Harkness Memorial State Park Explained

Harkness Memorial State Park
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Label:Harkness Memorial State Park
Location:Waterford, Connecticut, United States
Coordinates:41.305°N -72.1133°W
Area:304acres
Elevation:30feet
Established:1950
Designation:Connecticut state park
Administrator:Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
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Eolia—The Harkness Estate
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Location:Great Neck Road, Waterford, Connecticut
Built:1906-1907
Architect:Lord & Hewlett
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Architecture:Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Second Renaissance Revival
Added:November 20, 1986
Refnum:86003331

Harkness Memorial State Park is a historic preservation area with botanical garden and recreational features located on Long Island Sound in the town of Waterford, Connecticut. The state park's center around Eolia, a 42-room Renaissance Revival mansion with formal gardens and greenhouses. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

History

The park was the former summer home of philanthropists Edward and Mary Harkness, who inherited the fortune created by Edward's father, Stephen V. Harkness, who was a substantial investor in John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. The mansion was designed by the New York architectural firm of Lord & Hewlett and constructed in 1906–1907. From 1918 to 1929, landscape designer Beatrix Jones Farrand made extensive improvements to the grounds, adding numerous formal gardens. The estate was left to the state by Mary Harkness in 1950 and became part of the state park system in 1952. Eolia—The Harkness Estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as a 220acres historic district with 15 contributing buildings and two other contributing structures.

Activities and amenities

The park offers mansion tours, picnicking, and shoreline fishing as well as private event rentals.

See also

External links