The Beauty in the Barrens

T h e tr iumph of Tuf t s, Olmst ed an d Manning

by cl auDi a Wat son P Hotogr a PHs by JoHn ge ssner

Beneath the canopy of a br illiant blue June sk y, the land lay battered. A n abandoned tramway, used for hauling lumber and t ur pentine, stretched through a landscape marked by scraggly oak s and a few spindly pines. Wild hogs and sheep foraged the nearly bar ren sand.

On that day in 1895, James Walker Tuf ts, accompanied by surveyor Francis Deaton and t wo other men, inspected a 10 0 -acre parcel of his new landholdings in souther n Moore Count y — the site for his proposed tow n. T he first task was to settle where to place the sur vey stake mark ing the land ’s center point.

T hey made camp for the night in an old lumber shelter, boarded on t wo sides. T he next day, Tuf ts walked to a broad, shallow, basinlike plot of g round. He had neither an a x nor the proper fat wood stake but succeeded in finding an old piece of timber, which he drove into the g round. Deaton marked the spot on his rough topog raphic map “Beg inning Point.”

Character ized by its rolling ter rain and deep, coarse sand, and predominately covered by tall longleaf pine, the land once had been par t of a 90 -million-acre wilder ness stretching f rom southeaster n Virg inia in the nor th, to easter n Texas in the west, and as far south as the up per half of F lor ida. T he longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) could live up to 50 0 years, g row to 3 feet in diameter and reach a height of 120 feet.

Soon, this reg ion’s harsh but beautif ul landscape was under pressure. T he tall, straight, longleaf timber did not go unnoticed by the steady stream of European settlers. T hey followed the Cape Fear R iver and its tr ibutar ies to the pine bar rens of Moore and R ichmond counties to find land for intensive high-yield far ming. But the sandy soil was unsuitable, so they t ur ned to the pine forests for their livelihood.

T he vital longleaf ecosystem was devastated, the target of exploitation: first for its lumber, to build homes, buildings and masts for ships. L ater its resin was used to make tar and t ur pentine, essential naval store products that suppor ted shipbuilding ef for ts. With the ar r ival of trains in the 180 0s, the trees were felled to build railroad track s. Ultimately, those railroads were essential to Moore Count y’s development and Tuf ts’ ar r ival.

James Walker Tuf ts, a successf ul and wealthy entrepreneur f rom Massachusetts, was captivated by the area’s war m climate and therapeutic pine-scented air. He used his considerable wealth to locate and purchase nearly 6,0 0 0 acres to build a winter retreat in an area laid waste by decades of timber ing operations.

T he project, seen as essentially benevolent, would provide respite and recreation for “the better ment of his fellow humans.” In par ticular, he focused on ailing individuals — including those with early stage t uberculosis who were mistakenly, and commonly, believed not to be

contag ious — seek ing a war m, dr y climate while recover ing. L ear ning quick ly that all stages of the disease were contag ious, he rebranded his retreat into an outdoor spor ting venue, with recreation as its pr imar y business.

Tuf t s env isione d a char m ing New Engla nd- st yle v i l lage set in t he 10 0 - acre c ore of h is la nd hold ings. A r me d w it h De aton’s sur vey denot ing t he tow n’s c enter, a nd imme d iately a f ter ac qu ir ing t he la nd c ont r ac t s, Tuf t s t ur ne d to t he most prest ig ious la ndsc ap e arch ite c t ure a nd desig n fir m in t he c ount r y — Olmste d, Olmste d & El iot — to desig n t he tow n he imag ine d.

Olmsted ’s plans were renow ned for the role that landscape architect ure played in improving qualit y of life. His concept was that nat ure not only lif ts the human spir it, but streng thens and restores it. He also believed that ever y human being, regardless of social or economic stat us, had a r ight to that exper ience. Tuf ts’ pr inciples and Olmsted ’s were synchronized.

Olmsted, however, was in his 60s and af fected by mounting health problems, including dementia, which soon sidelined him. Dur ing the summer of 1895, just as Tuf ts’ project was under way, Olmsted retired. T hat year, his stepson John Charles (“J.C.”) Olmsted and architect Charles Eliot car r ied the fir m’s work load. Freder ick L aw Olmsted Jr. was busy with George W. Vanderbilt’s Biltmore estate project.

