x
  1. Home
  2.  Entertainment

A walk through history

| 03 Jun 2015 | 02:47
    Jeanette Peluso (at far left seated) of Lake Ariel with friends in a portrait framed by a hollowed section of a stone wall at the entrance to 'The Bait Box'. The Bait Box is an elaborate play house built for the son of former Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot.
    Jeanette Peluso (at far left seated) of Lake Ariel with friends in a portrait framed by a hollowed section of a stone wall at the entrance to 'The Bait Box'. The Bait Box is an elaborate play house built for the son of former Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot.
    A reflecting pool leads to The Bait Box on the grounds of Grey Towers.
    A reflecting pool leads to The Bait Box on the grounds of Grey Towers.
    A side view of Grey Towers. Conical roofed towers at three of the corners give the property its name.
    A side view of Grey Towers. Conical roofed towers at three of the corners give the property its name.
    A view of The Bait Box from the pool area of Grey Towers.
    A view of The Bait Box from the pool area of Grey Towers.
    Steps leading to a moat also provides a view of the front grounds of Grey Towers and the town of Milford off in the distance.
    Steps leading to a moat also provides a view of the front grounds of Grey Towers and the town of Milford off in the distance.
    A tour guide explains the development of the landscape at Grey Towers.
    A tour guide explains the development of the landscape at Grey Towers.

MILFORD — The history of Grey Towers and various fauna and flora on the grounds were discussed with visitors at a walking tour of the Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford on Saturday, May 30.

The site is also known as the Gifford Pinchot House or The Pinchot Institute for Conservation Studies.

The Grey Towers mansion sits on more than 300 acres of land. Besides the mansion there are almost 50 other structures on the estate grounds. The mansion was designed and built by architect Richard Morris Hunt with some later work by Henry Edwards-Ficken with input by owner James Pinchot the father of Gifford Pinchot who eventually inherited the mansion.

The mansion was completed in 1886 after two years of construction.

The Pinchot family are of French extraction. The family made their fortune in America through the lumber trade and real estate transactions.

Gifford Pinchot became the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania (1923–1927, 1931–1935). Gifford Pinchot died on Oct. 4, 1946, at 81, from leukemia. He was survived by his wife, Cornelia Bryce, and his son Gifford BrycePinchot. He is interred at Milford Cemetery.

— Photos by George LeRoy Hunter

For more photos visit www.PikeCountyCourier.com.