Charleston -- McCabe Gardens at Dalgain

Object Details

sova.aag.gca_ref33260
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6973073e6-0929-48b5-9baf-a12531ba29e3
General
This 2.15 acre property, established in 1921, includes expansive green lawns with 150 year old specimen oaks surrounding the home. Thomas Sears was the garden's primary landscape architect responsible for designing the formal design of the gardens in 1927. The current owners purchased the property in 2004 and enlisted Thomas Vasale to redesign the front entry and the woodland garden west of the house. Vasale added hardscape elements and indigenous plants and shrubs to the flagstone design by the front steps. The formal front entry is lined with boxwoods and leads to the woodland garden marked by boxwoods and dwarf maples. Holly, beauty berry, fothergilla, and chokeberry separate the driveway from the walled garden.
The original designs of the gardens indicate that Sears was challenged by the undulating topography of West Virginia because he added elevation numbers to his drawings. To solve this problem, he included a 72 foot long stairway connecting both gardens in a cross plan. This design incorporated a set of stone steps that still exist. There was once a geometric rose garden with six parterres and 400 rose bushes designed by Sears during the 1930s. Around the perimeter were wood posts and chains that connected the rose arbors flanking the steps. This garden no longer exists. An allee of pear, plum, apple, and peach trees also stood on the property. In 2004, the current owner replanted the fruit tree allee. The main hardscape elements include a garden gazebo and stone walls flanked by arborvitae. Three bears are sculpted from a tree that fell on the property. The property also features a mail order playhouse built alongside the entry to the woodland garden. A woodland walk edged with stone leads to a large meadow that was acquired in 2004. The path is flanked by holly trees and grand oaks. The ground covering in the lawn entering the woodlands is green moss, with blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry bushes that were added in 2004 for a possible snack along the hike through the woodlands and down to Big Rock.
Persons associated with the garden include: Charles Edwin Ward, Sr. (former owner, 1880s-1915); Charles Edwin Jr. And Gypsy Fleming Ward (former owners, 1915-1919); Robert E. and Margaret Ward McCabe (former owners, 1919-1957); Robert Books and Jane McCabe (former owners, 1957-2004); Brooks McCabe and Barbara Given McCabe (owners, 2004-present); Thomas W. Sears (landscape architect, 1927); Thomas Vasale (landscape designer, 2004).
This property has been featured in Matthews, F. Schuyler; Field Book of American Trees and Shrubs; G. P. Putnam's Sons; New York and London, The Knickerbocker Press, 1915.; Sargent, Charles Sprague; Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico); Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Cambridge, 1905.; Sears, Thomas W.; [New York] [Architectural Catalogue Co]; 1941.
Former owner
McCabe, Robert E.
McCabe, Margaret Ward
Books, Robert
McCabe, Jane
Owner
McCabe, Brooks
McCabe, Barbara Given
Landscape architect
Thomas W. Sears
Landscape designer
Vasale, Thomas A.
Provenance
Kanawha Garden Club
Collection Creator
Garden Club of America
Place
United States of America -- West Virginia -- Kanawha County -- Charleston
Topic
Gardens -- West Virginia -- Charleston
McCabe Gardens at Dalgain (Charleston, West Virginia)
Former owner
McCabe, Robert E.
McCabe, Margaret Ward
Books, Robert
McCabe, Jane
Owner
McCabe, Brooks
McCabe, Barbara Given
Landscape architect
Thomas W. Sears
Landscape designer
Vasale, Thomas A.
See more items in
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / West Virginia
Sponsor
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Custodial History
The Kanawha Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.GCA, File WV023
Type
Archival materials
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Collection Rights
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Scope and Contents
This file includes 15 digital images and 1 folder.
