Welkinweir, the former estate of Everett and Grace Rodebaugh is a 197-acre garden and arboretum that serves as the headquarters and educational center of the Green Valleys Association. For over forty years, the Rodebaugh’s worked to transform the former declining farm into formal gardens, arboretum and sanctuary for biodiversity provided by the ponds, wetlands, meadows, and woodlands in this secluded valley.

The elegant farmhouse was built in 1750, and expanded in 1830 and again in 1940. The 20th century expansion was designed by Philadelphia architect Fridtjof Tobiessen to blend the natural beauty of the surrounding land and provide a pleasant background for relaxed country living and entertaining. Set out on a stroll of the luxurious gardens surrounding the home with fine, mature specimens of rare and unusual trees and shrubs, flowering plants, and water gardens. Trails, of varying lengths, traverse a variety of diverse habitats, permitting visitors to observe a range of birds and wildlife in their natural environment, or to connect to the Horse-Shoe Trail for longer hikes to nearby parks, preserves, and historic sites.

More About Green Valleys Association: Green Valleys Association is a watershed conservancy in Northern Chester County devoted to the protection of water quality and quantity. The GVA stewardship area encompasses 155 square miles of watershed ground that contains the five watersheds of Stony Run, and Valley, Pickering, French, and Pigeon Creeks. The tributaries of these five watersheds run through some of the most productive fish and wildlife habitat in the Northern Chester County. The region is largely rural with more than 70% of the population who depend on the ground water for their drinking water. All of the watersheds under GVA’s stewardship are designated either “High Quality” or “Exceptional Value” by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “Exceptional Value” is the highest protective designation offered by the Commonwealth.