Centennial Celebrations: A Landmark, A Legacy

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This year, we join the National Park Service in celebrating its centennial anniversary.Sustainable Logging on Biltmore Estate

With an emphasis on strict preservation, the National Park Service focuses on protecting natural and cultural resources “unimpaired for future generations,” including many historic properties that illustrate the nation’s heritage. Biltmore has been recognized as a designated National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service since 1963.

The Birthplace of Forestry

While Biltmore House as a structure was certainly ahead of its time and holds within its walls a vast collection of art and antiques, the landmark designation is not actually for the house, but for the estate itself as the birthplace of forestry. 

The original description of the estate’s National Historic Landmark designation recognizes Biltmore forest manager Gifford Pinchot, who later served as the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, for his management plan that improved the forest and returned a profit to the Vanderbilts. The plan was the first of its kind and served as a national model.

The description also recognizes Dr. Carl A. Schenck, Pinchot’s successor, for establishing the Biltmore Forest School, also the first of its kind. In its 15 years of existence, the school graduated more than 300 of the nation’s first professionally-trained foresters.

Dr. Carl Schenck with Biltmore Forest School students, 1900

A National Forest is Born

The nearly 87,000 acres of the estate that became Pisgah National Forest are also mentioned in the designation description. After George Vanderbilt’s death in 1914, his widow, Edith Vanderbilt, sold the land to the federal government for just under $5 per acre. However, Pisgah Forest wasn’t established as a National Forest until 1916—making this year its centennial anniversary as well.

Within Pisgah National Forest is the Cradle of Forestry, a National Historic Site located on the grounds of Biltmore Forest School’s Pink Beds campus, where classes were held during the summer. The site, set aside to commemorate the beginning of forestry conservation and the lasting contributions of George Vanderbilt and his forest managers, spans about 6,500 acres of former estate property.

In a public ceremony in 1920, Pisgah National Forest was dedicated to the memory of George Vanderbilt, noting the land as “the earliest example of forestry on a large scale on private lands in America.” The ceremony was attended by Edith and daughter Cornelia Vanderbilt as well as N.C. Governor Locke Craig and George S. Powell, secretary of the Appalachian Park Association. 

Pisgah National Forest Dedication Ceremony, 1920

The Legacy Continues

From the very beginning, Pinchot as well as landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who convinced George Vanderbilt to adopt forestry as his primary business, were determined to make Biltmore a model of forestry for the country.

Reflecting back on the beginning of his employment, Pinchot later wrote: “Biltmore could be made to prove what America did not yet understand, that trees could be cut and the forest preserved at one and the same. I was eager, confident, and happy as a clam at high tide.”*

Pinchot’s prediction was correct and his hope for Biltmore’s significant role was fulfilled.

In 2005, Biltmore successfully expanded its National Historic Landmark designation to include themes of architecture, landscape architecture, and social history, now encompassing the contributions of architect Richard Morris Hunt, Olmsted, estate superintendent Chauncey Beadle, and the significance of Biltmore Dairy.

Today, Biltmore continues to be managed by its original guiding principles. With the centennials of the National Park Service and Pisgah National Forest upon us, there has never been a better time to enjoy the estate’s 8,000 acres of Blue Ridge Mountain beauty. Join us for some of the great outdoor activities Biltmore has to offer. We have much to celebrate.

Images
Feature: Biltmore Forest School students in the woods, 1900**
Top Right: Logging on the estate, late 1800s-early 1900s
Left: Carl A. Schenck with Biltmore Forest School students, 1900**
Right: Pisgah National Forest dedication ceremony, 1920

*Source: Pinchot, Gifford. Breaking New Ground. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Co., 1947.

**Image courtesy of National Forests of North Carolina Historic Photographs, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina Asheville, Asheville, NC. 

