. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