Collection Restrictions
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
AAG.GCA_ref33260
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6973073e6-0929-48b5-9baf-a12531ba29e3
AAG.GCA
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1643208220039-1643210188723-1
Charleston -- McCabe Gardens at Dalgain
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1 result(s)
  • The Garden Club of America collection
    sova.aag.gca
    GUID
    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb617385372-1028-4cb7-b07d-04fea2e51c47
    Creator
    Garden Club of America
    Names
    New York Flower Show
    Topic
    Gardens -- France
    Gardens -- Italy
    Gardens -- Japan
    Gardens -- Mexico
    Flower shows
    Gardening -- United States -- societies, etc
    Gardens -- England
    Landscape architecture
    Gardens -- United States
    Gardens -- Spain
    Gardens -- Scotland
    Creator
    Garden Club of America
    See more items in
    The Garden Club of America collection
    Sponsor
    A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
    Summary
    The Garden Club of America Collection at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Gardens contains over 100,000 images (lantern slides, 35mm slides, photographs, and digital images) and garden files that document thousands of historic and contemporary gardens (public and private) across the United States. Each garden file includes a range of documentation such as descriptive information, photocopied articles from journals, newspapers, or books, planting lists, correspondence, and/or landscape plans and drawings. These files have been compiled by members of The Garden Club of America (GCA). Some of the gardens in the GCA Collection have been photographed over the course of several decades; others are documented at a single point in time. In addition to images of American gardens, there are glass lantern slides of the New York Flower Show (1941-1951) and trips that GCA members took to other countries, including Mexico (1937), Italy, Spain, Japan (1935), France (1936), England (1929), and Scotland. A number of the slides are copies of historic images from outside repositories including horticultural and historical societies or from horticultural books and publications. The GCA made a concerted effort in the mid-1980s to acquire these images in order to increase its documentation of American garden history. Because of copyright considerations, use of these particular images may be restricted.
    Accruals note
    The GCA continues to document American gardens and submit images and documentation to the Archives of American Gardens. Further accruals are expected.
    Biographical/Historical note
    The Garden Club of America was established in 1913 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when the Garden Club of Philadelphia and eleven other garden clubs met to create a national garden club. Its purpose is to foster the knowledge and love of gardening and to restore and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and gardening and conservation efforts. The GCA was incorporated in Delaware in 1923, with its headquarters established in New York City. Today, local clubs are organized under twelve regional zones. The GCA continues its tradition of hosting flower shows and publishing material related to gardening in the United States. The GCA's glass lantern slides were used by The GCA for presentations and lectures about notable gardens throughout the United States dating back to colonial times. An effort was made in the late 1980s, in preparation of the 75th anniversary of the Garden Club of America's founding, to collect the disbursed slides. These slides were to eventually form the Slide Library of Notable American Parks and Gardens. The informational value of this collection is extensive since a number of images of the more than 4,500 gardens represented show garden designs that have changed over time or no longer exist. While the majority of images document a range of designed upper and upper-middle class gardens throughout the U.S., the scope of the collection is expanding as volunteers photograph and document contemporary gardens including community and vernacular gardens. The gardens illustrate the design work of dozens of landscape architects including Marian Coffin, Beatrix Farrand, Lawrence Halprin, Hare & Hare, Umberto Innocenti, Gertrude Jekyll, Jens Jensen, Warren Manning, the Olmsted Brothers, Charles Platt, Ellen Biddle Shipman, and Fletcher Steele. Because of their proximity to the gardens, works of notable architects and sculptors may also be featured in the images.
    Extent
    37000 Slides (photographs) (35mm slides)
    33 Linear feet ((garden files))
    3,000 Lantern slides
    Date
    circa 1920-present
    Custodial History note
    The GCA's Slide Library of Notable American Parks and Gardens was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1992; this became the core collection of the Archives of American Gardens.
    Archival Repository
    Archives of American Gardens
    Identifier
    AAG.GCA
    Type
    Collection descriptions
    Archival materials
    Slides (photographs)
    Lantern slides
    Plans (drawings)
    Brochures
    Articles
    Correspondence
    Clippings
    Citation
    Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
    Rights
    Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
    Genre/Form
    Plans (drawings)
    Brochures
    Articles
    Correspondence
    Clippings
    Lantern slides
    Slides (photographs)
    Restrictions
    Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
    AAG.GCA
    Large EAD
    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb617385372-1028-4cb7-b07d-04fea2e51c47
    AAG.GCA
    AAG
    Record ID
    ebl-1562776092361-1562776095300-0
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