“Mrs. Gordon’s boys,” Montreal, 1906, by Wm. Notman & Son, via McCord Museum Common on flickr.
The boys’ father was a wealthy businessman and banker, and their garden encompassed five acres. Next door, another four acres were owned by their uncle and aunt, Harriet Brooks Pitcher. She was an early nuclear scientist who contributed to the discovery of radon and worked briefly with Marie Curie.
Montpelier, south of Laurel, Md., 1931, by Frances Benjamin Johnston, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
(Those are antique smoking pipes in the corner.)
The house was built in the early 1780s. George Washington was a guest there several times, and Abigail Adams praised the owners’ “true English hospitality” after a stay.
It still stands, although the boxwoods along the front walkway are gone.
The estate is open to the public and available for events. (Although, it has been closed for much of 2013 for renovations.)
enclos*ure 