The 1900s Pullman fortune that accidentally launched America’s artisan cheese movement

Hildene Estate Saved Through Local Community Action

Nestled in the rolling hills of Manchester, Vermont, sits Hildene, the Georgian Revival mansion that Robert Todd Lincoln built with his Pullman Company fortune.

Today, visitors can explore Abraham Lincoln’s White House mirror and stovepipe hat in “The American Ideal” exhibit, then head to the working goat dairy where award-winning artisanal cheeses are made daily.

But this presidential estate almost disappeared forever when developers threatened to tear it down in the 1970s.

The remarkable story of how local residents saved Hildene involves an eccentric aviator heiress, a three-year legal battle, and the transformation of a summer retreat into Vermont’s pioneering farm-to-table destination.

Here’s how Pullman railroad wealth, quirky family inheritance, and award-winning goat cheese came together to preserve a piece of Lincoln family history.

Young Robert Lincoln fell in love with Vermont’s cool mountain air

Robert Todd Lincoln first visited Manchester, Vermont in 1863 at age 20. He came with his mother Mary Todd Lincoln and brother Tad to escape Washington’s hot summers.

They stayed at the fancy Equinox Hotel where rich families went to cool off. Mary really hated Washington’s sticky summer heat.

This short Vermont trip stuck with Robert, making him want to return later.

The family liked Vermont so much they planned to visit again in 1865, but President Lincoln’s death that April ended those plans.

Railroad fortune paved the way for Lincoln’s country estate

When George Pullman died in 1897, Robert Todd Lincoln took over as president of the Pullman Palace Car Company, America’s biggest manufacturing business.

The company made luxury sleeping cars that let rich Americans travel comfortably by train. Lincoln ran the company during its most profitable years from 1897 to 1911, then served as chairman until 1922.

His huge wealth from Pullman let him build his dream Vermont estate.

Throughout the 1890s, Robert often visited his law partner Edward Isham’s nearby Ormsby Hill estate, getting to know Manchester again.

Lincoln built his dream home overlooking Vermont’s mountains

In 1902, Robert bought 392 acres of prime Vermont land to build what he saw as his family home. He called it “Hildene,” combining old English words “hil” (hill) and “dene” (valley with stream) to describe the land.

The 24-room Georgian Revival mansion came from top architects Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge and finished in 1905 when Robert turned 62.

He built the home on high ground with great views of the Battenkill Valley and mountains.

The property included gardens, a barn, and farmland, creating the perfect summer place for the president’s only living son.

Three generations of Lincolns called this Vermont estate home

Hildene served as the Lincoln family’s summer home from 1905 until 1975, housing three generations of President Lincoln’s family.

Robert died at Hildene in 1926 at age 83, and his wife Mary Harlan Lincoln kept up the property until she died in 1938.

Their granddaughter Mary “Peggy” Beckwith then got the estate and lived there year-round until her death in 1975. Robert, like many rich men of his time, enjoyed hobby farming at Hildene.

He kept dairy cows, raised chickens, and made milk, butter, and eggs. The estate grew to 412 acres under him, with gardens, farmland, and forest.

Peggy took to the skies in her own planes at Hildene

Mary “Peggy” Beckwith wasn’t your typical presidential great-granddaughter. In 1930, she asked for a ride at Baltimore’s Curtiss airport and fell in love with flying.

By 1931, she got her pilot’s license and built her own landing strip in the meadows of Hildene.

Peggy owned several planes over the years, including a three-seat sports plane, a Curtiss Gypsy Moth, and a plane named Traveler. She even helped the nearby Equinox Hotel build a private airstrip for their flying guests.

Family stories say her grandmother Mary Harlan Lincoln gave Peggy $10,000 to stop flying in the late 1930s, worried about early flying dangers.

Lincoln’s great-granddaughter preferred overalls to high society

By 1938, Peggy Beckwith turned Hildene into a working 412-acre dairy farm with Holstein and mixed Jersey-Guernsey cows. Unlike most rich women of her time, Peggy loved farm life.

Manchester locals often saw her running errands around town “dressed in blue jeans overalls, with a shirt and a man’s cap” instead of the fancy clothes expected from a Lincoln.

She happily shoveled manure, drove tractors, talked to her animals, and kept up with new farming methods.

Peggy added sheep, Black Angus cattle, and maple syrup making to the farm, jobs her grandfather Robert would have hired others to do.

The last Lincoln left Hildene to an unexpected heir

Peggy Beckwith never married or had kids, staying as the last Lincoln at Hildene until she died on July 10, 1975, at age 76.

Following her grandmother’s wishes, she gave the whole estate to the Church of Christ, Scientist instead of distant relatives. Her will asked for her ashes to be scattered over the property she loved, with no funeral.

The church soon realized it couldn’t keep such a big property as a Lincoln memorial as the will asked.

Church leaders decided to sell Hildene to developers who planned to build condos and a golf course on the historic property, putting this piece of presidential history at risk.

Locals fought a three-year battle to save Lincoln’s legacy

When Manchester residents learned developers wanted to build condos and a golf course at Hildene, they took action.

A group of concerned neighbors and history buffs formed the Friends of Hildene nonprofit and started a three-year legal fight to save the estate.

They argued the property should stay intact as a historical site rather than be developed.

After years in court, the Friends of Hildene finally won the right to buy the entire 412-acre estate in 1978 for $200,000.

The group then began the huge job of fixing up the Georgian Revival mansion and 14 historic buildings, opening the property to the public as a museum and learning center.

Goats and cheese revived Lincoln’s farming tradition

The Friends of Hildene opened the Rowland Agricultural Center at Hildene Farm in 2008, bringing farming back to the estate.

The center has a modern cheesemaking facility and Nubian goats housed in a unique barn that mixes 18th-century timber frame building with 21st-century technology.

Builders used wood cut and milled on the property, topped with 109 solar panels on the south-facing roof to power operations. The 10-acre former hay field now shows what small Vermont farms can do with green practices.

This farm revival connects visitors to the land while honoring Robert Lincoln’s original vision of a working estate.

Cheese lovers flock to taste Lincoln estate’s award-winning products

Hildene’s Nubian goats produce milk with high butterfat and protein content, perfect for crafting artisanal cheeses.

The estate’s signature products include fresh chevre, aged tomme that matures for 4-6 months, and Maple Rum Leaf soft-ripened cheese.

During winter months when the goats are dried off and pregnant, cheesemakers use local cow’s milk to continue tomme production.

Both the goat and cow versions of Hildene tomme have won awards and can be purchased in the Museum Store at the Welcome Center.

The cheese operation provides a sustainable revenue source for maintaining the historic property while connecting visitors to Vermont’s agricultural traditions.

Farm-to-table movement found a home at presidential estate

Hildene’s agricultural renaissance represents the heart of Vermont’s farm-to-table movement, showing how small-scale, niche agriculture can thrive in the modern era.

The estate now forms part of the Vermont Cheese Trail, a 280-mile network connecting 55 artisanal creameries throughout the state. Hildene cheeses reach beyond the estate through Provisions International Ltd., which distributes these products to restaurants and specialty retailers across the region.

What began as Robert Todd Lincoln’s summer retreat has evolved into a living demonstration of sustainable farming, education, and environmental stewardship.

The Friends of Hildene successfully preserved not just buildings and land, but also the working agricultural tradition that three generations of Lincolns maintained at this special place.

Visiting Hildene, Manchester

Hildene in Manchester is the Lincoln family’s summer home where Robert Todd Lincoln lived with his Pullman Company fortune. Visit Thursday through Monday, 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

Tickets cost $25 for adults and $8 for kids 6-16, with younger children free.

Your admission includes all venues, but guided house tours cost an extra $12 and need booking two days ahead. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy near the Welcome Center.

Plan for 3-6 hours to fully explore the estate’s presidential history, unique inheritance story, and even its goat cheese production.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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