Charles Freeman Gillette (March 14, 1886 – March 30, 1969) was a prominent landscape architect in the upper South who specialized in the creation of grounds supporting

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

architecture, particularly in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. He is associated with the restoration and re-creation of historic gardens in the upper South and especially Virginia. He is known for having established a regional style—known as the "Virginia Garden."

Biography

Charles F. Gillette was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin in 1886 as the tenth and last child of Orlando Gillette and Catherine Gillette (nee Melville). His father served as a private in the

30th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 30th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a United States Volunteers, volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 30th Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin, ...

in the Union Army during the Civil War. Due to his family's financial state, Gillette never had any formal schooling. In 1909–1911, Gillette served as an apprentice in the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

office of Warren H. Manning, a leading early-20th century landscape architect. Gillette moved to Richmond in 1913 to supervise the completion of Manning's landscape design for the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

's new campus. In 1915, he began designing the grounds of the Nelson House in

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a town in York County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while ...

. In 1924, he commenced work on the landscape restoration of Kenmore in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

. A few years later, he initiated plans for the landscaping of Virginia House and Agecroft, both reconstructed English manor houses located in Richmond's Windsor Farms neighborhood. Extensive additions to the Virginia House gardens were completed in 1939. During the 1950s, Gillette redesigned the gardens of Virginia's Executive Mansion at the request of Governor Thomas B. Stanley. In 1958, he designed the grounds for the Reynolds Metals Company International Headquarters located at Richmond. His commissions also included hundreds of residential projects throughout Virginia and North Carolina.Library of Virginia: About the Charles F. Gillette Photograph Collection
/ref> A number of his works were designed for properties listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

In popular culture

Author

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

references Gillette as the commissioned landscaper of Dupont University in '' I Am Charlotte Simmons''.

Selected works

(1913), Richmond, VA * Nelson House (1915), Yorktown, Virginia * Casa Maria (1921-1922), Greenwood, VA * Blue Ridge Farm (1923-1924), Greenwood, VA * Sunken Garden (Virginia) (1923-1924), Williamsburg, Virginia * Kenmore (1924), Fredericksburg, Virginia * Agecroft Hall (1926), Richmond, VA * MacCallum More and Hudgins House Historic District gardens (1927), Chase City, Virginia
Belfield
(1929-1930),

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

* Gallison Hall (1931-1933), Charlottesville, VA * Windemere (1860),

Richmond, VA Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

* Midway (Millington, Virginia) (1936), Millington, VA * Reynolds Metals Company International Headquarters (1958), Richmond, VA * Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, VA * Glen Alpine in the Cifax Rural Historic District, Cifax, Virginia * Oak Grove (Eastville, Virginia), Eastville, VA * E. Hervey Evans House (1939), Laurinburg, NC * Monroe Ward, Richmond, VA * John Whitworth House, Richmond, VA *

Longview Gardens Historic District Longview Gardens Historic District is a historic post-World War II neighborhood and national Historic district (United States), historic district located miles east of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. The district encompasses 189 contributing ...

* Meadowbrook * Virginia House, 1927 * Elderslie, 1917 * 4300 Sulgrave Road, 1957 *

Executive Mansion (Virginia) The Virginia Governor's Mansion, better known as the Executive Mansion, is located in Richmond, Virginia, on Capitol Square and serves as the official residence of the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Designed by Alexander Parris, it ...

, 1954 * Nordley (4203 Sulgrave Road), 1924 * Redesdale, 1925 * Little Yatton, Orange County, 1948 * Meadowfarm, Orange County, 1934

References

External links

The Cultural Landscape Foundation: Charles Freeman GilletteGarden and Gun: "Gillette's Gem"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillette, Charles F. American landscape architects Architects from Richmond, Virginia 1886 births 1969 deaths Preservationist architects People from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin 20th-century American architects Architects from Wisconsin