Graphing the Gardens

The landscape at the Porter Phelps Huntington Museum is just as much an historical resource as its structure and interiors, with each of its many acres having its own ledger of alterations and varying usages. Though histories of the grounds can be harder to uncover than written ones, the above maps, detailing the grounds and in particular the North Garden, provide a partial record of the evolution of the grounds and exhibit the intricacy and diversity of the floral and plant life at the Museum. 

The grounds themselves underline the privileged nature of the family: not only was it the second-largest property in the area with ~600 acres of land under the control of a single family, but it was unique in its creation and maintenance of gardens for largely aesthetic pleasure.  

As the first map above exhibits, the grounds in the early years of the house were almost entirely functional, which is perhaps unsurprising. As the Pioneer Valley History Network’s website, The Revolution Happened Here, writes, “Prior to Morrison’s tenure at Forty Acres, Elizabeth had described gardening as sporadic and casual.” With the consolidation of land and wealth in the family and the stewardship of the aforementioned Morrison, a Scottish ornamental gardener, the garden became a focal point of the landscape. 

During the Revolutionary War a Scottish prisoner of war by the name of John Morrison was captured and indentured to Charles Phelps and came to work at Forty Acres. Due to the strain put on local farms by conscription requirements, farmers were allowed to use captive soldiers for labor on their land, and the Phelps were no exception. Elizabeth’s diary mentions the arrival of “one of the Highlanders” who was quickly discovered to be a trained ornamental gardener and charged with the creation and maintenance of the gardens. This marked the beginning of the peak years of the garden: in Ruth Ann McNicholas’s thesis, she writes that “These years from 1770 to 1814 also represent the period when the grounds and gardens were in their prime.” 

As the second and third maps show, the North Garden was replete with functional and aesthetic plantings alike, from apple trees to annuals to more practical plantings like squash, corn, asparagus (or ‘Hadley grass’), and various other vegetables. Its central focus was a circular bed of Scotch Roses, a celebrated rosa spinossima.  

With the death of John Morrison in 1815 the gardens quickly deteriorated. In a letter to her daughter, Elizabeth Porter Phelps writes that “‘Our garden looks like a forsaken place…a great variety of pretty flowers which if there was anybody to dig the ground and arrange them properly would appear well… Beets, onions, here are very few, mustard small, through neglect.’”  

Though the garden suffered after the death of John, it seems to have remained very much appreciated by the next generation of inhabitants, Elizabeth and her husband Dan Huntington.  His elegant words paint a picture of the garden, pictured above, during his time and its scents and bounties. He writes:

“‘The roses, the seringas (sic) and the honeysuckle stand around the doors and windows, in all their fragrance, and the house at night is filled with the odour. The garden with its appropriate fruits and flowers, standing in regular order, shows us not only what we are by and by to expect, but begins already to afford us its choice delights, in the asparagus…pepper grass, lettuce and radish – not forgetting the green currants, hanging in luxuriant clusters.’“ 

Their iteration of the garden can be seen in the map above, which shows that half of the North Garden had been plowed for perhaps more utilitarian purposes than before. Even so, the Reverend mentions a “Mr. Woods” that had been doing the gardening, suggesting that the family retained their penchant for a private gardener and had the means to do so. 

The penultimate map, which displays the grounds under Frederick Dan Huntington and Hannah Dane Sargent from 1865-1910, describes “overgrown planting beds” and seems to suggest the restoration of the North Garden to its former size. 

The sixth and final map, wrought by Catherine Sargent Huntington, offers a more detailed account of the plantings in the North Garden. Though the flora is different from that which is listed in the prior map, the layout seems similar and there is agreement over the apple trees surrounding the garden. 

Though there are no maps to reflect it, after this period it seems that planting at the house became more reserved. Ruth Ann McNicholas writes that “Plantings of lilacs and sweet mockorange around the house were controlled and sparse, framing and setting off the detail of the architecture, which, in many places, is quite intricate.” This is perhaps a reflection of the tastes of Dr. James Huntington, the founder of the Museum, who sought to highlight the history of prominent (male) inhabitants of the household rather than its long past as a productive farm, as can be seen in his transportation of the Corn Barn and removal of other functional out buildings. 

With the grounds comprising an integral part of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, their future and maintenance has become a central question of the Foundation’s mission, particularly with a changing climate and the presence of invasive species. Thanks to an Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) grant, the Museum has begun work with Miguel Berrios, a Landscape Architect and Certified Arborist to create a Pollinator Conservation Activity Plan. The program, funded through the Natural Resources Conservation Service division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will develop a plan to revitalize the local biodiversity and create a habitat for pollinators, like honeybees, that have been affected by the alteration and destruction of their environment. Mr. Berrios’s plan will mark a new chapter for the grounds at PPH, one that will hopefully recreate the environment that Elizabeth Porter Phelps, Dan Huntington, and other family members described with such affection.

Sources:

“John Morrison: Highlander, POW, Gardener, Tippler.” Revolution Happened Here. Accessed July 14, 2021, https://www.revolutionhappenedhere.org/items/show/33.

