Meher Baba's Life & Travels
28th July, 1956
Kitty, Margaret and Elizabeth sat with Baba after his lunch in the Guest House, and at 2:30 P.M., everyone went to Brookgreen Gardens, a three-hundred-acre sculpture garden and wildlife preserve twenty miles south of the Center. Baba and the mandali went with Kitty in the car driven by Fred, and the others went in two buses. When they arrived, the entire group followed behind Baba, who walked through the exquisite gardens at a rapid pace. He visited the main office and then walked around the sculpture hall with its reflecting pool. Then he came out onto the lawn where two sedate, black-clad ministers gazed at the odd procession.
Filis laughed to herself: "Yes, here he is again being followed by the same crowd of nobodies who love him!"
Baba sat down under a fruit tree in a secluded corner of the garden, and his lovers sat about him on the grass. An elderly woman named Ruth White, eighty-six, had first heard of Baba through Malcolm Schloss in July 1945. She subsequently wrote to Baba and became very involved in his activities. Noting that she was not among them, Baba sent Kitty to find her. She had felt too tired to follow.
Baba played games with his fingers and invited Peter Thibodeau to do the same. Peter tried to imitate Baba's dexterity, but not too successfully. Then he called one of Margaret Craske's dancers, who also tried.
Baba gazed at his lovers scattered around him on the thick verdant lawn, then commented, "This reminds me of the past when Buddha sat under the tree. After Buddha had been fasting for so many weeks, an old woman helped him by giving him a rice pudding. Following his eating of that pudding, Buddha sat under the tree, where he attained his Goal. As Babajan was to me, so that old woman was to Buddha; for just as that old woman helped Buddha to attain superconsciousness, so did Babajan give superconsciousness to me."
Lord Meher Volume 14, Page 5031-2
FOUNDERS OF BROOKGREEN GARDENS
HISTORICAL MARKERS
GARDEN VIEWS - SUMMER
GARDEN VIEWS - WINTER
CHRISTMAS LUMINARIES
SCULPTURES
POETIC VERSE GARDEN PLAQUES
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Brookgreen Gardens
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Fighting Stallions - by Anna Hyatt Huntington at garden park
entrance.
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| Nearest city: | Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, U.S. |
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| Coordinates: | 33°31′14″N 79°5′59″WCoordinates: 33°31′14″N 79°5′59″W |
| Area: | 9,100 acres (37 km2)[2] |
| Architect: | Anna Hyatt Huntington |
| Architectural style: | Sculpture gardens |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 78002510[1] |
| Added to NRHP: |
April 15, 1978
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Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The 9,100-acre (37 km2) property includes several themed gardens with American figurative sculptures placed in them, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails through several ecosystems in nature reserves on the property.
Brookgreen Gardens was opened in 1932, and is built on four former rice plantations, taking its name from the former Brookgreen Plantation.
Contents
Early history
Originally, what is now Brookgreen Gardens was four rice plantations. The plantations from south to north were The Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield, and Laurel Hill. The current gardens and surrounding facilities lie completely on the former Brookgreen Plantation, which was owned by Joshua John Ward, the largest American slaveholder.
Only a handful of relics survive on the former plantations. The Alston (or Allston) cemetery survives on the grounds of The Oaks plantation. Gov. James Alston and his child are buried in the cemetery. The same grave is a memorial to the governor's wife Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of Vice President Aaron Burr, who was lost at sea. Her ghost reportedly haunts the Grand Strand, looking for her father. The rice mill at Laurel Hill is all that remains of the plantation today. During the American Civil War, Confederates built an earthen structure on the grounds to block Union ships from coming into the tidal rivers.
The Huntingtons history
It is the creation of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington of Connecticut, who purchased four plantations to open the garden to showcase her sculptures. Situated on Waccamaw Neck in Georgetown County, South Carolina between the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic coast, it is the country's first public sculpture garden and has the largest collection of figurative sculpture by American artists in an outdoor setting in the world. It is also a nature and historical preserve with a small zoo, and a nature exhibition center.
Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington first visited the property in 1929. Because they were captivated by the beauty of it, they purchased nearly 9,100 acres (37 km2) of forest, swamp, rice fields and beachfront. They intended to establish a winter home on the Atlantic, but Anna saw the potential of the property and they quickly began to develop her vision of making it the showcase for her sculptures. Archer, stepson of philanthropist Collis Huntington, and Anna have donated property and contributed much to U.S. arts and culture in a number of states. Her sculpture of Joan of Arc is a feature of New York City's Riverside Park.
Public landmark
Sculpture gardens
About 1444 works of American figurative sculpture are displayed at the Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington Sculpture Garden. Many of the works are creations of sculptress Hyatt Huntington, but other artists are also featured. Walkways and garden paths link the sculptures in their distinctive garden, fountain, or landscape settings, with vistas of the scenery surrounding them.
Brookgreen Gardens was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1] The sculpture garden portion, 551 acres (2.23 km2), of Brookgreen Gardens was included in the designation of Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens as a National Historic Landmark in 1984.[3][4] Atalaya Castle is just across U.S. 17 which cuts through the former combined Huntington property.
Zoo and Plantation sites
The Lowcountry Zoo and the Lowcountry Center are also on the property. This is where 'trekker tours' are launched into the backroads of the former plantations. Recent Archeological efforts have unearthed the foundations of several buildings at 'The Oaks' plantation. Ponds have been created from the former 'Brookgreen' plantation house sites.
Natural areas
The Atlantic Coast side was later leased to South Carolina to form Huntington Beach State Park. There are boat tours to Sandy Island and a self-guided tour nature trail to show off the 2000 identified species of life, including majestic longleaf pines, Spanish moss draped live oaks, and vistas of the river and nearby marshland. The gardens make every effort to preserve the natural environment.
See also
Photo gallery
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'Fountain of the Muses' - by Carl Milles (1949-1955)
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Resident alligator named 'Cowboy' at Lowcountry Zoo
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Rice mill 'trunk' site in lowcountry Plantations area
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'Athlete' - sculpture in garden by Rudulph Evans (1915)
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'Forest Idyll' by Albin Polasek (1924)
