125 Manchester - Hildene and the Family of Abraham Lincoln

Claudia and I visited Hildene in early Spring, on a cold and rainy day.  Today, the weather was much finer, and the formal gardens were in full bloom.  The framing of the gardens is northern privet, not boxwood, and these are original plants.  The Lincoln women apparently liked peonies, and the specimens in these gardens were beautiful. 

Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had the home built in 1908; at the time he was running the Pullman Railcar Company.   The last of Abraham's daughters died here in 1978, and the estate was eventually taken over by the Friends of Hildene.   In addition to the restored home and outbuildings, there is a fully restored Pullman luxury sleeper car under its own shelter, and a working goat farm on the property. 

While this wasn't an ideal location for birding, there was a reasonable variety seen and heard on the property.  There are several miles of trails to explore, but that will come another time.

Checklist for Hildene at Manchester:
Red-eyed Vireo
Eastern Phoebe
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Tree Swallow
American Robin
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Pine Warbler

The Hildene mansion sits on the bluff overlooking the Battenkill river valley; if this were in medieval Europe, the estate would certainly have been fortified with walls, moats, and towers... it's a very defendable location.

The grounds and gardens (above) go right up to the cliff face (above, at right; at left), and provide spectacular views.  there was always a refreshing breeze too.

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