Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center

Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center is a botanical garden and public park located at 170 Longview Road in Chester Township of Morris County, New Jersey. The house and garden, listed using its historic name, Merchiston Farm, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1989 for its significance as the home of the American landscape architect Martha Brookes Hutcheson and her landscaping of the property. The site includes six contributing buildings and six contributing structures.

History and description

In the late 18th century, the property was owned by Frederick Hunnel. The original farmhouse was a simple two-story house. It was expanded in 1848. The property was sold to William and Martha Brookes Hutcheson in 1912. Mrs. Hutcheson designed an expansion of the house featuring Colonial Revival style. It was later expanded by the architect William Lawrence Bottomley in 1927. Hutcheson lived here until her death in 1959. The property became part of the Morris County Park Commission in 1972.