United States of America -- Rhode Island -- Newport County -- Newport
Wild Moor (Newport, Rhode Island)
Scope and Contents:
This file contains 20 digital images and 1 folder.
General:
Established in 1887, Wild Moor (also known as Berry Hill) is a woodland and natural landscape planted with native species on 22 acres. It has been in the same family for over 100 years and is protected by a land trust by new owners. Wild Moor sits on the second highest point on Aquidneck Island, overlooking Narragansett Bay, the Newport Country Club, and before the extensive planting of trees, the town of Newport and its harbor.
The garden was cultivated by the first owners, Walter and Mary Howe. Water penned a book of essays titled, 'The Garden.' After Walter's death Mary married Arnold Hague, a geologist and amateur botanist. She attended botany courses at Columbia University and the couple began to plant specimen trees, shrubs, fern landscapes, a rock garden, swaths of crocus, trout lilies and narcissus. The added acreage and constructed a tennis court, greenhouses, stone garden sheds and a rose house.
Mary Howe Hague was the first president of the Newport Garden Club. Club members were invited to the property's spring flowering in 1914 and it was open to visits by members throughout the family's ownership of the estate.
Donald MacKay Fraser, a coachman promoted to gardener, oversaw Berry Hill from 1932 to 1976. A Scottish immigrant, he was not trained in horticulture, but overtime became a knowledgeable gardener who sought advice from other gardeners including other Scots working on Newport's grand estates. MacKay's era saw the gradual clearing of the land and construction of structures including a stonewall-enclosed "Little Garden," "Loch Fraser," a catchment pond, the "Shanty," a wooden shed perched atop fitted with a small fireplace and baby grand piano for Mary Carlisle Howe, an accomplished composer and one of the founders of the National Symphony Orchestra.
The property was sold in 2020 and renamed Wild Moor, the windswept garden, with mossy dells, rock-strewn lawns and panoramic vistas.
Persons associated with the property include: Walter and Mary Ann Bruce Howe (former owner, 1887); Walter Bruce Howe (former owner, 1923); Mary C. Howe (former owner, 1954); Bruce Howe (former owner, 1959); Berry Hill Nominee Trust (former owner, 1992); Samuel Parsons (unknown role, 1887); Frederick Law Olmsted (landscape architect of subdivision/sited the house); McKim, Mead, and White? (architect); Michael Carney (head gardener, 1889-1908); William Richardson (head gardener, 1909-1919); Charles Clark (head gardener, 1920-1930); Frederick S. Franco (head gardener, 1931-1932); Donald Fraser (coachman and gardener, superintendent/horticulture, 1933-1975); John Salvador (head gardener, 1976-1992); Keith Hayward (head gardener, 1993-present); Howe family (garden designers).
Records related to the overall subdivision in which this property is located may be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 00681, King-Glover Lands.
Related Materials:
See the 'Flora and Fauna of Berry Hill' at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original images 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.
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.
1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Lantern slides
Place:
New York (State) -- New York City
United States of America -- New York -- New York
Date:
03/18/1946
General:
No Names for Picture. "Arrangement in recess, yellow colors predominating." Mississippi, Early Victorian 1837 - 1850, 3rd prize, Mrs. Webb Hilbert, Bedford, NY.
Mount reads: "Kodachrome Transparency by F. W. Cassebeer, New York, N. Y."
Historic plate number: "B 11."
Historic plate caption: "New York Flower Show, 1946; 3rd Prize -Mississippi; Early Victorian, 1837-1850; Arr in recess, yellow shades predominating (Tues.); by Mrs. Web Hilbert; Bedford, N.Y."
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original images 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.
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.
