Bellefield was purchased by Thomas Jefferson Newbold in 1885. It stands on the Franklin Roosevelt property between the Roosevelt home and route 9 and is visible from route 9, the Albany Post road. When Newbold purchased the lot, the house was much smaller. He used McKim, Mead and White architectural firm, to add left and right wings with each the size of the original house. He also commissioned Beatrix Farrand to design the garden. She was a renowned landscape designer; among her other work is the Morgan library in New York City (which she supervised for 30 years after the original development). Beatrix was the daughter of Frederick Rhinelander and Minnie Jones. She operated from her mother's house on 11th Street in Manhattan. Bellefield is the only known work on which McKim, Mead and White, the best known society architects, worked with Beatrix, the outstanding landscape and garden designer.

The Farrand-designed garden is behind the stone wall at the extreme right of this photo. A volunteer group is working to restore the garden to its original beautiful state. As the group removes overgrowth, it discovers plantings dating back to the Beatrix Farrand era.

Richard Foy

Fall 2010

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