HISTORIC COLONIAL GARDEN:

The Garden at the end of the first year.

The Property: The 230 acre Pardon Gray Preserve was purchased and preserved as permanent open space by the Tiverton Land Trust in 2000. It is an active farm and forest preserve adjacent to Main Road in South Tiverton and contiguous with the 550 acre Weetamoo Woods Open Space. The property, originally part of the Pocasset Purchase signed in 1676, contains many colonial artifacts including the Gray Family Historical Cemetery, an old well house (restored as a visitors’ kiosk) and original stonewalls.

The First Steps

Historical Highlights:
Edward Gray of Plymouth was the largest shareholder of the Pocasset Purchase. His son Edward Jr., known as the founding father of the town of Tiverton, arrived here in 1696. Edward of Tiverton and his wife Mary Manchester had several notable children and grandchildren, as follows: Robert Gray was the first to sail around the world under the American flag. Samuel Gray became the first colonist to die in the American Revolution. David Gray sailed with the famous Capt. Cook. Col. Pardon Gray was influential in the early days of development of Tiverton, and his homestead was the first on this property. From this site he provided food and supplies to the 1500 Revolutionary Army troops camped at Fort Barton a few miles north.

Garden re-creation work in progress

The Historic Garden Project: The Tiverton Garden Club has begun re-creating an historic garden typical of the 18th Century. It will encompass herbal and medicinal plants popular at that time when Col. Pardon Gray lived on and farmed this land. Typically gardens of this era employed raised beds. Rustic trellises were constructed by lashing together branches from the nearby woods. Perennial crops, such as culinary and medicinal herbs were admixed with annual vegetable crops. Vegetables able to withstand long-term storage were emphasized.