H. H. Hunnewell
Horatio Hollis Hunnewell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Watertown, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | 20 May 1902 (aged 91) Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, philanthropist, horticulturist |
| Known for | Railroad industry finance, philanthropy to Wellesley College and Arnold Arboretum, horticulture of rhododendrons |
Horatio Hollis Hunnewell (July 27, 1810 – May 20, 1902) was a notable American financier in the railroad industry, a generous philanthropist, and a distinguished horticulturist of the nineteenth century. He was involved as a partner in the Paris-based private banking firm Welles & Co., managed by his relatives by marriage, which specialized in facilitating trade finance between France and the United States. For almost sixty years, he dedicated himself to cultivating and promoting rhododendrons on his estate located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Early life
Born in Watertown, Massachusetts, Hunnewell was the son of Susanna (née Cooke) Hunnewell and Dr. Walter Hunnewell, who graduated from Harvard in 1787 alongside John Quincy Adams. His paternal lineage included his grandfather Richard Hunnewell, a soldier during the Revolutionary War, while his maternal grandparents were Phineas and Abigail Cooke.
Career
From 1862 until 1871, Hunnewell held a directorship at the Illinois Central Railroad. In the 1860s, he emerged as a railroad businessman in Kansas, serving as president of both the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad and the Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Railroad around 1880. At the time of his passing, he was involved as a director with twelve railroad companies along with various enterprises in mining, real estate, and other sectors.
Philanthropy
In 1873, H. H. Hunnewell contributed funds to support Asa Gray’s completion of Flora of North America. He also financed the conifer collection at Boston’s Arnold Arboretum and gifted its administration building (now known as the Hunnewell Building) in 1892.
Living near Henry Fowle Durant, founder of Wellesley College, Hunnewell made donations toward the Eliot Dormitory (1887) and established an endowment for the College’s Chair of Botany in 1901.
As the foremost benefactor of Wellesley, Hunnewell constructed and presented the Wellesley Town Hall and Free Library (finished in 1885), along with adjacent parklands. He regularly supported local initiatives, often providing assistance anonymously to help residents during severe winters.
Personal life
Hunnewell married Isabella Pratt Welles (1812–1888), daughter of Samuel Welles, in 1835. Together they had nine children, among whom were:
- Hollis Hunnewell (1836–1884), who wed Louisa Bronson.
- Francis Welles Hunnewell (1838–1917), husband to Gertrude Gouverneur Sturgis.
- Walter W. Hunnewell (1844–1921), married to Jane Appleton Peele.
- Isabella Pratt Hunnewell (1849–1934), spouse of Robert Gould Shaw.
- Jane Welles Hunnewell (1851–1936), who married Francis Williams Sargent; they were grandparents to Governor Francis Sargent.
Hunnewell passed away at his residence in Wellesley, Massachusetts on May 20, 1902, aged 91. His final resting place is Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge alongside family members.
Estate and arboretum
Starting around 1870, Hunnewell developed several country residences next to his own for seven of his nine offspring. These properties and surrounding farmland—largely retained by his descendants—form the Hunnewell Estates Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The names of both the town of Wellesley (established 1881) and Wellesley College (chartered 1870) originate from Hunnewell’s estate called "Wellesley," named after his wife’s family. The H. H. Hunnewell estate includes an 1851 residence designed by Arthur Gilman, complemented by an attached conservatory and gate lodges designed by Gridley J.F. Bryant between 1865 and 1866. The grounds feature a pinetum with 325 conifer specimens, specialized greenhouse complexes, and America’s first topiary garden—the 'Italian Garden'—all meticulously preserved.
This estate serves as the centerpiece of the Hunnewell Estates Historic District encompassing multiple family properties. By the early twentieth century, twenty adjoining estates belonged to Hunnewell and his descendants within Wellesley. Additionally, he owned the Horatio Alger House in Natick, Massachusetts, originally constructed circa 1824 by Oliver Bacon; acquired by Hunnewell in 1869, it was later deeded to the First Unitarian Church of South Natick in 1909 for use as a parsonage.
Legacy
The towns of Hunnewell, Kansas and Hunnewell, Missouri were named to honor his contributions. At the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, the Hunnewell Arboretum bears his name as a tribute. Additionally, the plant species Rhododendron hunnewellianum serves as a botanical commemoration.
Together with Nathaniel Thayer, Jr, Hunnewell was instrumental in introducing the sport of Real Tennis—an early form of what evolved into modern lawn tennis—to the United States. After experiencing the game in England in 1876, they invited English professional Ted Hunt from Oxford to Boston. They constructed a court at the intersection of Buckingham and Dartmouth Streets in Back Bay, with Hunt overseeing operations. When that property was later acquired by the New York & New Haven Railroad during the same century, Hunnewell relocated and reestablished the club at Hereford and Boylston streets, leading to the creation of the Tennis and Racquet Club of Boston.