Walter Shaw

Walter Shaw stands in a boat in the ponds

NPS

Quick Facts

Significance:

Founder of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Place of Birth:

Vinalhaven, Maine

Date of Birth:

July 20th, 1838

Date of Death:

December 30th, 1921

Place of Burial:

Arlington National Cemetery

As the founder of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Walter Shaw lived a very distinct life. A disabled veteran who fought to preserve our country, Walter Shaw went from being an amateur gardener to become an entrepreneur and expert horticulturalist.   

 

Birth and Childhood 

Walter Shaw was born on the island of Vinalhaven, Maine on July 20, 1838. The son of George and Rebecca Shaw, he was raised on a farm and lived on the water. In his teen years the family moved inland to Kennebec County, Maine where his father was listed as a “farmer” on the census report.  

Military Service 

Walter Shaw was drafted into Company B of the 19th Maine Infantry on July 16, 1863, in the middle of the nation’s Civil War. He served as a Private in the US Army and his company fought in engagements throughout Virginia. Less than a year later he was promoted to Corporal and was engaged in heavy fighting during the Wilderness Campaign in Virginia. His unit was fighting at Spotsylvania Court House on May 12, 1864, when Walter was hit with a Minnie ball in his lower right arm which resulted in partial amputation of that arm. He was sent to Columbian Hospital in Washington DC to recover and had to learn to write with his left arm. He was honorably discharged from the Army on March 24, 1865.  

Walter’s neat, self-taught writing with his left hand helped get him a job as a clerk and copy writer with the US Treasury Department in DC.  
 

^{Photo Courtesy of Ethan Brent}  

Aquatic Gardens 

On May 26, 1879, Walter and his wife Luciana purchased 33 acres of land from Luciana’s parents for $2,500 in the growing Benning and Deanwood area East of the Anacostia River. The Shaw’s had three children: Charlie, Lucy Helen, and Robert.  

1888-1912 The development of the Aquatic Gardens at Kenilworth 

Walter began “playing in the water” as he phrased it around 1888. He planted 12 hardy American white water lilies from Maine in an old ice pond on the property. The lilies grew so rapidly that they crowded the little pond, so he used his one good arm and a shovel to excavate additional ponds. He would work on his new hobby in the mornings and evenings. He had so much success that he had more flowers than he could give away. His friends encouraged him to start selling the flowers. He began selling them on a commercial basis in 1889 and he made $33 in profits. The next year he made $125. He found that his hobby became more profitable than his job at the US Treasury, so in 1902 he became a full-time aquatic gardener.  

Walter expanded his business in the following years and began to grow lotus flowers as well. In the late 1890s, Walter developed a drainage and irrigation system to circulate fresh water from the Anacostia River throughout the ponds. By 1907, business was booming! He was earning approximately $1,200 an acre from his ponds and shipping flowers to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and even as far as Chicago. He also expanded his offerings to include 40 different varieties of water lilies and a few types of fish (carp, paradise, and goldfish). 

Walter purchased plants from Egypt, Seirra Leone, Ireland, India, England, and France. He also began experimenting with cross breeding various water lilies. He cultivated a rosy-pink lily “Luciana” in honor of his wife and a deep rose-colored lily “Helen Fowler” for his daughter.  

In 1912, Walter’s advancing age was taking a toll on him and he transferred ownership of the aquatic gardens to his daughter Helen. However, he stayed active in the business until his death on December 30th, 1921. He is buried with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC.