Photo Essay: Stevens Coolidge Place

Formerly known as Ashdale Farm, the Stevens-Coolidge Place was the summer home of John Gardner Coolidge and Helen Stevens Coolidge from 1914 to 1962. Mr. Coolidge, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and nephew of Isabella Stewart Gardner, was a diplomat. Helen Coolidge devoted herself to preserving and improving Ashdale Farm, which her family had first acquired in 1729 and subsequently farmed for six generations. With her husband's support, she transformed the farm into an elegant agricultural estate that exemplified the gracious country living enjoyed then by wealthy Bostonians.

Today it is owned by the Trustees of Reservations, the 91-acre property has exquisite grounds and gardens open daily to the public.  The house can be rented for weddings. I visited on an ovecast October afternoon. During the spring and summer the gardens are bursting with bright plantings and the rose garden is extraordinary.  At this time of year it is more serene, but still beautiful.