Nestled on 175 acres along Wenham Lake in Beverly is Moraine Farm, a Frederick Law Olmsted masterpiece landscape designed in 1880. Moraine Farm is, “the finest existing example of Olmsted’s approach to planning a country estate,” according to pre-eminent Olmsted scholar Charles E. Beveridge.
Over the past 150 years, the estate has been fractured into parcels owned by different families, a private school, Project Adventure, and The Trustees. Remarkably, Olmsted’s design has remained largely unchanged over that time, making it a rare gem among the estates created by the father of American landscape architecture. According to Beveridge:
“Moraine Farm was a forerunner for that greatest of Olmsted’s ventures in the designing of private estates and retains more of his spirit than any other residential design still in existence today.”
The Trustees owns four small disparate parcels on the property, and today we have the opportunity to acquire the key central plot of land that includes extensive Wenham Lake frontage, the main estate house, tea garden, terrace, and areas most intensely designed by Olmsted.
Acquiring this 66-acre parcel is the culmination of a decades-long effort by The Trustees to reunite and restore this historic property.
Providing people with access to Moraine Farm’s sweeping views, winding trails, and lush Olmsted landscape lies at the heart of our mission to create publicly accessible open space in iconic places.