Olmsted ’s catalog lists Pinehurst village, but it was small compared to other projects. A visit repor t dated June 20, 1895, provided by J.C. Olmsted, indicates that Tuf ts initially spoke by phone with another member of the fir m’s staf f and provided his concept ual over view for the village.

A general plan would cost $30 0, including super vision, planting that year, and time for a planting assistant. “Traveling expenses were extra. No visits were to be made by the fir m, only by W.H. Manning that fall,” noted the proposal.

On July 3, 1895, Tuf ts met with Fredr ick L aw Olmsted Sr. and J.C. Olmsted at their of fices in New York, and within days the fir m provided a plan for the tow n draw n in ink on linen paper. Tuf ts quick ly accepted it and then, eager to see his vision move ahead, ordered 20 0 water oak s.

T he project’s 1895 promotional brochure said, “It is understood, of course, that the extensive plans that have been made for beautif ying the village with g reener y will require considerable time before they are car r ied out to completion. T he wilder ness cannot be made into a garden in a day, even with the most liberal expendit ure of money, energ y, and sk ill.”

War ren H. Manning had joined the Olmsted fir m in 1888 as its planting super visor, where his extensive hor ticult ural k nowledge quick ly expanded his responsibilities. Mentored by Freder ick L aw Olmsted, Sr. in his early years with the fir m, he oversaw over 10 0 projects, including planning the metropolitan park systems for Boston, L ouisville and Milwaukee. In addition, he super vised the acquisition of thousands of acres for Vanderbilt’s Biltmore estate and, beg inning in 1893, became involved in planning its arboret um.

Ma nn ing’s vo c at ion had it s ro ot s in h is New Engla nd ch i ldho o d. He cre d ite d h is f at her, a n este eme d hor t ic u lt ur ist a nd nurs er y ma n, for h is appre c iat ion of nat ure. He absorb e d h is f at her’s f a s cinat ion w it h pla nt s of a l l t y p es, par t ic u larly t he newly f a sh ionable A mer ic a n nat ive pla nt s. T houg h he d id not have for ma l t r a in ing in la ndsc ap e desig n, he t r avele d ex tensively w it h h is f at her to c ommercia l g re en houses a nd ga ine d ex p er ienc e a s t he ma nager of h is f at her’s pla nt nurser y.

W hen Manning was 27, he wrote Freder ick L aw Olmsted, Sr. seek ing work and stressing his hor ticult ural sk ills, par ticularly his success moving large trees. He wrote of his “k nowledge of hardy trees, shr ubs, and herbaceous plants & the treatment & the ef fects produced by them.” He underscored his literacy in common and botanical names and botanical relationships.

T he Pinehurst village project prog ressed with J.C. Olmsted the lead par tner. Desig ning the landscape without inspecting the site wasn’t feasible, so in September Manning was sent to meet Tuf ts and explore the proper t y. He and Tuf ts traversed the 10 0 -acre tow n site tak ing in the views f rom atop r idges and gaining k nowledge of its topog raphy as well as the nat ural scener y.

W hen he ret ur ned f rom his visit with Tuf ts, he descr ibed the area as “largely sand hills laid to waste” f rom timber ing. But he added with enthusiasm that it also held “long valleys with spr ings, streams, and nar row wetlands” with small trees, shr ubs and herbs.

T he moist valley areas and wetlands were the most exciting and attractive for plants, birds and other wildlife. “T he bottoms of the wet valleys are the nat ural winter and summer garden spots of the reg ion and a constant source of delight to one who appreciates var ied for ms of plant life,” he wrote.

T he dr y upland was less appealing. Here, scr ubby and st unted oak s and spindly pine trees, either dead or deeply gashed, littered the area marked by t uf t y g rasses and bare sand. It is “a ghastly r uin of fallen tr unk s, blackened st umps, and decayed branches, all testif ying to the devastating methods of the t ur pentine distiller and the lumberman,” Manning said in the Pinehurst Outlook in December of 1897.

