Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Monday 9 July 2018
Life of Abe Lincoln’s son on display at Hildene in Vermont

By DAVID JORDAN land overlooking the Bat- on their function. The bed- tion has worked to provide the property.
Associated Press ten Kill valley. rooms housed a number of a more complete view of In 2011 Hildene added a
MANCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — The home is kept in a style noteworthy guests, includ- Lincoln family life. restored 1903 Pullman car.
The “Land of Lincoln” is the Lincoln would have recog- ing William Howard Taft, a “We have to keep every- One of the few wooden
state slogan for Illinois, but frame models remaining,
there’s a Lincoln family out- the rehabilitation process
post in the lush mountains took four years after the
of southern Vermont. Abra- staff located it in South
ham Lincoln, who started Carolina.
his political career in Illinois, That site is on the Vermont
never made it to Vermont, African American Heritage
but his son Robert Todd Lin- Trail, and the staff acknowl-
coln built his stately summer edges the complicated his-
home Hildene in the Green tory of the company. The
and Taconic mountains of porters, initially freed slaves
Manchester. and their descendants,
Robert Todd Lincoln was were often paid meager
already a wealthy man by wages but over time their
the time construction was tips and exposure to the
completed on the 24-room nation’s most influential
Georgian Revival home in men helped form a black
1905. He had served as the middle class.
Secretary of War and am- Robert Todd Lincoln was
bassador to Great Britain the only one of his siblings
and at the time was presi- to survive into adulthood
dent of the Pullman Palace and carry on the fam-
Car Company, one of the ily name. Despite the fact
largest companies in the that Abraham Lincoln was
nation. In this June 1, 2018 photo, Hildene, the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President assassinated four decades
He first visited Manches- Abraham Lincoln, is visible from the garden of the estate in Manchester, Vt. before the completion of
ter when his mother was Associated Press the property, the home
a guest of Equinox House, does acknowledge the
a 19th century hotel still in nized. The 1,000-pipe Aeo- U.S. president and Supreme thing fresh. The reality of a most well-known member
business today that ca- lian organ he built for his Court justice. standalone house museum of the family.
tered to the wealthy es- wife is one of the first things Outside the home are is that if you’ve been there, Outside the main entrance
caping summer heat on to greet visitors as its music equally impressive land- you’ve been there,” presi- to the home is an outline of
the coasts. Years later he booms through the halls. scapes. The formal garden dent Seth Bongartz said. the Kentucky cabin where
visited the town with Ed- Despite the grandeur of just off the back end of the The staff at Hildene has in- Abraham Lincoln was born.
ward Swift Isham, his law the location and size of the house is framed by the two terpreted Lincoln’s forward About the same size as the
partner and a native of home, the decor is almost mountain ranges and views thinking as an invitation to portico, it illustrates how far
Vermont. After falling in modest for the setting, re- of the valley below. update the property for the family came in a gen-
love with the area, Lincoln flecting the fact that this A tram ride takes visitors new guests. The property eration.
purchased over 400 acres was mainly a home for the between the sites. The includes two functioning, The home also features a
of land in 1902. family. more adventurous can hike modern farms, with dairies rotating exhibit on the Lin-
The name Hildene, an old He originally fashioned him- across the property, which where goats and cows pro- colns, currently focused on
English word he picked up self as a gentleman farmer includes wetlands along duce chevre and tomme Lincoln’s second inaugural
during his time in London, and the kitchen is stocked a stretch of the Batten Kill, cheese. address.
described the land itself: with curious gadgets that, a small river known world- They also run summer And of course they promi-
“a hill with a valley and a while current in his time, wide for its elusive trout. camps and students from a nently feature one of the
stream.” The home was give the tour guides an Visitors are encouraged local high school can take president’s stovepipe
built on a high point in the opportunity to quiz visitors to make use of Vermont’s courses on agriculture on hats.q
seasons. In winter, they can
snowshoe or cross-country
ski between the sites.
Robert Todd Lincoln died
at the home in 1926. The
Lincoln family held onto
Hildene for three genera-
tions until Peggy Lincoln
Beckwith’s death in 1975.
Beckwith did not have any
children and the property
was initially donated to the
Church of Christ, Scientist.
When the home fell into
disrepair, a group of Man-
chester locals formed a
nonprofit to purchase the
home and turn it into a mu-
This June 1, 2018 photo shows a Pullman Palace Car on display In this June 1, 2018 photo, Lincoln family photographs are
at Hildene, the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln, in seum. displayed at Hildene, the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln,
Manchester, Vt. Now in its 40th year, the in Manchester, Vt.
Associated Press Friends of Hildene organiza- Associated Press