The Stevens-Coolidge Place
Encyclopedia
The Stevens-Coolidge Place, formerly known as Ashdale Farm, is a garden
and historic home located on 91 acres (36.8 ha) at 139 Andover Street in North Andover, Massachusetts
. Helen Stevens Coolidge's family first acquired the farm in 1729, and from 1914 to 1962 it was her summer home with husband John Gardner Coolidge
, diplomat, descendant of Thomas Jefferson
, and nephew of Isabella Stewart Gardner
. It is now a nonprofit museum operated by The Trustees of Reservations
.
Between 1914 and 1918, architect Joseph Everett Chandler remodeled two late-Federal period farmhouses to form today's house. Chandler also enhanced the design of the landscape, which eventually included a perennial garden, a kitch
and flower garden, and a rose garden (all in the Colonial Revival style). A potager garden (kitchen garden in the French style) with a brick serpentine wall and a greenhouse complex were also built. The house's collections include Asian artifacts including Chinese porcelain
, American furniture, and European decorative arts.
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
and historic home located on 91 acres (36.8 ha) at 139 Andover Street in North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. North Andover is the home of Merrimack College, a private, Catholic four-year institution ....
. Helen Stevens Coolidge's family first acquired the farm in 1729, and from 1914 to 1962 it was her summer home with husband John Gardner Coolidge
John Gardner Coolidge
John Gardner Coolidge was an American collector, diplomat, author, and nephew of Isabella Stewart Gardner.Coolidge was born and died in Boston, and served as U.S. Minister to Nicaragua in 1908. His summer home, The Stevens-Coolidge Place, is now a nonprofit museum.-External links:...
, diplomat, descendant of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, and nephew of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner – founder of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston – was an American art collector, philanthropist, and one of the foremost female patrons of the arts....
. It is now a nonprofit museum operated by The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...
.
Between 1914 and 1918, architect Joseph Everett Chandler remodeled two late-Federal period farmhouses to form today's house. Chandler also enhanced the design of the landscape, which eventually included a perennial garden, a kitch
Kitchen garden
The traditional kitchen garden, also known as a potager, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden - the ornamental plants and lawn areas...
and flower garden, and a rose garden (all in the Colonial Revival style). A potager garden (kitchen garden in the French style) with a brick serpentine wall and a greenhouse complex were also built. The house's collections include Asian artifacts including Chinese porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
, American furniture, and European decorative arts.