From Private Estate to Public Treasure:
In 1912, renowned architect Charles Adams Platt designed the estate for a couple from Cleveland, James and Mary Alice Parmalee, who wanted to live with a view of the National Cathedral as it was then under construction. The estate was originally named "The Causeway," inspired by the dramatic sweep of its stone entrance drive. The landscape was designed by a
leading landscape designer of the early 20th century, Ellen Biddle Shipman. The estate is one of the last of Shipman's prized, and now historic, gardens. In 1940, Ambassador Joseph Davies and his wife, heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, purchased the estate and renamed it "Tregaron," after an idyllic town in Wales. It was the site of many prominent social and philanthopic events. Tregaron is on the National Register of Historic Places, is a DC Landmark, and is in the Cleveland Park Historic District. A 2006 settlement ended 40 years of attempts to turn the landscape into a housing development. The land was placed into a conservancy in perpetuity, for the public's permanent enjoyment. Visit Tregaron, enjoy its beauty and its history. Join with us as stewards in preserving its living legacy as a historic urban woodland.
