Glen Magna Farms (4.5 ha / 11 acres) is a historic country estate located at the end of Ingersoll Street,

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the beach ...

. 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 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

when Joseph Peabody, a leading

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

merchant, bought a property with house. With additional purchases, the estate eventually grew to . In 1893, Ellen Peabody Endicott, his granddaughter, hired the Boston architecture firm of Little, Browne & Moore to expand the house to its current form. In 1926 she was awarded the

Massachusetts Horticultural Society The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to Mass Hort or MHS, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusettsbr>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 Crowninshield Endicott, Jr., continued to improve the grounds, most notably in 1901 by moving the

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. Since 1958 it has been owned by the Danve ...

(built 1794 to designs by

Samuel McIntire Samuel McIntire (January 16, 1757 – February 6, 1811) was an American architect and craftsman, best known for his work in the Chestnut Street District, a classic example of Federal style architecture. Life and career Born in Salem, Massachu ...

) to the property. In 1963 the Danvers Historical Society purchased the central of the property for restoration and preservation. Much of the remainder of the estate, some , 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

with its enclosed rose garden designed by Herbert Browne; Cushing

pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...

with wisteria; flower garden with small fountain and

geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the gre ...

peonies The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguishe ...

lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

hosta ''Hosta'' (, synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Funkia'') is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name gibōshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is placed ...

s, and

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

s; old fashioned central garden; shrubbery garden of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

s, hemlocks,

forsythia ''Forsythia'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the olive family Oleaceae. There are about 11 species, mostly native to Eastern Asia, but one native to Southeastern Europe. ''Forsythia'' – also one of the plant's common names – is named ...

azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

s, fringe tree,

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...

, and weeping

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

; and a carriage road and miscellaneous statuary. Image:Glen Magna Farms - Danvers, MA - garden fountain.JPG, Garden fountain Image:Derby Summer House - Glen Magna, Danvers, Massachusetts.JPG,

External links

Glen Magna FarmsDanvers Historical Society
{{coord, 42, 34, 25.14, N, 70, 58, 03.10, W, display=title Farm museums in Massachusetts Museums in Danvers, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Essex County, Massachusetts Gardens in Massachusetts Parks in Essex County, Massachusetts Peabody family

See also

External links