One of America’s wealthiest women had a connection to Laurel
After spending two days at Stone Mountain, I decided to continue east to Charleston on the Atlantic coast. I decided to go by way of Columbia instead of Savannah. As it turned out this was a fortunate decision. About 30 miles after crossing the Savannah River east of Augusta, I noticed a sign for Hopeland Gardens. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have stopped but something about this sign rang a bell in my head. Could this have something to do with Hope Goddard Iselin? I knew she once had lived in South Carolina but I had forgotten where.
Just on a hunch, I took the next exit and rode to the city of Aiken where I stopped to ask for directions. Then I rode down Whiskey Road, a street lined with old mansions until I came to a park partially hidden behind a serpentine brick wall. I could tell this was no ordinary community flower garden. I passed through a gate into a parking lot where I picked up a brochure.
My hunch proved correct; the property had once been the palatial winter home of Hope Goddard Iselin. Mrs. Iselin and her relatives once owned thousands of acres of land in Northeast Nebraska including part of the future town of Laurel. I will get to that part of the story later.
Hope Edith Goddard was born on Jan. 17, 1868, in Providence, Rhode Island. She was descended from the Browns — one of Providence’s oldest and wealthiest families — for whom Brown University is named.
By the time Miss Goddard was in her early twenties, she was in line to inherit a multimillion dollar fortune.
In 1894 Hope married Charles Oliver Iselin in the Goddard family home which stands today on the campus of Brown University.
At the time of their marriage, Hope was 26 years old. Charles was 40 and already a millionaire thanks to his grandfather Isaac and father Adrian.
Adrian Iselin was a Wall Street banker and one of New York City’s wealthiest men. Mr. Iselin helped President Lincoln finance the Civil War.
After the war his money helped build the Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad. The town of Adrian, Minn. is named for him.
Charles and Hope’s honeymoon cottage was a 21,000 square foot mansion built on a rocky peninsula overlooking Long Island Sound near New Rochelle, NY.
The house was named “All View” because every room had a view of the water.
If any readers are interested, the Iselin mansion was placed on the market in January 2018 with an asking price of $23.9 million. In July the price was reduced to $19 million. All you need is a $2 million down payment and you can finance the balance for only $80,379 a month for 30 years.
If you are into fishing or boating, the property features a deep water dock built for Iselin’s three yachts. Mr. Iselin was one of the foremost yacht racers of his time. He defended the America’s cup four times. On three of these occasions, Hope was part of the crew. This was considered scandalous in that era as no woman had ever been part of the crew during an America’s Cup race.
Winters on Long Island Sound can be very cold, so shortly after their marriage, the Iselins began wintering in South Carolina. By the late 19th century, Aiken was known as a winter colony for the rich and famous. For the first couple of years they rented a mansion known as Rye Patch. Around 1897 they purchased 14 acres of farmland adjoining Rye Patch and built their own mansion which they called Hopelands.
Mrs. Iselin had a strong interest in gardening. She is said to have planted many of the magnificent oak and cedar trees that are found throughout the property. Many are now more than 100 years old.
Hope Iselin also was an expert golfer. In 1900 — before there were separate tees for women — she defeated Russian Grand Duke Michael in a tournament sponsored by the Prince of Wales who would become King Edward VII a year later.
Mrs. Iselin’s main interest, however, was thoroughbred horse racing for which she was celebrated both in England and the United States.
She maintained racing stables in both countries well into her 90s. The former Iselin carriage house now houses the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and the farm where she housed some of her horses is now being converted to a housing development.
Charles Iselin died on Jan. 1, 1932. Hope remained a widow the rest of her life. They had two children: a son who died at the age of six and a daughter named Edith Hope who died in Tucson, Arizona, in 2001. One of the buildings on the property is a large playhouse built for her. Part of the building is now a doll house museum; another part is the headquarters of the Aiken Garden Council.
Hope Goddard Iselin died at Hopelands on April 5, 1970. At the time of her death she was 102 years old. In her will she left Hopelands to the City of Aiken under the condition that it be maintained as a public garden. By that time the house had fallen into disrepair and the city fathers sadly decided to demolish it and build three fountains on the foundation. East of where the house once stood is a pet cemetery with markers for six of Mrs. Iselin’s dachshunds. To the south is a bronze bust portraying Hope Goddard Iselin in her younger days.
Next week you will learn how Hope Goddard Iselin’s family came to own thousands of acres of land in Northeast Nebraska including Laurel’s West Hill and the Norris Addition.
