78 Frederick Law Olmsted 



"In the summer of 1847 Mr. John Olmsted of Hartford, 

 Conn., was staying, with his family, at the Sachem's Head 

 Hotel where he met Mr. John Bowne of New York. Mr. 

 Bowne's wife was the daughter of Dr. Akerly late of Staten 

 Island, whose family were desirous of selling the farm left 

 by Dr. Akerly. Mr. Olmsted and his son Frederick, being 

 dissatisfied with the prospect for success in the small farm at 

 Guilford, bought not long before for Frederick, accepted Mr. 

 Bowne's invitation to go to Staten Island, South Side, and 

 inspect the Akerly farm. Their impression was so favorable 

 that Mr. Olmsted bought the place, 130 acres, paying for it 

 $12,000.00 and took possession the following winter. The 

 farm stretched from the Main Road to the shore of Prince's 

 Bay about a mile in length. 



"Leaving the main road one entered a very pretty wood 

 of trees of fair size, — oaks, maples, sweet and sour gum, 

 sassafras, holly, etc. After about a quarter of a mile one 

 came out upon the cleared land on the top of a small rise. 

 The soil was heavy red clay, very suitable for wheat, etc., 

 yielding up to 40 bushels per acre. There was a sort of 

 plateau from which the land sloped gently down for about 

 quarter of a mile and then an almost level stretch went to 

 the bank six feet above the beach. From all this part of the 

 farm there was a fine view of Prince's Bay looking across 

 to Sandy Hook (slightly foreshortened), Navesink, and the 

 New Jersey Hills stretching away to the southward. There 

 were no trees on this level with the exception of one tall old 

 pear tree at the foot of which were found from time to time 

 the bones of the slaves who had been buried there. . . 



"The farm commanded a view of all shipping outward 

 or inward bound. . . . 



"The house, standing at the foot of the slope, was built 

 of rough stone plastered over with lime, and had been, until 

 shortly before Dr. Akerly's death, only a story and a half 

 high. He had, in order to accommodate his growing family 

 of grand-children built on in wood a full story and a half, 

 giving nine bed chambers. Outside the junction of the stone 

 and wood was disguised by the roof of an all round piazza. 

 Inside the effect was rather odd for the stone wall a foot and 

 a half thick came up nearly three feet and on top of it were 

 built closets convenient, but queer. Downstairs was an 

 entrance hall of 12 x 16 feet going through from east to west 

 and on each side a 16 ft. square room with tolerably high 



