MILFORD, PA — It was with great anticipation that I went to Grey Towers National Historic Site, which offered a lecture on Spiritualism on September 11.

Located in Milford, the castle-like edifice might have gotten its name from Mary Pinchot, who may have looked up at it on a foggy day and dubbed it Grey Towers. She and her husband James had it built for their family as a retreat from their New York City home. 

The Pinchots were known for their belief in giving back. Here is an example: James Pinchot, upset with the destruction of natural resources, influenced his son Gifford in the late 1800s to pursue a career in forestry. This eventually led to Gifford becoming the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service; eventually he was known as the Father of American Conservation. Ultimately he served as the governor of Pennsylvania.

Spiritualism and the afterlife

The concept of Spiritualism also found its place at Grey Towers through Gifford’s relationship with his first and—maybe—forever love, Laura Houghteling. He met the young woman while doing forestry work in Asheville, NC at the Vanderbilt family home, The Biltmore. Houghteling was living next door at the mansion her father built—known as  Strawberry Hill—to be in a warmer climate for her disease, tuberculosis, known then as consumption.

Houghteling passed on February 7, 1894, just before they were to be married. 

Over the next 20 years, Gifford continued a spiritual form of communication with her, writing down details daily in his diary. 

The book “On Strawberry Hill,” by Paula Ivaska Robbins, delves into Gifford’s belief in Spiritualism. According to Robbins, prior to Houghteling’s death, “Laura and Gifford vowed there was an eternal bond… He and his mother, Mary, visited  spiritualists, mediums and yogis in the hope of contacting his dearly departed.” 

Thirty-eight days after Houghteling’s death, a passage in his diary read, “My Darling is with me and I know it already.”

And so, Spiritualism at Grey Towers: The program began by a reading of a poem titled “There Is No Death,” by J.L. McCreery (1863) and recited by board member Will Voelkel. Rev. Darrell Berger conducted the lecture, expanding on what unfolded at Grey Towers, a place that could be seen as being dedicated to spiritual growth and community. 

Berger, a Unitarian Universalist minister, spent time as a tour guide and became familiar with the house’s stories. He considered Gifford “a Renaissance man,” not just a politician; a man who delved deep into studying forestry first in France, then in North Carolina.

Gifford Pinchot’s belief in the afterlife was as important as living a good life in the present and keeping a community connection.

Gifford and Cornelia

According to Berger, after Houghteling’s death, Gifford’s mom became concerned about his not having an heir to carry on the work he’d done, and made her concerns known to him. Shortly thereafter, Gifford met a very smart and independent woman through his connection with President Theodore Roosevelt. 

Also from a wealthy family but grounded in her pursuit of the women’s right to vote, Cornelia Bryce was a full-fledged suffragette; she has been described as “a 1920s superwoman and self-confident feminist” in Nina Burleigh’s book, “A Very Private Woman.”  

In deference to his mother and having found someone he shared a bond with, at age 49 he married Bryce, who was then 33. They had one son, also named Gifford.

Berger noted that there was no longer any communication between Gifford Pinchot and Laura Houghteling, even though books on Spiritualism are still in the house. 

Undying love?

Robbins, however, believes that “there are compelling reasons to believe that Gifford loved Laura for the rest of his life. Gifford and Laura had followed the teachings of Swedenborg, which says one can have a spiritual marriage that lasts for all eternity and a human marriage that is only temporary. [Pinchot] never threw away their letters, his mementos of her or pictures.” In fact, “he stored them lovingly at Grey Towers in a blue box ordered from Tiffany’s,” less than two months after she passed.          ¬ Page 

A handwritten version of the poem by McCreery was kept inside his wallet, Robbins wrote, and she believed Gifford carried it with him every day. That poem, addressing love that never dies, is reprinted toward the end of Robbins’ book. 

Robbins also believed that “in Gifford’s mind, he already was married to Laura when he married Cornelia.” She viewed a few diary entries about Cornelia, which sounded warm, “but without the emotional intensity of those about Laura.”

The community and Grey Towers

The sense of community begun by his parents at Grey Towers continued as Gifford and Cornelia offered the Finger Bowl experience. People were invited for dinner and sat at an outdoor oversized round table—except it was actually a pool filled with water, surrounded by chairs. Food would be on floats and passed around the water, creating a sense of enjoyment and celebration while eating together. This was one of the joyful times in which people could partake at Pinchot gatherings.

In 1963, Grey Towers welcomed then-President John F. Kennedy to accept Grey Towers and its 102 acres, which were donated to the U.S. Forest Service to promote continued conservation.

Gifford and Cornelia Pinchot are represented throughout Grey Towers. In the gift shop, you’ll find books on the conservation movement, and a photo of Cornelia is on a wearable button with the words “Vote Like a Woman.” 

A sense of Spiritualism might be said to pervade the place as well: Most of the Pinchots’ furniture is still present and their books fill the shelves, even though the house is theoretically no longer occupied.