Pioneer Information
Born and raised in Connecticut, Eichstedt attended Syracuse University, where he was enrolled at the onset of World War I. He joined the Navy, sailing for England just prior to the war’s end. He stayed in Europe and, because of his language skills, worked at the American Embassy in Turkey. After he was discharged he continued traveling east, circumnavigating the globe before returning to Connecticut.
Re-enrolling at Syracuse University, Eichstedt received a B.A. in forestry. He won a scholarship to complete an M.L.A. at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, but instead accepted an apprenticeship with Jens Jensen in Chicago. Jensen hired Eichstedt to assist in the landscaping of the John D. Rockefeller estate on Mt. Desert Island in Maine, followed by overseeing a portion of the design for the Edsel Ford Estate in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. This opportunity led Eichstedt and his wife Mary to relocate to Detroit where, in the late 1930s, he established his own firm, Edward A. Eichstedt, Landscape Architect. His growing firm attracted a diverse clientele, including Oberlin College in Ohio, the General Motors Corporation, and the Parke Davis Company. His projects also included the Wayne State University McGregor Memorial Conference Center and several shopping centers.
Eichstedt retired to Walnut Creek, California, in the early 1970s. He was an active member of the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club. He published several books titled Notes on Nature, Mostly from articles he wrote for the Rossmoor News.