Coming home to Biltmore

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The fate of George Vanderbilt’s visionary estate featuring Biltmore House set like a jewel amidst a breathtaking landscape might have been very different if Mr. Vanderbilt’s grandson William A.V. Cecil had not returned to Asheville to take on the management of America’s largest home and all that it entailed.

The Cecils open Biltmore House to the public in 1930

The white elephant

After Biltmore House was opened for public viewing in 1930, it became a well-known attraction in the southeast. By the late 50s, however, the numbers of visitors were dwindling and a decision had to be made: sell the property and turn what many considered a “white elephant” into a state or national historic trust—or find a way to preserve the estate and put it back on its feet financially.

Against most well-meaning advice, Mr. Cecil decided to leave his successful career with Chase-Manhattan Bank in Washington, DC and return to his birthplace to see what he could make of it. According to Howard Covington’s book Lady on the Hill,

“Cecil brought a fresh and appreciative perspective to Biltmore. He saw the chateau not with the eye of a curator hired to present and explain a historic property but as a devoted family member who was proud of what his grandfather had left for him and others to enjoy. Like his father before him, William believed that visitors should be made to feel like guests rather than ticket holders and should be welcomed warmly and treated with courtesy.”

Recovery begins

Mr. Cecil continues to experiment with new projectsTo attract the numbers of guests needed to make the venture successful, Mr. Cecil had to become a one-man marketing department to promote Biltmore House and Gardens to the public. He was more than equal to the challenge, and in the summer of 1960, Biltmore welcomed its one-millionth visitor since tickets were first made available 30 years earlier. The growth was important for the success of Biltmore, because the dairy operation that had sustained the estate for many years was becoming less profitable in the face of new regulations and increased competition.
 

The legacy continues

Mr. Cecil with wine barrels

Now nearly six decades later, Biltmore welcomes more than one million guests annually, and the estate is a glowing tribute to George Vanderbilt’s original vision, the groundbreaking work of his grandson William Cecil, and the Cecil family’s continued commitment to their mission of preserving Biltmore as a privately owned, profitable, working estate. The property includes Antler Hill Village, which features the award-winning Winery and Antler Hill Farm; the four-star Inn on Biltmore Estate; Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate; Equestrian Center; numerous restaurants; event and meeting venues; and Biltmore For Your Home, the company’s licensed products division.

 

Featured image: William A.V. Cecil in front of Biltmore House, circa 1980s

Right: Cornelia and John Cecil open Biltmore House to the public in 1930

Left: William Cecil works discusses the possibilities of raising prawns at Biltmore, circa 1980s

Right:  William Cecil in the winery he envisioned, circa 1985

Packages of Pressed Flowers

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Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, George and Edith Vanderbilt’s only child, was born in August 1900. And with her arrival, Biltmore Superintendent Chauncey Beadle soon found himself nurturing the young girl with the same tenderness and care with which he nurtured the flora of the estate.

A Little Girl's Garden

Before Cornelia was born, Beadle and Edith shared a mutual love of flowers. While travelling, Edith often wrote Beadle about the plants she had seen and admired, asking if they could be planted at Biltmore. Beadle would write Edith, asking her to name new varieties of flowers that he had developed.Chauncey Beadle, 1906

After Cornelia was born, Beadle helped the young girl to cultivate that love as well. The pair spent much time together, exploring the outdoors and enjoying nature’s beauty. A trained botanist and horticulturalist, Beadle personally assisted Cornelia in planting and caring for her own flower garden.

While the exact location of Cornelia’s garden is unknown, it was most likely near one of the borders of the Walled Garden, if not closer to the house, according to Bill Alexander, Biltmore’s Landscape and Forest Historian.

