Page Updated: January 25, 2024
Hildene
Hildene - Manchester VT
Built in 1905, the Georgian Revival mansion of Hildene is the ancestral summer home of presidential son Robert Lincoln. The estate covers 412 acres and includes a welcome center, manicured gardens, an observatory, a goat dairy & creamery, a tourable 1903 Pullman railcar, and 12 miles of hiking trails.
An unexpected find in the shadow of the Green Mountains, this property is stunning and full of remarkable history. A couple of the mansion’s impressive artifacts are the Aeolian player organ in the main entrance parlor and one of Abraham Lincoln’s stovepipe hats in a section devoted to the 16th president of the United States.
Historical records indicate the formal gardens were a collaborative work of Robert and his daughter, Jessie, and that Jessie was responsible for it’s design and planting. The peonies on site are thought to be from France
The observatory is one of the most unique features we’ve seen in a historical estates. The original telescope spent several decades off property but has since found it’s way back to Hildene.
It’s probably safe to say not many historical homes have a Pullman train car on site either, but here we are. The 1903 wooden Pullman Palace Car is not original to Robert Lincoln specifically but is true to the period and posh design for which the Pullman Car Company was known during Lincoln’s time as president of the company.
-b&b
Cold Hollow Cider Mill
Bennington Battle Monument
