A Place of Tranquil Beauty: Wiscasset's Sunken Garden

After Wiscasset's Hilton House Hotel burned to the ground in 1903, Frances Sortwell, whose family owned the house across the street, put the hotel's stone foundation to good use. Miss Frances and her friends, including Rose Ishbel Greeley, one of the first female landscape architects in the country, transformed the dismal site into a magical sunken garden and a place of tranquil beauty. Join Historic New England's Cathy Messmer to explore the creation of this special garden space. The lecture includes a look at other sunken gardens created by women in the same period. Lecture in the Barn followed by a firsthand look at the Sunken Garden just across the street.