Blooms Abroad

When Cornelia was travelling with her parents, Beadle wrote letters detailing her garden’s growth. He would also often include pressed flowers so that she could enjoy the colorful blooms. Here are excerpts from the charming letters Beadle wrote to Cornelia just before her sixth and seventh birthdays:

Cornelia Vanderbilt, 1906August 17, 1906 – To Cornelia in Paris, France: “I promised you just as you were leaving Biltmore to send you some pressed flowers from your garden, that you may see some of the results of the seeds we planted last spring. Almost all of the seeds grew and thrived and, in particular, I wish you could have seen some large double sunflowers as large as breakfast plates … They were so large that I could not press them and I fear that before your return they will have faded and gone. The little package which I am sending you, however, contains some of the smaller flowers that were easily pressed and, perhaps, before your home-coming, I can send you another lot so that you may be able to enjoy the garden even though you were in Europe…”

August 14, 1907 – To Cornelia at Point D' Acadie, the Vanderbilt’s home in Bar Harbor, Maine: “I have sent you by mail a package containing a number of pressed flowers from your garden which you painstakingly planted and watered. Very many of the plants have made a splendid showing… In the package you will find handsome Larkspurs of various shades and mottled colors… and several other flowers that were in blossom…. You will find the names of the flowers written on the inside of the sheets of paper which contain them, and I am very sure that you will soon know them all by name and will be able to recognize them wherever you may see them growing…”

A Continued Correspondence

George Vanderbilt passed away unexpectedly in 1914 and Edith began spending more time in Washington, DC, where Cornelia attended The Madeira School. Beadle continued corresponding with the pair through the years, bringing Edith up-to-date on estate business and describing the gardens in great detail so both ladies could enjoy them even when they were far from home.

Thanks to their mutual fondness of flowers, Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt remained connected with Beadle through the superintendent’s retirement and beyond. Experience the beautiful blooms that were the basis for this bond, flowers lovely enough to be pressed, packaged, and shared. Visit Biltmore House & Gardens and see what’s blooming now.

Images
Featured: Portrait of Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt, 1906
Right: Chauncey Beadle, 1906
Left: Cornelia Vanderbilt, 1906

6 Biltmore Rooms Named After Artists

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Vanderbilt was an avid print collector who purchased more than 1,400 prints in his lifetime. Not only did he have personal friendships with leading artists of the era, he even named some of the rooms in his home after artists where their work was on display. Below are just a few of the rooms inside Biltmore House with names inspired by artists and how guests can see these on their tour.

Claude Room

This room was named after one of George Vanderbilt’s favorite artists, the French painter Claude Lorrain. One of the masters of 17th-century landscape painting, Claude presented nature as harmonious, serene, and often majestic. The prints on this room’s walls are after Claude Lorrain’s paintings. (See it on the winter tour rotation.)

The striking wallpaper in the Claude Room, reproduced from the original, is the same pattern that is used in the Damask Room, but in a different color palette.
The striking wallpaper in the Claude Room, reproduced from the original, is the same pattern that is used in the Damask Room, but in a different color palette.

Earlom Room

This room was named for the English engraver Richard Earlom. Vanderbilt purchased most of the prints in this room and in his collection from H. Wunderlich and Company in New York. (See it on the Upstairs-Downstairs tour.)

Raphael Room

Highly detailed engravings after the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio d’Urbino add interest to the room’s understated décor. (See it on the Upstairs-Downstairs tour.)

Morland Room

Named for the English painter George Morland, this bedroom attracts attention with exotic Indian-style fabrics. The bed draperies are exact reproductions of hand-painted originals that adorned the Italian villa where George and Edith Vanderbilt honeymooned in 1898. (See it on the summer tour rotation.)

Van Dyck Room

Decorated in the Colonial revival style of the late 19th century, this room features prints after paintings by the 17th-century artist Anthony Van Dyck. (See it on the summer tour rotation.)

Watson Room

This room was named for the engraver James Watson. A close-up of his 1769 mezzotint after a painting by Francis Cotesand is the top photo in this blog. Fun fact: This room is the only bedroom with twin beds. (See it on the summer tour rotation.)

