Victorian Vandergrift Museum and Historical Society

The spirit of Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed landscape designer who worked in partnership with nature, is evident in Vandergrift's natural layout--in its curved, tree-lined streets, in its parklets, and in its wide mall leading from the old railroad station to the historic Casino town hall.
In 1895, Olmsted's firm designed Vandergrift near the end of his disguished career, which began with his design of New York City's Central Park. His many landscape achievements include the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the campus of Stanford University, the Biltmore Estate and city parks from Boston to San Francisco. His master plan for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair helped bring him to the attention of Vandergrift's founder, George McMurtry.

Numerous plans and historic photos of Vandergrift are preserved in Olmsted's studio--a national historic site--in Brookline, MA, operated by the National Park Service. A collection of photos are on display in the Vandergrift Council Room.

For more information about Olmsted, see the Life of Frederick Law Olmsted at the New Bedford Website.