Grey Towers National Historic Site, also known as Gifford Pinchot House or The Pinchot Institute, is located just off US 6 west of Milford, Pennsylvania. It is the ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot, first director of the United States Forest Service (USFS) and twice elected governor of Pennsylvania.

The house was built in the style of a French chateau to reflect the Pinchot family's French origins. Situated on the hills above Milford, it overlooks the Delaware River. Pinchot grew up there and returned during the summers when his later life took him to Washington and Harrisburg. His wife Cornelia made substantial changes to the interior of the home and gardens, in collaboration with several different architects, during that time.

In 1963 his family donated it and the surrounding 102 acres to the Forest Service; it is the only U.S. National Historic Site managed by that agency. Three years later the Department of the Interior designated it a National Historic Landmark. Today it is open to the public for tours and hiking on its trails; it is also home to the Pinchot Institute, which carries on his work in conservation.

On this date, the grounds were open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through early November. Guided tours home and gardens start every hour on the hour from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; there is a fee except for July 4 and September 22 (U.S. Public Lands Day). There is also a gift shop. (hours may change as time passes, the two RV Gypsies have nothing to do with that)

Below: The entrance from the parking lot and the building where the two RV Gypsies bought tickets for the inside tour, plus a round window that Karen Duquette liked, and some beautiful flowers.

Below; The mansion itself is a three-story L-shaped fieldstone chateau. Conical roofed towers at three of the corners gave the property its name. A service wing juts out from the fourth corner.

As originally built, it contained 43 rooms, with the first floor featuring a large entrance hall, billiard room, dining room, library and sitting room. Bedrooms are located on the second floor, with more on the third floor plus storage spaces and children's playrooms.

The front of the mansion

The back of the mansion

Below: Forest Service Department of Agriculture Building and a walkway to the rest of the grounds.

Below: In the late 1920s, the Letter Box was added. It is a small cottage intended both as an archive for Governor Pinchot's papers and an office for his political staff when he was in residence, thus isolating the office functions from the main house. Now it is used as an exhibit and public program area, and also serves as a theater where the two RV Gypsies viewed films about Grey Towers and grounds.

Below: In the early 1930s, William Lawrence Bottomley created an unique addition known as the Finger Bowl, an outdoor dining area consisting of a raised pool surrounded by a flat ledge. Chairs were pulled up to the ledge and food was served from bowls floating on the water. It was sheltered by a wisteria-covered arbor supported by 12 stone piers.

Below: Looking up through the top of
The Finger Bowl.

Below: Beautiful flowers near
The Finger Bowl.

Below: Lee Duquette looked out at Karen Duquette
through "The Finger Bowl".

Below: A cooking area.

Below: Cornelia Pinchot's Long Garden (with a very narrow pool of water) was designed to draw the eye to the "Bait Box" and create a "natural hallway" to the room.

Below: Lee Duquette spotted some caterpillars in the pool, so Karen Duquette took photographs.

Below: The Bait Box was a playhouse for the couple's son, Gifford Bryce Pinchot. Elliptical openings in the stone walls around the courtyard provided views over the surrounding landscape. It is a stone and frame structure that in later years served as a tea room for Cormelia Pinchot. Named for the family's love of fishing, the Bait Box provided a quiet respite from the activities of the main residence.

Below: The stone wall on the east side of the small courtyard features an oval aperture overlooking the grounds. Karen Duquette is seen below, looking into the Bait Box patio entrance.

Below: The back of the house and a close-up of the bust of Pinchot that is embedded in the middle of the second floor.

Below: The two RV Gypsies walked from the back of the house, past a tall eagle column and flowers, and down some stairs.

Below: A caterpillar on the stairs

Below: Karen Duquette had fun playing in the fall leaves at "The Tunnel of Trees."

Below: The Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa or Benthamidia kousa) is a small deciduous tree 26 - 39 feet tall, native to Korea, much of China, Japan, Taiwan, Sikkim, Bhutan and the Ryukyu Islands. It is also reportedly naturalized in Hawaii, Connecticut and New York. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental.

The Kousa Dogwood is sometimes also called Chinese Dogwood, Korean Dogwood, or Japanese Dogwood. The fruit is a globose pink to red compound berry, and is an edible, sweet and delicious addition to the tree's ornamental value. The fruit is sometimes used for making wine. It is resistant to the dogwood anthracnose disease.

Below; The two RV Gypsies took a short walk on the Pinchot Timeline Trail that led to the Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Raymondskill Falls

Grey Towers National Historic Site (this page)

Jervis Gordon Grist Mill

Amazing tree sculpture in Milford

fall foliage

Hawk Mountain in Kempton

Coal Miner Statue in Minersville

Gettysburg National Military Park

River Beach Campsites in Milford

Echo Valley Campground in Tremont

Artillery Ridge Camping Resort in Gettysburg

AFTER you have viewed all eleven (11) sections above, please continue on to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. Even if you are not a big fan of aquariums, you should enjoy this one. Thank you for visiting this website.

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