“It became at once evident that an ar tificial means must be re-

sor ted to if an attractive everg reen landscape is to be provided dur ing winter, and an abundance of flowers dur ing early spr ing, the most active season of visiting g uests and residents, most of whom being f rom the colder states expect ver y dif ferent and more attractive conditions than those prevailing at their nor ther n homes, conditions which would not be presented by the or ig inal landscape,” he wrote.

Delivered Oct. 30, 1895, the landscape plan of fered lushness in exchange for the drear y and monotonous landscape. “It will be replaced by a var ied and interesting local scener y in which g reen foliage will for m all the foreg rounds, drape the buildings, af ford shade on sunny days, and conceal the raw ear th . . . with perennial verdure,” the plan noted. T he comprehensive proposal recommended a heav y use of everg reen plants — preferably broad-leafed everg reens.

A n oval-shaped “Village Green” meant for active use was the plan’s central feat ure. L ocated in a broad, shallow amphitheater-like valley, it was sur rounded by winding roads that hugged the nat ural g rades, radiating out ward f rom the g reen. Char ming New-England st yle cottages, most with porches, were sited on unifor mly sized lots along roads of ten named for trees — Mag nolia, Dog wood, L aurel, Maple, Orange and Palmetto. T he tow n’s layout provided an enhanced sense of space with the boundar ies opening to new views.

Near the railroad track s, to the south, stood a dense g rove of longleaf pines that of fered a glimpse of the forest that once covered the land. T he hotel, tow n of fice, a store and communit y casino were placed in the center of the village. Evenly spaced trees and dense plantings would of fer a nat uralized ef fect throughout all of this.

To achieve the lush setting for the tow n, Manning specified and located the trees, shr ubs and g round covers based upon the location, caref ully f raming the views f rom cottage windows and the hotel to provide a verdant appearance in ever y season.

T he planting scheme recommended 222,60 0 plants in nearly 90 var ieties, impor ting 48,0 0 0 plants f rom France and 1,50 0 f rom nine A mer ican nurser ies. T he balance of the plants would be purchased, collected later, or propagated at a nurser y in Pinehurst.

Realizing the initial cost would be g reat, the architects justified it by saying that the cost would be insig nificant once the plants estab lished themselves. “It is absolutely essential to mak ing the vicinit y of a village of the sor t you are building ag reeable and homelike in the winter,” the landscape plan arg ued.

Everg reen shr ubber y was pr imar ily local and native mater ial. “It was recog nized . . . that native plants must be depended upon chiefly for the results we wished to secure, for they only could be procured in suf ficiently large quantities to do, at a reasonable cost, the immense amount of planting that was required in the tow n,” Manning wrote later in the Pinehurst Outlook. He prefer red native mater ial because it was f ully adapted to the local soil and weather conditions, and

needed less water, fer tilizer and overall maintenance to thr ive. A s an added incentive, they remained balanced with nearby plants instead of over tak ing the landscape like invasive species.

T he plan included dozens of native plants collected f rom pr ivate proper t y or the swamps within about 10 0 miles of Pinehurst, but the ef for t became costly.

“You better depend upon your g reenhouse men to do your propagating f rom seed instead of attempting to root f rom cuttings, which would be ver y dif ficult if not impractical,” Manning suggested of the local native plants. “You will get more plants at less cost,” he added, of fer ing an unconventional and less time- consuming method for prepar ing the seeds for ger mination.

To help implement his plan, Manning brought in Otto K atzenstein, a Ger man seedman who worked for the Olmsted fir m and was enamored with native plants. K atzenstein would develop and manage the tow n’s nurser y and crews who gathered plant mater ial to use in Pinehurst.

With the planting proposal approved, Manning shif ted his attention to installation and began with the Village Green, which pro vided the central recreational setting for the communit y.

Planted with r ich layers — g roundcovers, shr ubs, and trees above — the Village Green provided an area for restf ul recreation and the st udy of nat ure. Selected for their g row th habit and the var ious tints of g reen and text ure they of fered to the foreg round, the trees and shr ubs provided an indistinct border.

Multiple “plantations” were set upon the Village Green and anchored by everg reen (not coniferous) native trees — Souther n mag no lia (Magnolia grandiflora), everg reen oak s and Carolina cher r y laurels (Prunus caroliniana). T hen, the smaller g roups of single trees and shr ubs would spill out f rom the larger tree g roups and blend into the foreg round, creating a constantly chang ing play of light and shadow.

