Glen Magna Farms
Encyclopedia
Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, Danvers is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials, and for its famous asylum, the Danvers State Hospital.-17th century:The land...
. It is currently owned by the Danvers Historical Society and open daily. An admission donation is suggested. Guided tours of the house and gardens are offered from May to July and includes a box lunch.
The estate began during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
when Joseph Peabody, a leading Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
merchant, bought a 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) property with house. With additional purchases, the estate eventually grew to 330 acres (1.3 km²). In 1893, Ellen Peabody Endicott, his granddaughter, hired the Boston architecture firm of Little, Browne and Moore to expand the house to its current form. In 1926 she was awarded the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
Massachusetts Horticultural Society
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to MassHort, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusetts. It describes itself as the oldest, formally-organized horticultural institution in the United States...
's Hunnewell Gold Medal for the estate's plantings. Her son, William Crowinshield Endicott, Jr., continued to improve the grounds, most notably in 1901 by moving the Derby Summer House
Derby Summer House
The Derby Summer House, also known as the McIntire Tea-house, is a summer house designed in 1793 by architect Samuel McIntire, now located on the grounds of the Glen Magna Farms, Danvers, Massachusetts...
(built 1794 to designs by Samuel McIntire
Samuel McIntire
Samuel McIntyre was an American architect and craftsman, Chestnut Street District, a legacy to one of the earliest architects in the United States, Samuel McIntyre is a primary example of Federal style architecture....
) to the property. In 1963 the Danvers Historical Society purchased the central 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) of the property for restoration and preservation. Much of the remainder of the estate, some 165 acre (0.6677319 km²), is now the public Endicott Park.
Today the grounds are open to the public for viewing and special events. Key features of the grounds include the striking Derby Summer House
Derby Summer House
The Derby Summer House, also known as the McIntire Tea-house, is a summer house designed in 1793 by architect Samuel McIntire, now located on the grounds of the Glen Magna Farms, Danvers, Massachusetts...
with its enclosed rose garden designed by Herbert Browne; Cushing pergola
Pergola
A pergola, arbor or arbour is a garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained...
with wisteria; flower garden with small fountain and geraniums, peonies
Peony
Peony or paeony is a name for plants in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, southern Europe and western North America...
, lilies, hosta
Hosta
Hosta is a genus of about 23–45 species of lily-like plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, native to northeast Asia. They have been placed in their own family, Hostaceae ; like many 'lilioid monocots', they were once classified in the Liliaceae...
s, and rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s; old fashioned central garden; shrubbery garden of rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, hemlock
Tsuga
Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....
s, forsythia
Forsythia
Forsythia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae . There are about 11 species, mostly native to eastern Asia, but one native to southeastern Europe. The common name is also Forsythia; the genus is named after William Forsyth.-Growth:They are deciduous shrubs typically growing to a...
, azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s, fringe tree, dogwood
Dogwood
The genus Cornus is a group of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods. Most dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen...
, and weeping beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
; and a carriage road and miscellaneous statuary.