In 1902, Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest son of President Abraham & Mary Todd Lincoln, hired a Boston architectural firm to build a
stately home on a promontory overlooking the Battenkill valley in Manchester, VermontThe site he chose commanded sweeping views of the
valley bordered by the Taconic Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the eastHis magnificent Georgian Revival style home was
completed 3 years laterRobert Todd Lincoln named his new home Hildene meaning "hill" and "valley".
Hildene would be Mr. Lincoln's summer
home for the next 21 years and would be the only house in America where all of Abraham Lincoln's descendants would eventually resideMary
"Peggy" Lincoln Beckwith, a great-granddaughter of Abraham Lincoln would be the last of the President's descendants to live at Hildene.
She occupied the home until 1975. Shortly thereafter, Friends of Hildene, a nonprofit organization was formed to oversee, "the preservation
of Hildene's open land and the restoration of those buildings that best serve the public as an educational and cultural resource and as a
memorial to the Lincoln family."
Today, Hildene welcomes thousands of visitors from around the world who arrive to enjoy this meticulously restored home with its elegant
formal gardens and to participate in many special events held annually on the beautiful grounds of the estate.
Great cross country skiing and snowshoeing in winter. |