A Great Camp in the Great Outdoors

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In the late 1800s, it was fashionable for families like the Vanderbilts to have a getaway “great camp” or lodge in the Adirondacks so that they could enjoy outdoor activities such as  fishing, hunting, and boating. With Biltmore House complete, George Vanderbilt was able to focus on creating a similar getaway lodge so that family and friends could enjoy the beautiful, remote wilderness that comprised much of his 125,000-acre estate in Western North Carolina. Photo above of Buckspring Lodge, ca. 1920; donated by Mrs. William Todd Ashby.

Buckspring porch

Richard Howland Hunt (son of Biltmore architect Richard Morris Hunt) designed such a camp structure completed in 1896 and named Buckspring Lodge. Located on Mount Pisgah about 20 miles from Biltmore, the lodge was made from chestnut, yellow poplar, and hemlock logs and consisted of three connected buildings; a main lodge, kitchen, and dining building. Later, an assistant ranger's house was built in 1900, with a stable and additional four-room house added in 1903. Perched on the side of the mountain, Buckspring Lodge afforded guests spectacular views of the pristine wilderness. Photo above, ca. 1920; donated by Mrs. William Todd Ashby.

Buckspring fireplace
In today’s terms, Buckspring Lodge would probably be described as “rustic elegant” in design. Inside, there were wood-burning fireplaces. Eventually the lodge was equipped with electricity, telephone service, indoor plumbing, and hot water, all powered by onsite sources. Outside, there was an orchard, tennis and croquet courts, garden, and beehives. In the summers, sheep grazed on the open land at this high elevation, and a Jersey cow was sometimes kept here when the Vanderbilts were in residence. Photo above, ca. 1920; donated by Mrs. William Todd Ashby.

Buckspring exterior

In 1910, a major construction project was undertaken to build a road from Stoney Fork in the Hominy Valley west of Asheville to Buckspring Lodge so it could be accessed by motor vehicle. Mr. Vanderbilt purchased the old Stoney Fork log school and church building in 1911, and had it rebuilt at the lodge for a guest house that later became known as the “Honeymoon Cottage.” In 1912, a log cabin knowns as the ranger's house was erected with hewn logs from three cabins located on Vanderbilt property elsewhere. A full-time ranger and caretaker lived at Buckspring, and a cook and other staff came to stay while the family was at the lodge.

​After George Vanderbilt’s death in 1914, Edith sold around 90,000 acres of land to the U.S. government for the creation of Pisgah National Forest. But she retained Buckspring Lodge and nearly 500 acres surrounding it, and the family continued to enjoy this retreat for decades. When the Blue Ridge Parkway was being developed in the 1950s, Buckspring Lodge and its surrounding property was sold to the state of North Carolina and then transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior to be incorporated in the Parkway property.

Restoration of the lodge proved to be too costly for the Park Service, and it was razed in 1961. Robert C. (Bob) Allen procured logs and materials from the Ranger's Cabin and erected a log cabin in Asheville's Royal Pines neighborhood in the early 1960s. The Allen family, represented by Ernest H. Allen and his sons, Bob and William E. (Bill) Allen, were  longtime estate residents. Ernest and Bill both served as farm managers for decades and Bob drove a truck for Biltmore Dairy. Bob and his wife Phyllis lived in the Royal Pines cabine until his death in 1990. Upon Phyllis’ passing in 2014, Bob’s children Dick and Susie Allen inherited this historic cabin and contributed it, plus many furnishings, to Biltmore in memory of the Allen family.

 

Outdoor Adventure CenterIn 2015, Biltmore dismantled the cabin and carefully reassembled it piece-by-piece on the estate. It now serves as the Outdoor Adventure Center in Antler Hill Village, where guests can arrange outdoor activities including fly-fishing lessons, trail rides, Segway rides, and much more. Stop by to see this cherished part of Biltmore’s history, and plan your own adventures in our 8,000-acre backyard.

