The Presque Isle Historical Society is opening a public garden on the grounds of the Estey House Museum, creating a new art and nature space with a nod to the historic resident’s heritage.
The Historical Society’s public garden will open in the spring at the 1875 Vera Estey House Museum on Third Street, as a revamped replacement of the antique peony garden that was the target of a theft in 2015.
While not fully recreating all the peony varieties, the Historical Society’s project will create a “destination garden” that Estey would approve of, said Kim Smith, the society’s secretary-treasurer.
A pioneer female entrepreneur, Estey moved into the Victorian-era home in 1917 and grew lilies, tulips and other ornamentals for the Boston Fresh Flower Market. She lived at the home until 1984, and died at the age of 98 in 1992.
“The garden was once full of row after row of hundreds, if not thousands, of flowers, truly making it an amazing experience of color and aroma,” Smith said.
The plan for the new public garden will tap into that color and scent with an accessible design and layout that includes a two-tiered flower bed, an arbor for climbing plants, a gazebo, and circular benches under maple trees.
People will be able to go to read, picnic, or even hold a garden wedding, Smith said. The Historical Society also wants possibly to use the site as a venue for public art, which Presque Isle currently does not have.
“Numerous studies have been done that show the benefits of green space and how it impacts the lives of residents,” the Historical Society said in a media release.
The project is made possible with a $500 donation from Lowe’s, as well as a donation from the Peony Society of Maine of three antique peony plants. A local Boy Scout, Garrett Morneault, helped with preliminary preparation and fence installation as part of his Eagle Scout project.
Smith also added that the Historical Society is asking members of the public to consider sponsoring a bench or piece of public art in honor of a loved one or other members of the community.
