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The Friends of Rockcliffe Mansion
invite you to be a part of the
ROCKCLIFFE MANSION CONSERVATION PROJECT
Because of the contributions of time, talents and money, a study and
assessment of the interior finishes of this turn-of-the-century mansion
is underway. The information gathered from this study will be used to
create a long term preservation plan for the Mansion's interior.
The goal of the study will serve as a guide to conserve the
integral original elements of the interior and restore/reinterpret
non-original features to produce a cohesive historic interior.
We hope you will want to be a part of this exciting conservation
project.
To learn more on how you can be a Friend of Rockcliffe, email
us.
THE GARDENS OF ROCKCLIFFE RESTORATION PROJECT
Reclamation of many of the original gardens and the grounds of Rockcliffe
Mansion is currently underway. The grounds themselves are historic,
originally designed by renowned landscape architect O.C. Simonds in
1901:
"Rockcliffe Mansion"
from "Nature as the Great Teacher": The Life and Work of Landscape Designer O.C. Simonds
by Barbara Geiger, copyright 1997
pages 89-91:
Hannibal, Missouri, on the Mississippi River, was a booming city in 1900. The childhood haunt of
author Samuel Clemens and an important river port, Hannibal was home to several millionaires who
sought to outdo one another in residential lavishness. Lumber baron John J. Cruikshank topped them
all. Buying the highest bluff in the area, Cruikshank had the site's existing mansion moved to the
west side of the property and hired Barnett, Haynes, and Barnett, cathedral architects from St.
Louis, to design a colossal brick home commanding a magnificent view of the Mississippi River and
surrounding hills to the south and east. He then hired O.C. Simonds, a prominent landscape gardener
from Chicago, to plan the grounds, reputedly spending $75,000 to implement the design.
The plan incorporated a series of gardens within concentric circles, the rings and borders of trees
and shrubs corresponding to the edges of terraces built to accommodate the extremely step property.
The large number of vines on the planting list covered Rockcliffe's almost vertical hillside. On the
lowest terrace, Simonds planted a vegetable garden and orchard. On the middle level and the areas
next to the house, he designed wooded walks following the hillside contours, opening onto
extraordinary vistas of the Mississippi and views far into Illinois. Simonds planed the grounds for
the other house on the property as well, as an integrated part of the complete design.
The planting list for Rockcliffe included many of the species he used in most of his residential
designs. Simonds's favorites included: spirea (especially van Houteii), Indian currants, sweet
briars, Rosa rugosa, and several viburnam species. He also used a few imported species-forsythia,
barberry, and buckthorn. Near the veranda he preferred lilacs, climbing roses, and honeysuckle for
their fragrance. To cover the steep slopes around Rockcliffe, its porches and large veranda, more
vines were planted than were typical of his projects. These included Virginia creeper, Japan Ivy,
wild grapes, clematis, climbing honeysuckle and roses, and matrimony vine (Lycium vulgare). The St.
Louis Post Dispatch called it the "finest country house in Missouri."
John Cruikshank died in 1924 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery atop another bluff that overlooked
Hannibal from the southeast, and from which Rockcliffe could easily be seen. Because he spent most
of his fortune building and furnishing his mansion, Cruikshank left little money to his widow. She
had Rockcliffe boarded up and then she moved next door to the relatively smaller house her husband
had relocated to make room for the new mansion. Except for youthful vandals, the house was left
alone, and the grounds, like the house, slowly deteriorated.
Sources:
Rockcliffe Mansion brochure, 1996
Nomination form, National Register of Historic Places; from the files of Roberta and Hurley Hagood
Rockcliffe Mansion, "Plan of the Grounds for Mr. John Cruikshank; O.C. Simonds and Company,
Landscape Gardeners, Chicago, Illinois, 1901," at Rockcliffe Mansion
1901 Sunday St. Louis Post Dispatch supplement
Hagood, Roberta and Hurley. Hannibal Yesterdays. (Hannibal, Mo: Hannibal Free Public Library, 1992),
167-68.
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