The Garden at Underhill July 2024

​I am unsure of the exact date when the garden was established, but by the mid-1920’s the garden at Underhill was there. Town records show that the 5-acre Underhill property was purchased in September of 1921. I am not sure if the small barn that remains was there at the time or was built later by Miss Edith. I have a photograph from 1926 where you can see the barn and the guest house in the background.

The primary entrance to Underhill was from East Litchfield Road. There was a gravel lane that went to a small barn and then up along the east side of the garden, by the pond, and ultimately to the main house. You can still walk on that lane today. On the left, as you entered Underhill was a small apple orchard. On the right was a small guest house, built in 1926.
 
The garden which was situated directly ahead and on a gradual rise, as you entered Underhill, was large and had a formal layout. I estimate it was about 50 feet wide by 100 feet long and was divided into 4 quadrants defined by grass paths about two feet wide. The paths led to a round central grassy area about 20 feet in diameter. Here there was a rectangular grape arbor with 4 built-in benches where white grapes grew. The garden was bordered along the east and west sides with grape arbors, about 5 feet high that had purple grapes.
 
As one entered Underhill from East Litchfield Road the first thing you saw was a grassy area that contained three white peach trees, and beyond that was a flower border of perennials about 4 feet deep. This made an attractive border for the front of the garden. Beyond this area was where the garden produce was grown. All kinds of fruits and vegetables were grown in the Underhill garden. There were strawberries and red currant bushes which were raised for currant jelly. The vegetables included corn, pole beans, peas, string beans, asparagus, tomatoes, lettuce, beets, cabbage, and much more.

Attached to the barn, two structures were built that are no longer there. First, a loft area was attached directly to the barn this was initially used as living quarters for my dad and mom; then attached to it, a greenhouse about 12-15 feet wide by about 20 feet long. There were also cold frames along the west side of the barn. Also nearby was an in-ground well that supplied water to the buildings and to the garden where there were several above-ground spigots to which a hose could be attached.
 
Each winter, Miss Edith and the gardener would order the seeds for the upcoming season. These were started in the greenhouse, then moved to the cold frames, and finally planted in the garden. I know that George Wilson, Miss Edith’s chauffeur, and Decimo Simoncelli, the main house gardener, tended to the garden in the early years. I have a picture of George Wilson tilling the soil with the barn and the guest house in the background. This had to be in 1926, as sadly he passed away suddenly in 1927.

Alec Derouin who was hired in 1920 to be a butler at 42 Church St. in Waterbury became the Underhill gardener in 1934. He and his wife, Eva lived in a house, on East Litchfield Road a short distance away.  This was on a piece of property that Miss Edith purchased from the Beirne family in 1936.  

Initially, many of the vegetables were canned in glass jars. They were prepared in the kitchen and then boiled in kettles to seal the jars for storage. In later years, produce was frozen and taken to the Litchfield Locker Co. for storage. Dad had to keep track of everything in the locker, exactly where it was stored and the date frozen.  The oldest items were used first, and nothing was kept for over one year.  Older items were given either to friends or Topsmead workers.
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As you can see Topsmead’s Underhill garden was an essential part of the estate and it sustained the household with food throughout the year. I prepared a diagram of the Underhill garden to help visualize what it was like.