McNicholas, Ruth Ann. Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum: Restoration of Historic Grounds. UMASS Masters Thesis, 1985.

Brotherly Conflict and Strong Wills

Amongst the collection of Constant and Gladys Huntington family papers, a folder entitled, “PPH Inc., Sale of Chaise House, Correspondence with Constant & James” was immensely beneficial for documenting the early history of the Porter Phelps Huntington House Museum. Although the folder’s title refers only to brothers James and Constant, correspondence between the two men is but a small piece of the complicated puzzle pertaining to the Museum’s early years.

Historic American Buildings Survey. Arthur C. Haskell, Photographer. August 5, 1935.

In the letters between brothers Constant and James, the conflict between them is made clear. Upon the death of their father, George Putnam Huntington and grandfather, Frederic Dan Huntington on the same day in July of 1904, the property of Forty Acres was passed to George’s wife, Lily St. Agnam Barrett Huntington. Upon her death in 1926, the property was split evenly amongst the six children. All six siblings, Henry Barrett, Constant, James, Michael Paul, Catharine and Frederic Dane were each given one-sixth ownership of Forty Acres. This equal division lasted until 1929, when James acquired a total of five-sixths of the property ownership by buying out his siblings, all except Constant. Shortly thereafter, James and his Northampton legal representation, William E. Dwyer Sr. drafted a Deed of Release to the property on June 27, 1929, of which Constant explained: “My share became his immediate property subject to my right of residence for life. I did not like this loss of ownership but I was far away and I wanted to be helpful so I consented. The deed is recorded in the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, Book 857, page 388.” A Deed of Release is a legal document that removes a previous claim to an asset - in this case, Constant’s claim to the family property of Forty Acres. Years later, in April of 1955, Constant recalled that he “asked to execute papers at once giving my share to [James] and [his] heirs, on my death.”

1949 Advertising Brochure

Printed & distributed one year after the incorporation of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House.

Constant’s correspondence with Prescott Huntington, a cousin of the brothers and a practicing lawyer in New York, began on July 15, 1954 with Constant requesting: “May I consult you about the Huntington House in Hadley? It is now in the possession of my brother, Jimmie. He is 74 years old, and if he were to die it would go to his second wife, who was a telephone operator in Amherst - an Irish Roman Catholic, much younger than himself.” Constant’s unsavory opinion of a younger, working-class Irish Roman Catholic woman could not change the fact that Genevieve Huntington would inherit Forty Acres upon James’ death.

It was Constant’s hope that James would “part with any of his ownership of the family place at Hadley.” Constant wanted to be “the absolute owner of one-third of the land and buildings, [James] would own the contents outright.” The goal of obtaining one-third ownership would prevent James from selling the property “without [his] consent.” Constant worried that the property would be sold to a non-family member, and the value (both nostalgic and historic) of the eighteenth-century homestead cherished by the family would be lost. Prescott advised Constant that his goal of obtaining one-third ownership of the family property would be complicated by many factors: Constant was not physically present in Hadley, the property ownership was originally split evenly between family members, the property was involved in the incorporation of the Porter Phelps Huntington House, and finally the property’s "$6,000 mortgage.” 

Undeterred by the 1929 Deed of Release, Constant’s efforts to maintain influence over the family property continued. His efforts to obtain one-third ownership of the property eventually transformed into an effort to simply maintain enough of a claim to the property and contents in order to prevent a potential sale. James’ dire financial situation led him to place the $6,000 mortgage on the property, but James was unwilling to accept Constant’s offer of $5,000 in exchange for an increased ownership in the house and land. Another conflict between the brothers arose in May of 1955, when Constant was made aware of James’ plans to hold an auction of the contents of the Chaise House on June 4th. In strong opposition to selling any of the family’s private possessions, especially the furniture, Constant wrote to Prescott on June 6, 1955 and included documents in hopes “that it establishes my original ownership of one-sixth of the contents… I have not parted with any of my interest in contents, house or land.” His concern regarding the auction of the contents of the Chaise House was the “Regency Settee” and the “Empire Sideboard,” also referred to as the “Sargent Sideboard.” Constant claimed ownership of these furniture items and that they were simply “on loan” to James and the Museum. Once aware of his sister Catharine’s purchase of the sideboard, Constant writes, “it is perfectly satisfactory if Catharine has bought the Sargent sideboard. She and Alfreda and I only want to preserve house, contents and land for the benefit… of younger generations.”

As well as auctioning items from the Chaise House in June 1955, James’ fundraising efforts for the Museum materialized in other ways. Chairman Elsa P. Brown recorded the minutes of the Committee on Maintenance meeting led by James on November 3, 1956. “6,000 copies of the new picture brochure - “Forty Acres”, 100 posters, a new road sign and other items designed to inform the public of the historic house were financed. During the past summer there has been a 50% increase in visitors to the house. New memberships and contributions to the maintenance fund are enthusiastically received and urgently needed, as always.”

Minnie Ryan Dwight, co-publisher and editor of the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram with her husband William Dwight Sr., was a founding incorporator and life member of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House until her death in 1957.

