Wolbach Farm Interpretive Trail, Post 2

Founders' Garden

In 2002, SVT received the 54-acre Wolbach Farm from John Wolbach, who wanted to preserve the land “predominantly in its natural, scenic, and open condition.” John was the son of Burt and Anne Wolbach who had purchased the property as a dairy farm in the early early 1900s. Burt later converted the area into a gentleman's farm and mowed the barn field to use as a one-hole golf course.

Before the Wolbach’s ownership, the property was used as agricultural land and had been cleared in the early 1700s. Much of what you see around you used to be sprawling, open cropland and grazing fields used by cows up until the 1900s.

The forest here is considered a new growth forest. You can tell that the land was not used for logging because of the single trunk growth pattern the trees exhibit.

Garden Design

The Founders' Garden was named in honor of SVT's founders. If you venture into the garden and look over the far wall, you will see a foundation from an old greenhouse. In this greenhouse, Burt and Anne Wolbach cultivated flowers to bring into Boston where they worked and lived the majority of their time.

During the 1930s, the Wolbachs hired the Olmstead Brothers landscape architects to design this delightful garden. The Olmstead Brothers were the sons of Frederck Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park in Manhattan as well as other large urban parks around the US. 

Photos: Wolbach Garden in 1939 and landscape design drawings from the Olmstead Brothers, 1939.

To proceed to the next stop, exit the Founders' garden and turn left to follow the trail into the forest.

Back to Wolbach Farm Interpretive Trail main page.

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