Poultry in Motion: Biltmore’s Feathered Friends

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Chickens, turkeys, and other fowl have been strutting and clucking their way across the estate since its earliest days. Biltmore’s two original poultry sheds proved too limited, so in 1896, plans began for what would become the Poultry Yards, located up the hill from what’s now the Farm and Bike Barn.

Richard Howland Hunt, son of Richard Morris Hunt, designed the Poultry Yards, which included the Brooder House, plus the Chicken Tender’s House: the residence for the poultryman and his family. A variety of breeds were raised at Biltmore, including Brahmas, Cochins, Cornish game hens, Leghorns, Minorcas, Plymouth Rocks, and Wyandottes. In addition to chickens, ducks and drakes, Bronze turkey toms and hens, wild turkey, quail, squab, and pheasant were found on the estate. Photo courtesy of National Forests of North Carolina Historic Photographs, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, 28804.

From the start, Biltmore Farms produced award-winning poultry used for eggs as well as meat. In May of 1897, an advertisement in the Asheville Citizen announced the sale of dressed Biltmore broilers at 30 cents each, table eggs at 15 cents a dozen, and “dated and extra selected” eggs at 25 cents a dozen. By the end of that same year, enough eggs were being produced to supply the Kenilworth Inn with eight to 15 dozen a day as well as provide for the needs of Biltmore House.

When the Vanderbilts were in residence and entertaining guests, demand for eggs skyrocketed. According to a June 8, 1896 memo, Biltmore House required nearly 30 dozen eggs a week. Poultry and eggs were served almost daily according to the 1904 Menu Book for Biltmore House. Luncheons and dinners often began with chicken broth or consommé. For second luncheon, eggs were served stuffed, creamed, and fried, and included in cutlets, omelets, timbales and croquettes. Chickens were prepared broiled, roasted, fricasseed, fried, creamed, braised, and in casseroles, potpies and mousse. Other poultry dishes included roast and barbequed duck, braised quail and squab, and roast partridge and goose. Leftover poultry frequently went into salads.

If the 1904 Menu Book is any indication, the poultry most frequently served in Biltmore House was turkey. The Vanderbilts ate roast turkey with cranberry sauce, roast Biltmore turkey, broiled spring turkey, roast wild turkey, turkey soup and croquettes, creamed turkey, chipped turkey and cold turkey in salad. In fact, they ate turkey in one form or another 35 times during one span of 14 weeks, or on average every three days. A recipe for turkey and cornbread dressing was said to be one of Mr. Vanderbilt’s favorite foods. 

The Poultry Farm closed down not long after Mr. Vanderbilt’s death in 1914, but the buildings continued to be used for other purposes. The original Chicken Tender’s House functioned as a residence until it burned in 1931. The Brooder House still stands behind the Inn on Biltmore Estate and can be seen on the Legacy of the Land tour.

Chicken remain a vital part of our farm-to-table program. In the past twelve months, Biltmore’s mostly brown egg-laying flocks (which include heirloom and historic Vanderbilt breeds) have produced 16,080 eggs.

All of Biltmore’s egg layers are free range and are part of our intensive grazing rotation. The eggs are laid, collected, handled and packaged here and never leave the estate. All eggs are processed and incubated in the historic Brooder House. Look for our mobile chicken coops in the fields near the Farm, one of the creative measures our farmers put in place to promote sustainable agriculture on the estate.

A transatlantic collaboration: Recreating a Vanderbilt family heirloom

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Biltmore’s Curator of Interpretation Leslie Klingner was anticipating the arrival of a special delivery when we met recently to talk with her about a unique collaboration that would result in the re-creation of a Vanderbilt family heirloom. 

Due in the very next day from England was the result of that collaboration: a replica of the wedding gown and veil Cornelia Vanderbilt wore in her 1924 wedding to John Frances Amherst Cecil. The gown is part of our new exhibition opening on Feb. 12, “Fashionable Romance: Wedding Gowns in Film.”

