Eolia Mansion - Edward Harkness
- Don Schueler
- May 9, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 23, 2025
Edward and Mary Harkness had a number of homes in addition to Harkness House in New York. Mary's sister and brother-in-law built Eolia. In 1907, Jessie Stillman and William Taylor sold Eolia to them. This property was one of their seven homes and was said to be their favorite. They spent summers, May through September, here at Eolia mansion on Long Island Sound in Waterford, Connecticut, near where Mary had visited her grandparents in the summers. The home and 230 acres (93 ha) of ornamental gardens and grounds are now maintained by the State of Connecticut as Harkness Memorial State Park.
The Harkness' used their steam yacht Stevana (named after his parents) to commute back and forth to New York. The yacht was often anchored in the sound here at Eolia or nearby at Shaw Cove in New London, CT. It turns out that Mary Harkness was an ardent user of Stevana, often traveling back and forth from Eolion to nearby Fishers Island.
In addition to the New York townhouse and Eolia, Ned, and Mary also owned a house on Long Island in Manhasset, New York, on 186 acres called Weekend, designed by architect James Gamble Rogers, plus houses in North Carolina, San Diego, California and a camp at the Ausable Club in the Adirondacks.
While there were no lavish, over-the-top parties at Eolia, Ned and Mary did entertain many guests such as JD Rockefeller and JP Morgan but most guests seen in the guestbook were family and closer friends like the board members of the Harkness's Commonwealth Fund.
Carriage House
The Harkness Family's multi-use support compound was a large U-shaped building. The structure had three distinct wings with different functions. The South Wing, located on the right side of the building, was used as a clubhouse for Edward Harkness and his friends. It boasted a billiards room, squash court, and two bowling lanes. Large windows provided a stunning view of the ocean and the property's sprawling gardens.
Bowling Lanes and Squash Court in the Carriage House
In the central block of the building, there was a garage equipped with a turntable to aid in the parking of Mr. Harkness's growing collection of limousines. The garage also had a gas pump and a car wash.
The North Wing, situated on the left side of the building, served as the horse stables and carriage area. It also had a tack room, smithy, and a designated space for dog grooming. The portals leading to the carriage area had small rounded stones to protect the building from damage caused by the wheels.
Golf at Eolia
Like me, Ned was an avid golfer. He was a member of National Golf Links, Links Club, Cypress Point Club, Valley Club of Montecito, Yeamans Hall, AuSable Club, and Creek Club. So, it makes sense that he would want to be able to play golf at home at Eolia. So, he had a 9 hole course built on the property. More about the course can be found HERE. He was also a member of the Racquet and Tennis Club in New York City and likely played some squash given that there were squash courts (a unique squash tennis style of court) at Eolia and in the Harkness House Carriage House in NYC.
Also, Note to the left of the frist tee was the tennis court.
You can see a circa 1934 Aerial view of Eolia Belowa;
Harkness Memorial Park
Upon her death in 1950, Mary Harkness left the property to the State of Connecticut, specifying the grounds to be used for the purposes of promoting good health. In 1952, the land became a part of the state park system. The park is still operating and open today and tours are available through The Friends of Harkness which you can see HERE.
PLAY ▶This is a video of an interior tour of Eolia. The audio has some issues but if you can't get to Connecticut, this is the next best thing:
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