T he understor y feat ured non-native camellia, box wood, pyracantha, a zaleas and cher r y laurels (Prunus lauroceracus). T hese mingled in g roupings with native sweet bay mag nolia (Magnolia gluca), holly, gall-ber r y (Ilex glabra), wa x myr tle (Morella cerifera), fetter bush (Lyonia lucida), and mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). Wister ia would festoon the tall pines with its drooping clusters of flowers. Osmanthus, nandina, wister ia, elaeag nus and pr ivets, all non-natives, would adapt and nat uralize.

T he transition to the sunny central area of the Village Green required 40,0 0 0 g roundcover plants. In that time, landscape architects commonly used non-native species for their visual appeal and abilit y to colonize, of ten filling a derelict space. Here, non-native Japanese everg reen honeysuck le, English iv y and per iwink le covered the tr unk s and branches of the deciduous trees, keeping the areas g reen with foliage, even in the winter. T he unr uly honeysuck le required reg ular shear ing to keep it within borders and at g round cover height.

Many exper imental plots of g rasses were g row n f rom seeds secured f rom var ious par ts of the count y, but most failed to tolerate the conditions. Only winter r ye g row n f rom seed made a good star t in the Village Green, but it finally drew Tuf ts’ ire.

“Winter r ye was bravely endeavor ing to cover the whiteness of the sand. Patches of r ye g rowing on the village g reen ser ved only as a mocker y of the word g reen and of the deep lush t ur f of the New England commons af ter which this area was patter ned. On ever y hand, there was white, infer tile soil,” Tuf ts wrote.

Manning adjusted the plan and removed the unsuitable g round cover creepers and t ur f. Next, he recommended cover ing the bare

sand with f resh pine straw and later planted dozens of longleaf pines.

In the 180 0s, lovely shade trees were becoming rar ities, and lovers of arbor icult ure would travel miles to see them. A n everg reen canopy was essential for Pinehurst village and would lend much-needed shade and character, not t ypically found in the South.

Village streetscapes received 1,50 0 trees, and the homesites, 50 0. Native trees used throughout the plan included longleaf pines, red cedar (Juniperus virg iniana), dog woods (Cornus florida), easter n redbud (Cercis canadensis) and sour wood (Oxydendrum arboretum).

Oak s, the most essential of all native trees and k now n to sustain a cr itical and complex web of wildlife, were among Manning’s favor ites. Draw n by their lof t y canopies and color shif ts throughout the seasons, he used willow oak (Quercus phellos), live oak (Quercus virg iniana), and swamp laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) as specimens to edge village streets and g race homesites.

Today, the village’s landscape is f ull of the tower ing oak s, Souther n mag nolias and cedars planted bet ween 1895 -1898. T hir t y-four of those trees on the village of Pinehurst proper t y and border ing the Village Green are protected and desig nated her itage trees including several mag nolias and hollies along the walk way near Given Memor ial Librar y. In addition, dozens of other majestic trees at Pinehurst Resor t and on pr ivate land continue to provide intr insic value to the communit y. Most of the Village Green’s longleaf pines are at least 10 0 years old.

At Pinehurst’s founding, the only remaining dense stand of longleaf pines in the area, k now n as the Pine Grove, became a favor ite attraction. T here, a f r iendly herd of deer shared their domain with gorgeous peacock s, attracting visitors with children in tow who enjoyed the teeter-totters and swings.

Manning specified the addition of 50,0 0 0 trees, mostly longleaf pines, for the Pine Grove site and the borders of the village. He also included exotic conifers k now n for their shape, text ure and color in the landscape. Adapted well in the South, the g racef ul deodara cedar (Cedrus deodara), Japanese cedar (Cr yptomerias japonica) and cypress aug mented the native g row th.

T he work force completed the village center’s buildings, necessar y inf rastr uct ure and 14 residences within about si x months. With each area’s completion, Manning’s workers began installing the landscape.

T he updated general plan draw n in November 1895 for Tuf t’s promotional ef for ts reveals the enor mous scope of work required to connect passages f ull of scener y for the village, its roads, walk ways, and finally, the homesites — where visitors obser ved the details more closely. T he initial homesites were small and set back 36 feet f rom the street. Manning wanted to ensure that “each home then appeared to be set in its ow n pr ivate forest.” So, 13,40 0 everg reen or namental shr ubs, in addition to 50 0 homesite- desig nated trees, provided generous coverage, plant diversit y and individualit y to each lot.

T he early streets were 16 feet wide and built using sand and clay f rom a local pit. A sloped 16 -foot shr ubber y bed and 5 feet wide sand and clay sidewalk s bordered each side of the road. T he shr ubber y beds absorbed stor mwater r unof f f rom the road and sidewalk s, benefitting the or namental trees, shr ubs, and flowers planted there.

T he st re et s a nd sidewa l k are a s re c eive d 1,50 0 t re es a nd 17,0 0 0 pla nt s. Ma ny of t he everg re ens use d on t he Vi l lage G re en wou ld b e rep e ate d for t hese are a s but sof tene d by clusters of ma hon ia a nd w inter ja sm ine ( Ja sminum nu difl or um). L ow everg re en g roundc overs, includ ing St. John’s wor t (Hyper i cum c al c y cinum), w intercre ep er (Eu ony mu s ra di c an s) a nd ma ny t y p es of roses, c overe d t he e dges

of t he pla nt ing st r ips prov id ing se a sona l interest.

A f ter work ing throughout 1895 -96, Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot ended their contract with Tuf ts. T he fir m recommended Manning to assume the project, which he did with vision and energ y. He quick ly established a far m with a large bar n housing a herd of Holsteins and Jerseys cows, then in 1898, star ted Pinehurst Nurser ies.

Otto K atzenstein, who tended the tow n’s nurser y dur ing its founding, became super intendent. He propagated and g rew nearly 10 0 var ieties of native trees, shr ubs and herbs that succeeded under the challeng ing g rowing conditions of the longleaf pine reg ion and of fered them to a broader communit y through a catalog.

T he catalog also of fered a var iet y of non-native “thr if t y” plants, including pansies, pink s, roses and a hardy for m of the English violet, discovered in an old Souther n garden. T hose plants ador ned the landscape of the Carolina Hotel on its opening day, Jan. 1, 1901.

A winter resident wrote in the Pinehurst Outlook, “L ook ing out my window . . . I see planting spaces filled with native everg reen shr ub ber y — mag nolias, holly, gall ber r y, bay flower, y ucca, honeysuck le, g round roses, pansies and violets and the whole sur rounded by a vast g reen law n. T hink of it — a prett y g reen law n with violets in prof usion r ight out in the open in Januar y — as prett y as our ow n New England law ns in June.”

W hile the involvement of Freder ick L aw Olmstead, Sr., in the village plan has of ten been a matter of conject ure, in a 1922 letter to L eonard Tuf ts, Manning wrote, “I k now Mr. Olmstead ’s personal interest in Pinehurst was a keen one, because of his sympathy with your father’s desire to establish conditions that would make it possible for people who were not well to come to Pinehurst and live for moderate costs . . . and I remember ver y well his keen interest in my repor t on conditions that I found there.”

O ver t he nex t t hre e de c ades, Ma nn ing c ont inue d to work w it h t he Tuf t s f a m i ly to ex tend t heir v ision of t he Sa nd h i l ls. His nat iona l pr ac t ic e include d more t ha n 1,6 0 0 la ndsc ap e proje c t s t hroug hout Nor t h A mer ic a. O ne of t he 11 founders of t he A mer ic a n S o c iet y of L a ndsc ap e A rch ite c t s, he is c onsidere d one of t he most sig n ific a nt la ndsc ap e arch ite c t s of t he 20 t h c ent ur y a nd it s first env ironment a l eng ine er.

Tuf ts’ vision and collaboration with the Olmsted fir m and Manning’s abilit y to visualize the tr ue nat ure of the place restored life to a land of nothing ness — g iving it, and us, a land of unexpected beaut y. PS

Cl au di a Wat son is a fre qu ent contr ib ut or t o PineSt r aw an d T he Pi lot an d fin d s jo y in e a ch d ay, of t en in a gard en.