April 1, 2023 - 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
63°F / 17°C
Walkthrough of the Duke Farms estate and gardens in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
Highlights:
00:00 - Hay Barn
02:31 - Farnese Bull Statue
03:36 - Central Way
10:02 - Orchid Range
21:00 - Coach Barn
24:38 - Entering the Arboretum
29:33 - Meditation Garden
36:28 - Oak Way
42:40 - West Way
46:37 - Great Falls
From Wikipedia:
Duke Farms is an estate that was established by James Buchanan Duke, an American entrepreneur who founded Duke Power and the American Tobacco Company. Located in Hillsborough, New Jersey, the property is managed by the Doris Duke Foundation after the death of Doris Duke, James B. Duke's daughter and the second owner. After extensive reorganization, Duke Farms was opened to the public on May 19, 2012.
Duke Farms is owned by the Duke Farms Foundation (DFF) that was established in 1998 to manage the estate. The Foundation, in turn, is part of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. A decision was made to renovate the estate as "a model of environmental stewardship in the 21st Century and (to) inspire visitors to become informed stewards of the land." While reorganizing the estate little was accessible to the public. In 2008, the DFF created some controversy when it permanently closed Duke Gardens demolishing the indoor display gardens that had been created by Doris Duke. Over the years, the DFF created new indoor and outdoor display gardens that are eco-friendly, use native plants, and are wheelchair accessible. In the process of rehabilitation numerous invasive foreign plants were removed including Norwegian maple and Asian Ailanthus and replaced by native species. The property has a number of notable trees, including four of the ten oldest trees of New Jersey, and two champion trees, a Northern Red Oak and an Amur Cork Tree. On May 19, 2012, Duke Farms opened to the public. After a $45-million renovation, Duke Farms now include 30 endangered species and 230 varieties of birds, among which are the great blue heron and the bald eagle. As part of the rehabilitation the conservatory and greenhouses known as the Orchid Range were renovated and became more energy-efficient. The Farm Barn was remodeled to become the Orientation Center. In 2016, the mansion where Doris Duke lived was demolished in order to open up the north side of the property.
