Landscape Information
The former estate of Dr. Booker T. Washington, this property is nestled within the south-east portion of the Tuskegee University campus. The estate measures two and-a-half-acres and slopes gently to the southwest from West Montgomery Road.
Dr. Washington, the first president of the institution, acquired the property between 1889 and 1893. He engaged architect Robert Taylor to design a Queen Anne-style residence, constructed by students under faculty supervision in 1889. Dr. Washington commissioned landscape architect David Williston and engaged George Washington Carver to assist with plant selection.
Williston prepared plans for the property (circa 1905) and designed the grounds until 1929. He sited an entry drive, outbuildings, vegetable beds, cold frames, and a cedar framed summer house. He also planted informal groups of native hardwood trees and evergreen shrubs, including specimens transplanted from nearby woodlands. He intended the estate to complement the Picturesque campus, which he concurrently designed with Taylor.
Dr. Washington died in 1915, and the property remained in the ownership of his wife, Margaret Murray Washington, until her death in 1925. The university acquired the property in 1925 and likely under Williston’s direction, realigned the estate’s paths and drive. In the early 1930s a low brick wall was established north of the residence, separating it from West Montgomery Road, a sidewalk, and verge planted with water oak.
Today the property is dominated by the residence and lawn interspaced with specimens selected by Williston, including southern magnolia, red cedar, and pecan. The property is a contributing feature of Tuskegee Institute, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The Oaks has been managed by the National Park Service since Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site was established in 1977.
