Martha Brookes Hutcheson
Women's Heritage Trail
Martha Brookes Hutcheson (1871-1959) was one of America's first women landscape architects. After studying for three years in the Landscape Architecture program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she began her practice in 1902. Mrs. Hutcheson designed the gardens of over a dozen estates in Massachusetts and Long Island as well as numerous smaller gardens in New York and northern New Jersey. She became a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1920 and was made an ASLA Fellow in 1935. Her design philosophy and principles are explained in her book, "The Spirit of the Garden," written in 1923. A gardening classic, the book was reprinted by ASLA in 2001. Created during the Country Place Era, the gardens of Merchiston Farm exemplify all of the principles in her book, and incorporate many native plants and an imaginative manipulation of water as a landscape element. Believing that good gardens could bring about positive social change, Mrs. Hutcheson campaigned for the beautification of the American streetscape and town. She sought to educate a wide range of Americans in the principles of garden design through her writings, lectures and as a founding member of the Somerset Hills chapter of the Garden Club of America. Merchiston Farm was the home of William and Martha Brookes Hutcheson from 1911 to 1959. The property was given to the Morris County Park Commission in 1972 by Martha Hutcheson Norton and Charles McKim Norton. Placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1989, Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center embodies the landscape design principles of Martha Brookes Hutcheson and the Country Place Era.
"So let us all have gardens, for we shall be but following in the footsteps of those past ages, and but expressing the love of gardens that has been in our hearts for generations."
- Martha Brookes Hutcheson
Martha Brookes Hutcheson contributed significantly to landscape architecture, as one of the first women landscape architects in America. Because of her integral role to women's work in New Jersey Ms. Hutcheson is on the New Jersey Women's Heritage Trail.
The New Jersey Women's Heritage Trail highlights a collection of historic sites located around the state that represent significant contributions women made to the history of our state. The Heritage Trail brings to life the vital role of women in New Jersey's past and present.
Marker can be reached from Longview Road, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
