Land Use Trail: The Pikel

The Pikel is the grassy space between the lawn and the distant forest.

NPS/Sucena

"I have just been out on the Pikle and the moon is coming up 'becoming silver bright' over burying orchard and the old poplar trees throw their scraggy shadows away out to Long Island gate. Home Creek and the bay are fast asleep with the humming lullaby which a mild south air brings from the sea."

- John Gelston Floyd, Sr to his wife Sarah Kirkland Floyd, November 30, 1852 

Straight ahead of you is a semi-wild space that John Gelston Floyd Sr. coined “The Pikle” in the mid-18th century. The term “Pikle,” or “Pikel,” has its origins in Old English. It is a phonetic spelling of the word “Pightle,” which referred to a small enclosure near a house or a piece of land in an open field. It initially served as the headlands to the agricultural fields and pastures of the lower acreage, a brief break in the landscape between the manicured lawn of the family home and the commercial enterprise of the working farm. By the 1860s, however, the Floyd family chose to give up farming in favor of careers in politics and law. As the house became a summer retreat for hunting and entertaining guests, the Pikle became a borderland for the forest that grew up around the home. Today, it continues to serve as a haven for wild birds and animals.