Eisenhower Farm Orchard

Introduction

In the early 1950s, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower began to seriously consider the possibility of retiring and purchasing a home. General Eisenhower had taken a position as President of Columbia University in New York following a long military career, and, in his words, “I wanted an escape from concrete into the countryside.” They focused their search around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, attracted by its proximity to Washington and New York and their “sentimental attachments” to the area. The farm they found (the Allen Redding Farm) was fairly run down, but they made the purchase in 1951 and planned to improve the property.¹

The orchard at Eisenhower Farm in spring of 2022.

NPS

They did not move to the farm immediately, however. Eisenhower served as the first commander of NATO from 1950 until 1952, when he was elected 34^th President of the United States. While living in the White House, Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower initiated renovations to the farm. Construction began in 1953, when a new farmhouse was built around a salvaged section of the original house. They rehabilitated other farm buildings and installed an extensive ornamental landscape. By the mid-1950s, the Eisenhowers began to use the farm as a regular weekend getaway. After reportedly moving 37 times in their first 38 year of marriage, they were ready to make the farm their permanent residence by 1955.²

When Eisenhower left the presidency in 1961, they began to live in Gettysburg full-time. During the late 1950s and through the 1960s, they continued to develop the landscape of the farm with new features, buildings, and vegetation. Many trees, shrubs, and flowers were gifts from the Eisenhowers’ friends and supporters.

Although their initial intent was to simply purchase a quiet retirement home in the country, the Eisenhowers’ farm in Gettysburg ultimately provided much more than this. The farm became a weekend getaway from the pressures of Washington. It provided a place to host friends, family, and visiting dignitaries. It afforded General Eisenhower the opportunity to explore interests in agriculture and cattle production. And finally, it allowed the Eisenhowers to establish a home for themselves amid the pastoral fields and extensively landscaped grounds surrounding their farmhouse - the only home ever owned by Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower during their life together.

Today, the Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves the home and farm of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower. The site includes four district farms, including the Eisenhower Farm (also identified by the National Park Service as Farm #1). The landscape reflects the unique role of the Eisenhower Farm in the region’s farming community. From the time that the Eisenhowers acquired the farm in 1951 until General Eisenhower’s death in 1969, the landscape was transformed from a typical working farm to a more sophisticated farming operation with a unique visual aesthetic. The ornamental landscape elements alongside features of the working farm are part of its historic character.

A site plan drawing of the Eisenhower National Historic Site shows features and conditions of the overall landscape as of November 1967. The location of the orchard is indicated by a red circle. North is to the left (in Cultural Landscape Report for Eisenhower National Historic Site, Volume 1).

NPS

Aerial view towards the northeast showing the established orchard north of the barn, in the upper left of the photo, spring 1955. Note there is no fence between the orchard and the pasture.

Lane Studio, EISE NHS Files, #2990

Orchard History

Eisenhower favored a layout for the farm landscape that was attractive but could also be useful and economical to maintain. Although they were not dependent on the fruit trees for food or profit, he might have enjoyed the idea of having an orchard on the farm and the opportunity to improve it and display it for visitors. He expressed a goal of leaving the farm in better condition than when they found it, by employing soil conservation measures, allowing natural areas for wildlife habitat, and emphasizing the most up-to-date agricultural techniques.

The farm had been in use for many years before the 1951 purchase. It is not known if there was an orchard in this location before the Reddings’ ownership (1921-1950), but by the early 1950s several mature fruit trees grew in the pasture north of the barn. According to Ethel Wetzel, Eisenhower’s administrative assistant during the early 1960s, “The General was very interested in having some fruit around. He liked the trees, he liked the blossoms, and he liked the fruit.” General Eisenhower wanted to improve the orchard, although by the time he acquired the farm, the trees’ production was decreasing.

This lack of success was likely cause by two factors. First, the trees were past peak production age, and the entire orchard should have been replaced. Second, the soil at the farm was not as conducive to fruit production as it was in other areas of Pennsylvania. Besides these problems, Eisenhower also had trouble keeping the birds away from the ripe fruit, particularly the cherries. Wetzel recalled Eisenhower’s solution was “to have his little trees covered with cheesecloth so the birds couldn’t get to the cherries.”

Despite the obstacles, Eisenhower’s attention to the orchard endured. He planted several additional fruit trees over the years, including apples (Malus species), peaches (Prunus persica), and cherries (Prunus species), choosing varieties that were well adapted to the local conditions. Additional fruit trees were given as gifts to Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower. By 1969, the orchard contained twenty-four fruit trees, including sixteen apples, six peaches, and two nectarines (Prunus persica ‘Nectarina’). There were no remaining cherries by that time, and several other non-fruiting trees grew in the orchard.

Shaping the Landscape

Recognizing that they would need someone to oversee the operations of their newly acquired farm, the Eisenhowers hired Arthur Nevins as farm manager in 1951. Nevins managed the day-to-day business of the farm and maintained a good working relationship with chief farmer Ivan Feaster and the farm hands responsible for the manual labor that was required to keep the farm productive.

The apple trees in the orchard today reflect the characteristics of orchards grown in the mid-1900s, pruned into an open-bowl shape and formed on a short trunk.

NPS

The ornamental landscape work was influenced by Chief Petty Officer Walter West, grounds crew supervisor at the farm. Although he had a background in horticulture and landscape architecture, West and the other farm hands were not experienced in orchard management. General Eisenhower had to find advice for improving the orchard elsewhere. Ethel Wetzel’s husband ran an orchard in eastern Pennsylvania, and he assisted with occasional pruning and guidance. Eisenhower also went to the Agricultural Extension at Pennsylvania State University for spraying schedules, soil tests, and other information. His fruit production did improve somewhat, but it was never considered high-quality.

Although many of the orchard trees from the Eisenhower period are gone or in poor condition, the remaining trees provide evidence of Eisenhower’s interest in modernizing the farm. The form of the fruit trees and their spacing reflect the characteristics of orchards grown in the mid-1900s. Trees are pruned into an open-bowl shaped scaffold, allowing more light to reach the inner branches. They are formed on a short trunk to bring the canopy closer to the ground than fruit trees grown in earlier periods. However, they were likely grafted using seedling rootstock rather than the dwarfing rootstock that would characterize commercial orchards planted later in the 1900s, when fruit trees were grown much smaller and closer together. The known varieties are Golden Delicious, one of the most important modern apple varieties of the mid-20^th century, and Stayman Winesap, a 19^th century variety that originated in Kansas, where Eisenhower grew up.

A row of Norway spruce trees lines the entry drive. The 53 trees were received as a gift from the Republican State Committees of each state and territory in 1955, installed in a repeating pattern with crabapple and some white pine trees. These Norway spruce trees, a significant part of the landscape history and design, are now shading the west side of the orchard area, as large tulip poplars cast shadows from the other direction. This lack of light limits fruit production and is the likely reason that some of the fruit trees lean.

Remaining apple trees grow in the orchard at Eisenhower Farm. Note the trees that line the entry drive to the left, which are also a significant part of the historic landscape and limit sun to the orchard.

NPS

Aerial view of Farm #1 from the south, June 22, 1964. The orchard is indicated by the red arrow.

Lane Studio, EISE NHS Files, #2973

Preservation Maintenance

The Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for Eisenhower National Historic Site contains details of the landscape history, significance, and treatment. Oral histories, correspondence, farm records, and historic photographs, as well as three historic site plans, were used to document changes to the landscape. A 1955 plan is the earliest drawing of the Eisenhower landscape found in the historic record. The designer of this plan is unknown, and it does not indicate whether it is a proposed design or showing the actual landscape as it was installed. Two other plans were developed by the NPS in 1967 and 1969 to record the existing site conditions at the end of the Eisenhower period.

This documentation is used to guide preservation decisions for treatment of historic vegetation, including the orchard. In some cases, existing trees have become quite large and are crowding out or shading other plants, or they are beginning to decline because of age or poor soil conditions. In some cases, the best course of action may be to remove the existing vegetation and plant replacements in the arrangement they were originally planted.

Many of the plants in the Eisenhower landscape require a high level of maintenance to remain healthy and attractive, including the orchard trees. The gardener at Eisenhower National Historic Site has worked to rejuvenate and maintain the orchard, planting and caring for young trees and pruning mature trees. Orchard trees benefit from annual pruning. This is important to maintain the form of trees to represent their appearance during the Eisenhower period, as well as to preserve the health and vigor of the plants.

A drawing of the entrance drive and orchard at Eisenhower Farm in July of 1968, showing the arrangement, variety, and condition of the orchard (in Cultural Landscape Report for Eisenhower National Historic Site, Volume 1).

NPS

Certain species such as peach and nectarine are relatively short-lived trees, while apple trees can survive for many years. This proves true in the Eisenhower orchard, where most of the original apple trees still stand, now dominating the space, while the eight peach and nectarine trees that were extant in 1969 have since been replaced with young trees. A replacement cycle for fruit trees can be projected for certain species based on their lifespan and the conditions and objectives of the site.

The orchard at the Eisenhower Farm continues to be both a reflection of the historic character of the farm and a reminder of the landscape practices during the Eisenhowers’ ownership. Some areas of the landscape were constructed for both design and function, presenting challenges where those purposes meet. Maintenance issues that Eisenhower faced, such as aging trees and challenging difficult growing conditions, continue. And like Eisenhower, the National Park Service continues to strive to bring the orchard to a better condition, through pruning and shaping of the trees, soil testing, DNA testing to identify suitable varieties for replacements, and planning for how to incorporate the other features of the landscape, such as the allée, into the tree layout.

Resources

• Cultural Landscape Report for Eisenhower National Historic Site, Volume 1 (2005)

• Cultural Landscape Report for Eisenhower National Historic Site, Voume 2 (2006)

• Eisenhower National Historic Site Landscape: Cultural Landscape Inventory (2009)

• Historic Resource Study and Historical Base Map - Eisenhower Farm, 1762-1967 (1970)

Notes

1. Cultural Landscape Report for Eisenhower National Historic Site, Volume 1
2. According to Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower.