Terraces

History

 

A horse-drawn carriage traveling on the north side of Ferrell Gardens circa 1890. The Ferrell family home and original terraces can be seen in the upper left.

A horse-drawn carriage traveling on the north side of Ferrell Gardens circa 1890. The Ferrell family home and original terraces can be seen in the upper left.

The agricultural terraces on the north side of the property date to the period of time when the Ferrells owned the property. We know this because portions of the terracing are visible in photographs from circa 1880. The terracing created more usable land for the cultivation of crops and also helped reduce erosion. Some have speculated that they grew cotton on these terraces; however, we do not have any evidence of which crops were grown. It is possible they were used for a wide variety of vegetable row crops. During this time, the estate was known as “The Terraces,” due to the original terracing, which Sarah Ferrell replicated in her formal boxwood garden.

During Ida Cason Callaway’s time at the estate, an article called “The Garden of Memories” by Barbara Madison Tunnell mentioned trees “supplying an abundance of fruit and nuts” growing on the terraces, including pears, peaches, apples, Japanese and native plums, figs, apricots, cherries, Japanese persimmons, pecans, walnuts, and chestnuts. A nearly-hidden rock path next to the terraces likely was used by Ida and her friends when they visited the pond that used to be at the bottom of the hill. In a 1994 interview with Alice Hand Callaway, Alice stated that Ida “loved to fish and she would catch the fish out of the pond and then she would have her chauffeur drive down and…cook the fish for her and her friends. She had a little log cabin down there to go in if it rained or to sit and play bridge while the chauffeur cooked the fish for supper.”

In this video, Alice discusses the terraces, the original Ferrell family home, and Sarah Ferrell’s tuberculosis diagnosis.

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