Because the new exhibition contains a section devoted to wedding stories about the Vanderbilt and Cecil families, Leslie and team decided to have the ensemble recreated for our guests to enjoy. The original gown and veil are not in Biltmore’s archival collection, yet many photographs exist of Cornelia in the dress including one of her standing on the Grand Staircase in Biltmore House.

Leslie and members of Biltmore’s Museum Services Team joined forces with John Bright and his team at London-based Cosprop, Ltd., a respected costumier to film, television and theater. Biltmore has enjoyed a friendship with Bright and his company since working together on bringing their costumes from “Downton Abbey” to Biltmore for an exhibition in 2015. And of course, Bright’s team is responsible for creating the gorgeous film costumes to be featured in “Fashionable Romance.”

Leslie Klingner studies a lace sample being considered for the reconstruction of Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding dress.

Leslie, staff archivist Jill Hawkins, and curator Lori Garst set about scouring the archives for every photo of Cornelia in her wedding gown they could find. They gathered newspaper clippings about the wedding and descriptions of her dress. They made copies of the material, packed it all up and sent it overseas to Bright. (Back in 1924, news of Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding was akin to coverage of what a modern-day celebrity receives when getting married.)

With all of that information, Bright’s team would create a straight satin foundation with long sleeves and a shortened hemline; and an antique lace stole that forms the lace outer layer of the dress. They would also make Cornelia’s dramatic voluminous veil and its lengthy train.

“The silhouette of the dress was very elegant and its unique structure was more common in the 1920s. It’s modern, and closely cut with an undersheath made from very luxe materials. The draping and length were very much in keeping with the changing fashion of the Jazz Age,” Leslie said.

Before any sewing took place, the teams spent many hours planning by conference call. Fabric and lace samples traveled between Asheville and London. In all, the planning process took one year. Actual construction of the dress took a five-person team at Cosprop seven weeks.

Lessons in ingenuity


That an ocean was between the two teams was but a small technicality in recreating Cornelia’s dress. Issues more challenging presented themselves along the way:

  • Cornelia’s exact measurements were unknown. Leslie and team employed their research skills and came up with a composite for Bright. They knew she was tall, and her 1922 passport application confirmed that she was about 5 feet 10 inches tall. For the remaining crucial details, Biltmore Conservator Anne Battram measured one of the few pieces of Cornelia’s clothing in the archives: her French Renaissance page costume she wore during her 21st birthday masquerade party in 1921.
  • Textiles used in the original dress are no longer made. Despite the absence of the same satin weave fabric used for the sheath of the dress, Bright knew where he could find the closest thing that would match the lustrous sheen of Cornelia’s gown. “He did a fabulous job,” Leslie says.
  • The silk tulle required to create the veil’s volume is no longer available in the original width. Bright is an Oscar-winning costumer designer, so his expertise and experience informed his ability to take the widest silk tulle available and work with it to create the right proportions.
  • The silk tulle is ethereal and light making it subject to wilting in humid conditions. To ensure the veil remains as airy and voluminous as it was on Cornelia’s wedding day for the duration of the exhibition, Bright added a layer of nylon tulle underneath to help maintain the body of the fabric.

The dress indeed arrived the day after our talk with Leslie. We checked back in with her about the results.

“We are absolutely ecstatic with the outcome,” says Leslie. “This was a complex project, particularly since many of materials were antique originally and impossible to source, so we knew we would never be able to create a perfect facsimile. But, John Bright and Cosprop created an astounding likeness of the gown – down to the orange blossoms on Cornelia’s veil.”  

You can see the dress for yourself when “Fashionable Romance: Wedding Gowns in Film” opens Feb. 12.

Featured image: John Bright and his team at Cosprop, Ltd. in London worked from archival photography and newspaper accounts of Cornelia Vanderbilt’s 1924 wedding to John F.A. Cecil to replicate her gown for Biltmore’s new exhibition.

