Victorian Waterford Garden

Welcome back to WHMCC! 

Our 2019 season is open for visitors to stop by the Homestead in Northside Historic District

The Waterford Historical Museum is presenting "A Place For Nature In Victorian Waterford" this season. As you might expect with "nature" in the title, there are lots of pretty flowers and other plants to add a little color to the room.

While WHMCC is an exhibit-based museum (aka there are no rooms set up like the White family just stepped outside for moment), these kinds of exhibits are a fun way to bring to light the history of the house too. This exhibit is set up like a 19th century indoor garden space, complete with palm plants, orchids and, of course, a fern. You can't not have a fern!

Gardens were in public and private spaces during the Victorian era, as people attempted to bring nature more into their lives and into their personal space. Indoors gardens were a popular way to do so, sometimes with the effect of being surrounded by plant life in your own parlor. The importance was not just having a garden to show off to everyone that you could afford to maintain it (or just were able to not kill the plethora of plants....as some of us may or may not be able to make even the hardiest of plants give up after too much TLC...).

Nature in this era was simultaneously symbolic of the wild and untamable and the carefully cultivated; the romantic and spiritual qualities of connecting with nature on another level, and yet obsessively scientifically cataloging individual aspects of the world.

 

Sketch of estate taken from History of Saratoga County
by Nathanial Bartlett Sylvester

The White estate in Waterford is a great example of the craze for gardens. Hugh White had his house built in 1830 along Saratoga Avenue/NY R32 with other mill/business owners in what is called "Mill Owner's Row". Coming from the founding family of Whitestown, Hugh operated the Harmony Mills factory and a variety of other businesses in addition to being a Congressman representing Saratoga County. The White Homestead is built in the popular Greek revival style for this time and had a conservatory attached to the southern end of the mansion (demolished 1950s), with several graperies and greenhouses on his meticulously tended land. He had the added pleasure of having his father-in-law move in across the street from him in a building with a matching façade and his own outdoor garden. Their gardens become known as a "friendly" rivalry (it was his father-in-law after all) between the two properties that were the first thing introducing anyone coming from the bridge connecting to Cohoes to Waterford.

This period also saw the development of the natural sciences, the park movement, the rural cemetery movement, and a boom in American art culture and literature all relating to nature - Herman Mellvile's house in Lansignburgh is celebrating his bicentennial this year! Waterford wasn't isolated enough not to be affected by these trends, with its impact still able to be seen in the landscape today.

This exhibit will run the museum season until October 27
 Admission $6 adults $5 children/seniors(65+)

Upcoming spring & summer events:

Paint & Sip on the Porch - June 8
12:30pm-2:30pm(RSVP Required - limited seating) $25 non-members $20 members

Waterford Steamboat Meet - July 6 
10am to dusk. WHMCC is not a vendor at this event, but it's a great way to view some interesting boats and the museum is just a short walk or drive away to come visit us!

"Along the Erie Canal" Author Open House - July 20 
1pm-2:30pm. $6 adults $5 children/seniors - Author Marvin Bubie will be on site to sign copies of his book and to discuss his research on the towns and villages that he's done along the Erie canal.

Waterford Porch Crawl - Sept. 14
1pm-4pm. Registration at the museum 1pm-3pm. $5 per person
Volunteer your porch in the event today! Learn more by contacting info@waterfordmuseum.com

Waterford Tugboat Roundup - 20th Anniversary - Sept. 6-8
Waterford Harbor Visitors Center -Stop by the museum's booth during the day.

Tugboat parade on Friday (usually around 6pm) & Fireworks on Saturday (around 9pm).

WHMCC doesn't have the daily schedule - we're just a participant! - so double check times with the Town

Special Thanks To Exhibit Sponsors:

One Day Signs

Valoze’s Greenhouse, Inc.

Felthousen’s Florist

Hewitt’s Garden Center

The Garceau Family

Patricia Burke

Teri Patton