Possibly a catalyst for the increased traffic to the Museum occurred in May of 1956, when a “monastic pilgrimage” was held on Memorial Day weekend. The procession of clergy and community members from Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst to the Porter Phelps Huntington House was held in honor of Bishop Frederick Dan Huntington, founder of Grace Church, and his son Rev. James Otis Huntington, founder of the Order of the Holy Cross.

Fundraising efforts over the next few years became more creative and community-based. In 1958, Forty Acres hosted a “fashion show” of historic gowns from the collection donated by Catharine Huntington, and two musicals were put on in the shed by students from the Music Department at Smith College. Wider exposure assisted the Museum’s public relations in October of 1958 when Life Magazine’s coverage of the home and its notorious ghost stories was published shortly before Halloween. However, the income received by the Museum originated then, as it does now, from the generosity of the community, both in business contributions and personal donations.

Interested in supporting the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum today with a donation? Click here: https://www.pphmuseum.org/donate 
Interested in Bishop Frederick Dan Huntington? Check out the Museum’s blog post on the fourth generation at Forty Acres: https://www.pphmuseum.org/leisure-and-image

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Resources

Constant Huntington Family Papers: July 15, 1954; August 5, 1954; August 11, 1954; November 11, 1954; April 9, 1955; May 26, 1955; June 3, 1955; June 6, 1955; August 1, 1956; November 3, 1956; December 28, 1956.

The Berkshire Eagle. “Mrs. Dwight Dies at 84, Newswoman for 66 Years.” Pittsfield, MA. August 1, 1957.

Haskell, Arthur C., Historic American Buildings Survey. “Ext. - General View, Looking Northwest. Huntington House, State Route 47, Hadley, Hampshire County, MA.” August 5, 1935. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/ma0732.photos.079652p/ 

Holyoke Transcript - Telegram. “A Saga of Free Faith in the New England Way.” Holyoke, MA. May 31, 1956. 

Holyoke Transcript - Telegram. “Leaders of Nation at Historic House in Hadley, Founder of Episcopal Order Honored By Church.” Holyoke, MA. May 31, 1956. 

Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation, Annual Reports 1949-1969. 

A Little Background

After 5 months of construction, the roof to the Porter homestead was raised on May 27th, 1752. The structure, large and imposing, was simply unlike anything else in the area.

Moses Porter, born on January 13th, 1722, grew up in the center of Hadley with his parents, Samuel Porter III and Anna Colton. The Porters were known for their influence in local trade, belonging to the powerful group of seven families known as the River Gods. At the time, these families dominated social, economic, and political hierarchy in the Connecticut River Valley. Samuel Porter died in 1748, leaving Moses Porter the land known locally as “Forty Acres and its skirts”. Moses built his farmstead on this land and it became known as simply “Forty Acres”.

The home was undeniably innovative and reflected his socially advantageous marriage, successful presence in local trade, and respected ancestry. As Elizabeth Pendergast Carlisle writes, he truly was a “visionary” in his planning. Upon approaching ‘Forty Acres’ in 1752, one would have immediately noticed the rusticated siding that covered the front three sides of the house. The façade is made of wood, carved and finished to resemble stone blocks. The art of imitation was respected and even praised throughout the 18th century, however, rustication was unheard of on residential buildings at the time, especially in rural Hampshire County. This technique required great skill and reflects Moses’ affluence. George Washington’s Mount Vernon featured rusticated siding but was built five years after Moses Porter’s home.

Moses also included stylistic aspects of traditional English manner houses in the design. Segmented pediments and flat arches were carved over the windows and entry, that were a Classical motif of the Italian Renaissance commonly used by English architects of the time. A medieval hewn, similar to one found on his father’s home, created more space upstairs. Additionally, a side door was built modeling houses in Southeastern England in the 18th century.

Within the home, Moses worked with an impressive central-hall plan. This feature was often prevalent in prosperous coastal communities, and ‘Forty Acres’ is the first of its kind in the area. In a typical mid-18th century home, central-hearth plans were much more common. With this method, space was built around a single fireplace- efficient, but lacking in privacy and division. Moses, however, had the means to construct a home that had a fireplace in each ground floor room. Masonry was very expensive, and fireplaces increased property taxes. The central-hall plan created the opportunity for a separation of space: formal from working, private from public.  

In Carlisle’s words, “The design of a house is a design for living”. Moses built an impressive and unique home that was more than ample for his family of three and two slaves. The house Moses built has existed through more than 250 years of transition and growth. Upon arrival today, the grand reveal of the estate still invokes that same sense of awe that must have existed in 1752.

Interesting Feature: Exposed Federalist Wallpaper

Some rooms in the main portion of the museum were wallpapered at the turn of the 20th century. Wallpaper was stripped as time went on, but a remnant of the wallpaper in the Long Room remains above the mantle. It is a Federal-period patterned paper. Federal-style architecture and décor was most popular between the years 1780 and 1830, however, the exact dating of the wallpaper is unknown. Smaller pieces of wallpaper were discovered between the wall and the mantle, but were unfortunately too small to show any other patterns. In 1935, photos of the museum were taken for the Historic American Building Survey, clearly showing the wallpaper in the Long Room.