Akron's foremost National Historic Landmark, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, built during the Industrial Age, is one of the finest American Country Estates in existence. While European country houses emerged over generations by families of title and wealth, American Country Estates were built on the sweat of self-made industry giants. Stan Hywet was built by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company co-founder F.A. Seiberling and his wife, Gertrude, between 1912 and 1915.

Stan Hywet Hall

A history of Stan Hywet's historic gardens

AKRON, Ohio -- The design and decor of Akron's Stan Hywet Hall and its historic gardens were greatly influenced by F.A. Seiberling's wife, Gertrude Seiberling, an artist, musician and patron of the arts.

Visitors to the Manor House today not only can tour the gardens, but also hear Gertrude sing through an audio exhibit.



Driven by her passion for gardening and the arts, Gertrude was a founder of the Akron Garden Club and the Tuesday Musical Association, which still work to contribute to the beauty and vibrancy of the city.



In May, Stan Hywet will publish the 3rd book in a series about the Seiberlings and the estate, "The Gardens of Stan Hywet." The series is available on the grounds of the estate at Molly's Shop.



Read on to learn more about Stan Hywet and how its historic gardens were created.

-- Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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Stan Hywet Hall

F.A. and Gertrude Seiberling

Stan Hywet originally included more than 1,000 acres, a working farm, the 64,500-square-foot Manor House and four service buildings. F.A. and Gertrude Seiberling are pictured in the Music Room at Stan Hywet Hall on the eve of their 50th wedding anniversary in October 1937.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The estate

As Stan Hywet Hall Manor House was under construction in 1914, a railroad spur was constructed to bring building materials, plants and furnishings to the front door of the house.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Manor House

Stan Hywet Hall Manor House during construction in 1915.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The stonework

Stone masons working on Stan Hywet Hall grounds and landscape were unskilled workers who averaged $2 in wages for a 10-hour work day.

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Stan Hywet Hall

Landscape designer Warren Manning

Warren Manning was the landscape designer of Stan Hywet Hall’s grounds. He was a student of Frederick Law Olmsted who built Central Park in New York City. Manning completed over 1,700 landscape projects during his career.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The quarry

The land purchased by the Seiberlings included an abandoned sandstone quarry. Manning incorporated this landscape feature prominently in his design, constructing a series of lagoons in the quarry pits.

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Stan Hywet Hall

Tea Houses and the lagoon

The Tea Houses were built at the end of the Birch Tree Allee and overlooked the largest lagoon. The Seiberling family used the Tea Houses as an outdoor entertaining space.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The West Terrace vista view

The Seiberlings hired Cleveland-based architect Charles Schneider to design the Manor House and service buildings, but landscape designer Warren Manning determined the orientation of the house. From the back door, you can look through a carved vista cut in the tree line. For a few days each year in June, the sun sets directly through this vista.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The West Terrace overlook

Gertrude Seiberling stands on the stone overlook off of the West Terrace in 1919.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Manning carved several vistas out of the tree line, emphasizing the vast expanse of land around Stan Hywet Hall. This vista is still visible from the Tea Houses and looks out over the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The view today is the same as it was for the Seiberlings when Stan Hywet was built.

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A mature landscape

Manning was adept at transplanting mature trees. He and F.A. Seiberling agreed the landscape should appear aged as quickly as possible. Manning moved white and black oak trees along the driveway, which still stand today.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Great Garden

The Great Garden, located on the north side of the Manor House, was originally used as a nursery to grow plant materials that would be transplanted around the property. This historic photograph documents this use of the garden in 1915.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Cutting Garden

A view of the Manor House from the Great Garden. The Great Garden was also called the Cutting Garden or Kitchen Garden, and was used to grow fruits and vegetables as well as flowers to be clipped for display inside the house.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Rose Garden

Originally, the Seiberlings' Rose Garden was located on the south side of the property by the Plane Tree Allee. As the trees matured, the area became too shady, and the Rose Garden was moved to the southwest corner of the Great Garden. Here Dorothy Perkins roses grow over the arbor.

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Stan Hywet Hall

Birch Tree Allee

Manning designed the Birch Tree Allee as one of three allees on the property. It extends from the north porch of the Manor House and ends at the Tea Houses.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Plane Tree Allee

The Plane Tree Allee is located on the south side of the Manor House and is composed of London Plane trees with azaleas and rhododendrons. Gertrude Seiberling returned to her lifelong love of painting in the 1930s, and captured many of the gardens in her work.

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Ian Adams

The Japanese Garden

The Japanese Garden was designed by T.R. Otsuka, a Chicago-based Japanese landscape designer. Japanese gardens were extremely fashionable when Stan Hywet Hall was under construction, and Gertrude asked Manning to design one in their landscape. Manning outsourced this garden to Otsuka.

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Stan Hywet Hall

Gertrude Seiberling's favorite garden

Gertrude Seiberling's favorite garden was the English Garden, a sunken walled garden located on the south side of the property.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The English Garden restored

In 1928, landscape designer Manning walked the grounds of Stan Hywet Hall and recommended changes to the now mature landscape. The English Garden needed redesigned, so Manning recommended New Hampshire-based garden designer Ellen Biddle Shipman, who was hired by the Seiberlings to redesign the English Garden. Restored in the 1990s, it is the only restored Shipman garden open to the public today.

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Stan Hywet Hall

A 'Pleasure Drive'

Gertrude Seiberling's painting, "Pleasure Drive" depicts the winding road that wraps around the property. Manning designed it for use by cars or horses to provide different views of the landscape.

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Stan Hywet Hall

A wedding in the Dell

The gardens were used often for parties and celebrations. In October 1919, youngest daughter Virginia Seiberling married Jack Handy in the Dell, a naturalistic wildflower garden.

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Stan Hywet Hall

A putting game

The Seiberlings requested that Manning include recreational spaces throughout his design of the grounds. Manning created a clock golf course (a putting game) on the grass circle in front of the Manor House.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Lagoons

The Lagoons were also designed for recreational use. Family and staff used the outdoor pools for swimming and boating. Stan Hywet Hall also included two tennis courts, a bowling lawn, roque court and walking trails.

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Stan Hywet Hall

The Breakfast Room Garden

One of the first gardens restored to the original Warren Manning design was the Breakfast Room Garden in the late 1980s.

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Stan Hywet Hall

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens restoration

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens works to maintain and accurately restore the grounds to Warren Manning's original design. Between 2000 and 2010, a three-phase project saw the complete restoration of all gardens and grounds surrounding the Manor House. This aerial image shows the restoration in progress of the West Terrace, Perennial Garden and Japanese Garden in 2009.

For more information, visit Stan Hywet Hall's website.