Also featured: Biltmore’s Leslie Klingner compares lace and silk fabric samples sent to her in Asheville, N.C., from Bright in London. 

Building Bridges at Biltmore

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Bridges are a functional and necessary part of getting around Biltmore, and most of us simply drive or walk right over them without really noticing many details. But enormous thought and care went into the planning and construction of these bridges, which are more than a century old.

Hunt, Olmsted, Vanderbilt, and others in the woods

The bridges were designed as a collaborative effort between Biltmore’s architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Brick bridges were typically constructed by the Hunt firm, while the stone bridges were created under Olmsted’s direction.

The first bridges were wooden structures built in the early 1890s prior to the completion of Biltmore House. Although many of the bridges are in areas not now open to guests, there are several that are used and admired every day.

Standing the test of time

You’ll see an enduring example of Olmsted’s stone bridge design about halfway up the Approach Road to Biltmore House. It was created as a horse-ford bridge with a pull-off so that carriages could stop and allow the horses to drink without blocking the road. This bridge once had a semi-circular balcony with a stone bench built into it so that guests could enjoy the scenery and the pond while waiting for the ride to resume.

The iconic brick bridge over the Bass Pond is one of the most beautiful spots on the estate. Its sweeping curve and high archway reflected in the water below made a stunning backdrop a scene in the film Last of the Mohicans—one of many feature films shot at Biltmore–as two central characters rode across it in a horse-drawn carriage.

Details of Bass Pond Bridge

“We know that the Hunt firm designed the Bass Pond bridge, and that it includes brick made at Biltmore Brick and Tileworks,” said Bill Alexander, Landscape and Forest Historian. “Archival records show that it cost $9,570 to complete.”

Another lovely bridge that is often overlooked includes a tunnel allowing pedestrians to cross from the Shrub Garden to the Spring Garden. As you walk or drive between the iron gates in front of Biltmore House, follow the road to the right toward the Conservatory. You’ll cross this bridge just before entering the Walled Garden.

“Olmsted used the same technique in Central Park so that people walking didn’t have to worry about vehicles,” said Bill. “Although it was Olmsted’s idea and plan, Hunt designed and built it. Reading between the lines, we think that Hunt, Olmsted, and Vanderbilt probably planned those important details together.”

Featured photo: Bass Pond Bridge

Righ photo: (L-R, standing) Edward Burnett, Richard Morris Hunt, George Vanderbilt; (L-R, seated) Frederick Law Olmsted, Richard Howland Hunt

Left photo: brick details of Bass Pond Bridge

Preparing for a new exhibition

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The Biltmore Legacy will be closed January 4 – February 11, 2016 to prepare for a new exhibition in conjunction with our Fashionable Romance: Wedding Gowns in Film exhibition that will be displayed throughout Biltmore House February 12 – July 4.

While the costumes on display in Biltmore House will showcase changing styles in wedding fashions for more than 300 years, from the 1700s through the 1930s, as captured in classic feature films such as Sense and Sensibility and The Duchess, the exhibition at The Biltmore Legacy will feature 60 years of Vanderbilt family wedding fashion including Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil’s 1924 wedding gown and veil re-created by noted costume designers Cosprop, Ltd. of London

Jacqueline Bouvier and John F. Kennedy on their wedding day; photo credit: Toni Frissell. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. In addition, guests visiting The Biltmore Legacy will have an opportunity to view the first-ever display of the Lee family veil worn by Mary Lee Ryan for her marriage to George Vanderbilt’s grandson, William A.V. Cecil, and also by her first cousin Jacqueline Lee Bouvier for her marriage to future U.S. President John F. Kennedy.  

In both Biltmore House and The Biltmore Legacy, the exhibition will be complemented by gorgeous floral arrangements carefully researched and inspired by the wedding customs of the time period in which the film or the authentic story was set.

