New England Fall Foliage Trip Day Five: History at Hildene

Being tucked in a quiet spot in the Vermont mountains inspired me to get up early to enjoy some quiet time and watch the sunrise. I slipped out of our room with a blanket and a cup of hot tea and was greeted by cloud-topped hills. There would be no observable sunrise, but the serenity of the early hours was still well worth the effort.

Our main agenda for the day was a visit to Hildene, the Lincoln Family home. We arrived just as the doors were opening and made it into the first timed entry of the day.

Hildene – so named because of its location in a valley with a stream between two hills – was built in 1904 as the summer home of Robert Lincoln, the eldest and only surviving son of President Abraham Lincoln.
After a brief introduction by an on-site guide, we were allowed to roam the house freely.

Immediately noticeable was a large pipe organ (because they were playing a roll from it as we entered the house) that Robert had built into the house for his musical wife, Mary (the pipes are encased on the landing and the organ is on the main floor, right behind the photographer of this photo).

The house also boasted two other pianos, including an upright Steinway in Mary’s sitting room upstairs.

Several other technological innovations of the day were incorporated into the house, like a butler call system and a telephone. The study/library was one of our favorite rooms! In today’s dollars, the house itself (not including the land) would cost upwards of $2.5 million.

A formal garden adorns the back yard of the house. It was designed by the Lincoln’s daughter, Jessie, as a gift to her mother.

Numerous walking trails wind through the wooded property, leading guests to various sites on the farm.

A fully-functioning goat dairy sprawls at the end of one path.

Along another path sits one of six remaining Pullman palace cars, Sunbeam, a tribute to Robert Lincoln’s years as President and then board chairman of the Pullman Company.

After a couple of hours admiring the expansive estate, we found a picnic table where we could partake of today’s lunch specialty: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

We spent the afternoon walking around Manchester checking out some of the local shops and snapping lots of pictures of the festive fall decorations and remaining summer blooms.

For dinner we opted to try out Zoey’s Double Hex restaurant, which was recommended to us by our grocery store clerk last night.

We were not disappointed! Excellent service, delicious and plentiful food, and affordable prices. Definitely recommended. A fitting end to another full day.