Friends of Harkness Memorial State Park

Our Story

THE FAMILY -
Edward Stephen Harkness and his wife Mary Stillman Harkness were the beneficiaries of a fortune amassed by Mr. Harkness's father, Stephen V. Harkness, who was a silent partner of John D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Corporation. During their lifetimes, Mr. & Ms. Harkness donated an estimated $200 million to various charitable, educational, and health-related organizations. In Connecticut, their generosity in buildings at Connecticut College, Yale University, and Trinity College.

In 1950, Mrs. Harkness, at age 76, provided in her will for ongoing rehabilitaiton of the disabled; therefore, upon her death in 1951, this estate was bequeathed to the people of the State of Connecticut. In 1980's, management of the property was divided between the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), governing the grounds and mansion, and the Department of Mental Retardation (DMR), supervising Camp Harkness


THE ESTATE -
The Roman Renaissance Revival-style mansion has 42-rooms. Designed by the New York architectural firm of Lord & Hewlett, the mansion was built in 1906 by William and Jessie Stillman Taylor (sister of Mary Stillman Harkness). Named "Eolia" after the island home of Acolus, god of the winds, the estate was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Harkness in 1907. Architect James Gamble Rogers and his firm designed the interior renovations, the pergola, and the carriage house. The greenhouses were designed by Lord & Burnham. Eolia was just one of seven Harkness residences.

Efforts were taken to replicate rooms in the mansion, based on photos taken in the 1926. During the lifetimes of Mr. and Mrs. Harkness Eolia was a working farm which included a herd of prize Guernsey dairy cows and orchard. The produce from the farm was shipped to the pantries of the Harkness residence in New York City, and Camp Harkness.


THE GARDENS -
The firm of James Gamble Rogers designed the layout and pathways of the West Garden. Between 1918 and 1929, Beatrix Farrand created a new planting plan for the West Garden and designed and installed the East Garden. The Boxwood Parterre, and the Alpine Rock Garden. The garden design combines Mrs. Farrand's innovative use of plant materials and textures with Mrs. Harkness’ color preferences and extensive collection of oriental garden statuary

Beatrix Farrand, niece of Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Edith Wharton, was once the original founders of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Only three (3) other examples of Beatrix Farrand's work remain, the most notable being Dumbarton Oaks in the Georgetown section of Washington D.C