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The Memorial Garden, designed by Charles Gillette, is the resting place for the Baker-Thompson family. One grave of note is that of Ball Baker who purchased Tuckahoe in 1935 with the help of her sister, Jessie Ball duPont. They preserved history the old fashioned way—by purchasing old properties in order to protect historic structures from demolition. In the case of Tuckahoe they did so to prevent the fine paneling and northern stairway from being removed to a museum in New York. Three generations of Isabelle’s descendants have lived at Tuckahoe since, preserving the beauty and integrity of this National Historic Landmark.
To insure the continuing preservation “in perpetuity” of this special place with its historic buildings and undisturbed setting of great trees, gardens, fields and forests, the Thompsen/Krusen family donated conservation and historic easements to Virginia’s Board of Historic Resources and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
