Hopelands

Front inscription

Hopelands was the 14-acre winter estate of C. Oliver (1854-1932) and Hope Goddard Iselin (1868-1970). They acquired the site 1897 and had a Colonial-style home built 1901-02. It was razed 1971. Remaining are a carriage house, caretaker’s cottage, a brick serpentine wall built 1930 by prominent local contractors McGhee & McGhee, and the Doll House, likely a family playhouse. The Iselins supported such local institutions as Aiken Hospital, Fermata School, and Schofield School.

Reverse inscription

C. Oliver was a banker and one of the most successful U.S. yachtsmen of his era, winning multiple America’s Cup races from 1887 to 1903. A respected sportswoman, Hope raised racehorses and in the 1890s was the first U.S. woman to sail in the America’s Cup. The City of Aiken acquired Hopelands upon Hope’s 1970 death, had landscape architect Robert Marvin redevelop the site’s famed gardens, and, in accordance with Hope’s will, opened it to the public 1974 as Hopelands Gardens.