In the Tapestry Gallery, for example, three fresh arrangements on pedestals will provide a beautiful backdrop for costume groupings from Wallis and Edward and several other films. In the first arrangement, the floral creation of blue delphinium and lilacs with white roses, hydrangeas, and lilies is a reproduction of the piece designed for the real 1937 wedding of Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor.

For The Biltmore Legacy, our floral staff reproduced Mrs. William Cecil's bouquet of white roses and stephanotis in silk to accompany her classic 1950s wedding gown that will be on display along with her family veil.

We hope you will join us beginning February 12 to enjoy learning more about wedding fashion as well as the Vanderbilt family.

Remembering our Christmas past

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Christmas has always been celebrated in grand style at Biltmore, beginning with the opening of Biltmore House on Christmas Eve 1895 and continuing today with Christmas at Biltmore. The festivities have always included friends and family, plus a special party for employees of the estate.

Creating traditions

While George Vanderbilt was still a bachelor, he enlisted the help of Mrs. Charles McNamee, the wife of his friend who assisted in purchasing land for the estate, to provide Christmas gifts for 300–500 guests, including estate workers and their families. Mr. Vanderbilt greeted everyone in the Banquet Hall on Christmas afternoon, and members of his own family helped distribute the gifts which included Christmas trees and trimmings for estate employees to decorate their own homes.

In 1897, Biltmore’s Christmas celebration took place at All Souls Parish in Biltmore Village because George Vanderbilt was away from home. According to a report in the Semi-Weekly Citizen, there were “toys and candy and cakes and oranges for the little ones, and books and articles useful and ornamental, dress goods and jerseys, ties and gloves, for the older folk. As in previous and future celebrations, refreshments were served, including ice cream, cake, and bananas.”

Cornelia Vanderbilt and her cousin John Nicholas Brown in 1905

Cornelia Vanderbilt and her cousin John Nicholas Brown, 1905

Celebrating with friends and family

George Vanderbilt married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in 1898, and she took an immediate and active interest in the estate’s annual Christmas festivities. In 1905, when George and Edith Vanderbilt’s only child Cornelia would have been five years old, the New York Times reported the following details about the holiday cheer at Biltmore:

“Mr. and Mrs. George W. Vanderbilt this afternoon provided for nearly a thousand children of Biltmore estate employees a big tree in the banquet hall of the chateau. The little ones were loaded with useful gifts and toys…bought in Asheville in the last week…Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt welcomed each of the little guests, many of whom came twenty miles from the coves and mountain tops of the Vanderbilt forest domain, some walking, some by ox team and some mule back…. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt…personally distributed all the gifts, aided by Mrs. Edith Wharton, Mr. Wharton, and Mrs. Ernesto G. Fabbri (George Vanderbilt’s niece].”

In her oral history, Edith Cauble, whose parents worked on the estate, recalls:

“Christmas parties where Mr. Vanderbilt stood on one side of the front door of the House in tails, and Edith stood on the other side wearing a long velvet dress giving out oranges and candy. In the Banquet Hall there was music and Cornelia would run around with the other children.”
 
Biltmore Employee Christmas party in 1916Employee Christmas party at Antler Hall, ca. 1916

Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt continued the employee Christmas parties even after George Vanderbilt passed away in 1914. In 1916, the event took place outdoors at Antler Hall—a large home originally located where The Inn on Biltmore Estate™ now sits. In the archival photograph featured here, you can see Edith Vanderbilt just to the right of center wearing a dark hat, and Cornelia to her left in a white hat.

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus at the entrance to Biltmore HouseSanta and Mrs. Claus welcome guests to Biltmore

The tradition continues

Today, more than a century after the first holiday festivities at Biltmore, we continue to host our annual Christmas party for employees. It is still a grand occasion with gifts for the children, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and delicious refreshments—and a wonderful opportunity to see America’s Largest Home® lit by the glow of candles and firelight during Candlelight Christmas Evenings.

Featured blog image: Photographs of George Vanderbilt’s parents (William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt)