Around North Florida

North Carolinian Hardy Croom set out to create a magnificent plantation in the 1830s on over 2,000 acres in Leon County, Florida. The original house was a pink Italianate structure with wrought iron gating. If it had stayed in it is original form it would be National Historic Landmark. (Today it is on the National Register of Historic Places.) After a series of owners, New Jerseyian Fanny Tiers bought the estate in 1911 to serve as a winter residence. An extremely wealthy widow, Tiers renovated the house inside and out. Based on her understanding of southern plantations, she ordered the exterior to be changed to its current white facade, added the Georgian columns, and green shutters. She also modernized the house's infrastructure by adding indoor plumbing and electricity. Without these alterations the structure probably would not have survived. In 1925, Tiers sold the house to Senator William C. Hodges who lived there until his death in 1940. His widow, Margaret Hodges stayed in the house until her death in 1978. Her second husband, Thomas H. Hood, established a foundation in her memory and upon his death in 1990 the estate was turned over to its administration.

Throughout its history, Goodwood's owners were interested in gardening. Hardy Croom, for instance, traveled throughout the southeast collecting horticulture specimens. When Tiers took over the property, she remodeled the park-like gardens to adhere to the same orderly Colonial Revival style as the house. During his tenure, Hodges continued to improve the garden, building a greenhouse and investing in a tremendous number of Old Garden Roses. His wife, Margaret, was also interested in gardening but she found it difficult to maintain after Hodges' death. Hence, no new innovations were added to the garden after the 1940s. This neglect has resulted in a unique treasure. Instead of being subject to post-war innovations in herbicides and the introduction of new strains of flora, Goodwood's grounds remain an heirloom of early-twentieth-century gardening.