Partner Profiles

Essex County Greenbelt’s Allyn Cox Reservation, located on the marshes in Essex, boasts stunning views of a breathtaking New England salt marsh, with an open field, bordered by hedgerow on the edge of a tidal estuary in the Great Marsh ecosystem. Nature enthusiasts, dog walkers, painters, canoers and birders visit throughout the seasons. Ospreys are often seen in a nesting platform in spring and summer.

The property was settled by 1648 as a colonial salt marsh farm and for more than 350 years was a dairy farm and apple orchard. Greenbelt headquarters is located here and serves as a venue for many events, such as the annual Art in the Barn exhibition.

Dogwood, cherry, pear and apple blossoms make for a fragrant spring while hickory, sumac and goldenrod create a golden aura in autumn.

Shorebirds feed on the mud flats, and osprey, herons, egrets and kingfishers dine richly in the salt marsh. The old hayfields surrounding the house and barns are home to bobolinks, meadowlarks and bluebirds.

The property was donated to Greenbelt by noted muralist Allyn Cox, whose work graces the U.S. Capitol Building. In 1940, Cox bought our current property as his summer home and made the barn into an art studio. He donated the property to Greenbelt in 1974.

First time visitors are often surprised to see a true European castle on the New England shoreline. Hammond Castle was built in the late 1920s by scientist, inventor and, interestingly enough, an art connoisseur of the highest order, John Hays Hammond, Jr. (1888–1965). Sitting high on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the castle brings together a unique combination of art, architectural elements and culture, backstopped by many innovative technological applications, yet unknown and unseen by the visitor.

Hammond was widely traveled, and had been exposed to the art and architecture of Europe at an early age. He appreciated the eras spanning ancient times, through the medieval period and into the Renaissance. He purchased a broad collection of artifacts for display, and created his residence around large stone archways, windows, wooden facades and other architectural elements from the Old World. He was aptly described as a man of the future, but who chose to live in the past. The building he left behind is one of the truly unique structures on this continent, where visitors can experience being immersed in a true old Europe environment without actually being there.

Hammond Castle Museum is now in its 47th consecutive season. Last season, nearly 40,000 guests from across the United States and the world visited. The Museum has also been the setting for numerous movies and television shows, commercials and specials. It’s also a popular and gorgeous location for weddings.