(1866 - 1950)
Landscape Architect
William and Dorothy Hussey Oral Interview, UNCA, Voices of Asheville.
Jessie Huff Oral Interview, UNCA, Voices of Asheville.
Charles T. Mohr, in the US Forestry Service Photographs Collection
Flame Azalea, from: Lounsberry, Alice. Southern wild flowers and trees, together with shrubs, vines and various forms of growth found through the mountains, the middle district anf the low country of the south. Introduction by Chauncey Delos Beadle. New York: F.A. Stokes Co. 1901. [Wikimedia Commons image]
Born in St. Catherine, Ontario, Canada, Chauncey Delos Beadle studied botany at the Ontario Agricultural College and continued later in the United States at Cornell University. In 1890 he joined Frederick Law Olmsted in Asheville, North Carolina as head nurseryman at Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate. In time, Beadle served as the superintendent (60 years) and treasurer of the Estate. He's credited for the care of over 1,000 azaleas residing in the Azalea Garden and for becoming the leading authority on native azaleas in the United States. In 1908 Beadle began working with E.W. Grove to design the 1908-1913 and 1914 phase of Grove Park, a fine example of early 20th century planned suburban development. The Grove Park neighborhood features curving streets lined with grand trees, sidewalks and stone retaining walls. The park on Charlotte Street signifies the entrance of the neighborhood and is reminiscent of Olmsted's naturalistic landscape philosophy stemming from 18th century English landscapes in Europe. The park gives home to deciduous and evergreen trees, open spaces and stone shelters. Beadle designed the grounds for St. Mary's Episcopal Church in 1915-1916. In 1918, Beadle turned his focus to Biltmore Forest, a community being developed on what had originally been part of the Biltmore Estate. Again, he followed the natural topography of the land when designing roads and paths. He planted a variety of native plants including pine and hardwood trees, mountain laurel, azalea, rhododendron, and dogwood. He incorporated wood and stone into structures such as benches and bus shelter's. Beadle was an asset to the developers who wanted to carry on Vanderbilt's vision of the Estate and the surrounding land. He lived at the Biltmore Estate until his death in 1950. At the All Souls Church in Biltmore, where he was a senior warden, there is a cloister dedicated to him: "Uniting the Church and her children in Worship and Work and Play, the gift of his sons and of his friends is in the memory of Chauncey Delos Beadle."
HJ 2005
Biographical Information Sources
The Designs
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Biltmore Estate
All Souls Church in Biltmore Village
Grove Park
Related Oral Interviews
William and Dorothy Hussey Oral Interview, UNCA, Voices of Asheville.
Jessie Huff Oral Interview, UNCA, Voices of Asheville.