Erin Byrnes

Built on the site of the home of Arthur and Ninah Cummer is the Cummer Museum. The couple was heavily involved in the community in Northeast Florida. They first moved there in 1897 where the center of the family’s lumber business took place.

#1- The Cummers & their Impact on Jacksonville’s Community

Following the death of their only child in 1909, Mr. and Mrs. Cummer devoted themselves to charitable work. Mr. Cummer served as director and Vice President of Barnett National Bank and was a leading member of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Cummer distinguished herself by organizing relief after the Jacksonville fire of 1901 and was a Red Cross volunteer during World War I. In 1910 she was elected president of the Children’s Home Society of Florida. She organized the first Garden Club of Jacksonville in 1922 and was offered the presidency of Garden Clubs of America, but declined. Ninah had a great knowledge of Florida horticulture, which she shared across the state. She even noted in her will her desire to create “a center of beauty and culture” for the benefit of “all of the people.” Although she was referring to the museum itself, Memorial Park and the greenspaces she advocated for are outstanding examples of her impact on Jacksonville.

#2- English Garden

In 1903, Arthur and Ninah Cummer engaged landscape architect Ossian Cole Simonds. Simonds initial plan was a planting of native trees and shrubs, which highlighted the live oaks along the riverside property. This plan was a foundation for later development in 1910. The Cummers then turned to nurserymen Thomas Meehan and Sons. Meehan and his team created the basic design that exists today. Rectangular in shape, with brick paths alternating with grass walks, this garden was later infused with Azaleas by Ninah and was then called Azalea Garden. It’s currently known as the English Garden.

#3- Olmstead Garden

After Ada Cummer, Arthur’s mother’s death in the early 1930’s, Waldo and Clara Cummer; Mr. Cummer’s brother and sister-in-law, inherited the majority of Ada Cummer’s estate. The couple hired William Lyman Phillips, a partner in the Olmsted Brothers firm, to incorporate this new property into their existing gardens. This particular garden was partly demolished in the early 1960’s to make way for the construction of the museum for Ninah Cummer’s art collection. The museum bought the property in 1992, and fully restored the garden to be reopened in 2013.

#4- Italian Garden

This garden was designed in 1931 by Ellen biddle Shipman and was the ultimate display garden for Ninah’s large collection of Italian marble garden ornaments and hundreds of azaleas. Two long reflecting pools frame the view to the green, ficus-covered gloriette that resembles the famous water gardens at the Villa Gamberaia in Tuscany. Shipman’s name went into obscurity, only to resurface in 1998 when a set of Cummer Museum plans and blueprints were discovered in the designer’s archives at Cornell University by Carolyn Lindsay. Her discovery inspired a re-introduction of the Italian Garden.

#5- J. Wayne & Delores Barr Weaver Community Sculpture Garden

The newest installation of the Cummer Museum Gardens, this was the result of a campus-wide landscape and beautification project in 2013. This garden features four permanent collections from the museum including William Zorach’s Spirit of the Dance, Sir Jacob Epstein’s Seventh Portrait of Kathleen, Archie Held’s Lovers and Takashi Soga’s Sea of the Ear Rings. In addition to these permanent pieces, the Sculpture Garden hosts a temporary collection each year.

The Cummer museum is a great combination of art, gardens and education, reflecting on Ninah and Arthur Cummer’s accomplishments and involvement. The museum itself overlooks 2.5 acres of historic gardens and is situated on the banks of the St. Johns River. It hosts 5,000 works of art, spanning from 2100 B.C. through the 21st century. In light of Covid-19 the museum highly recommends reserving a ticket ahead of time and yes, masks are required.

Sources

https://www.cummermuseum.org/visit/gardens

Cummer History