The Fells, historic estate and gardens

The Fells, a Scottish word for rocky hillside meadow, is one of New England's finest examples of an early 20th-century summer estate. John Milton Hay—noted diplomat, statesman and man of letters, also private secretary to Abraham Lincoln—built The Fells in 1891 as a refuge from the heat and public life of Washington D.C. It was the summer estate for three generations of Hay family until in 1972 is was deeded to USFWS as a wildlife sanctuary. It is now owned by a local non-profit of the same name and open to the public. Visitors learn the legacy of John Hay during docent-led historic guided tours of the 22-room Colonial Revival home; observe forest succession while hiking the John Hay Ecology Trail, and explore the renowned gardens.