Westcroft Gardens is state’s oldest family farm
Part of Macomb brothers’ Grosse Ile purchase in 1776

By Rhonda Westfall

Gorgeous blossoms of azaleas, rhododendrons, dogwood and other plants and flowering trees and shrubs welcome guests each year to Michigan’s oldest farm still owned by the same family – Westcroft Gardens. Covering 27 acres on the island of Grosse Ile, the park and botanical gardens was recognized in 1993 as the state’s first Bicentennial Farm by the Michigan Historical Commission.

The flowering plants and shrubs of Constance and Val de Beausset’s Westcroft Gardens are nurtured in the same soil that her family has tilled since the American Revolution. Her great-great-great-grandfather, Alexander Macomb, and his brother, William, purchased all of Grosse Ile July 6, 1776 from the Pottawatami Indians.

"It’s a miracle to have such an old farm still in operation in what is no longer a rural area, but a ‘bedroom community’ only 20 miles from downtown Detroit," said Denise de Beausset, daughter of Connie and Val, who has served as owner/manager of Westcroft Gardens since 1986.

"As the seventh generation of the family to maintain the farm, I feel the responsibility of being the custodian of these remaining 27 acres that have been in the family for 229 years."

Links to history

Five-and-one-half acres of Westcroft Gardens comprise the farm’s botanical gardens, a showcase of azaleas and rhododendrons; 8.5 acres are growing fields still used today; and the remaining 13 acres of woods were once used as growing fields for a rather unique product.

"Robert Lee Stanton, a godson of General Robert E. Lee, farmed Westcroft as a diversified farm, but the main product was hay that was sold for the horses that pulled Detroit’s trolleys," Denise said.

"The invention of the automobile made hay for trolley horses obsolete, so my grandfather, Ernest Newman Stanton, gradually changed Westcroft into a nursery specializing in acid soil products like rhododendrons, azaleas, laurels, dogwoods and other species."

Her grandfather’s knowledge of plants and love of the outdoors led to his development of many hybrids that are grown today in the farm’s 27 greenhouses. He also developed and produced an acid soil conditioner, Greenleaf Compound, that is still manufactured by Westcroft Gardens.

"Unfortunately over the years we’ve lost some of my grandfather’s hybrids of rhododendrons, but we still produce many of his hybrids of azaleas," Denise said. "In the old days, everything was field grown; now everything is container grown."

All but four of the greenhouses are cold frame; the four heated greenhouses are used for growing hanging baskets, flats of annual flowers and over 1,000 varieties of perennials and groundcovers that Westcroft Gardens sells from its nursery business. The sales area is open from April to November.

Botanical garden is showcase

The 13 acres of woods at Westcroft Gardens that were once growing fields were abandoned during the depression and are now overgrown with nursery stock and many wild shrubs and vines.

"We use the woods now for hayrides in the fall and at Halloween, and as a Christmas ‘Wonderland’ during the holiday season," Denise said of the diversified agribusiness.

Still, the hallmark of the farm is the botanical garden that Ernest Stanton created when he returned home from service in Europe after World War I. His renowned varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas are featured in a natural woodland setting that includes native Michigan trees as well as pine and spruce interspersed with a collection of rare and unusual plant material collected over 50 years. The gardens are open year-round – enjoyed both by ‘human guests’ and an abundance of birds and wild life.

"The wish of my mother is to keep the park area open to all nature lovers," Denise said of her parents, who still live in the large white house on West River Road that was built in 1835 by a Macomb cousin, J.A. Rucker II. "We invite guests to come and view Westcroft Gardens during any season of the year – but most especially in the spring."

"Reprinted from February 2005 Michigan Farmer and Used by Permission - Copyright 2005 (c) Farm Progress Companies"

 Westcroft Gardens: historical facts

• Just two days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 6, 1776, a pair of prominent Indian traders and real estate dealers in Detroit, Alexander and William Macomb, purchased Grosse Ile from the Pottawatami Indians.
• A descendent, Denise de Beausset, daughter of Constance and Val de Beausset, currently operates Westcroft Gardens, an agribusiness on the family’s remaining 27-acre site that is recognized as the oldest farm in Michigan still owned by the same family.
• Among the de Beausset ancestors who once lived on the farm was Senior Major General Alexander Macomb, the namesake of Macomb County. He helped lead the U.S. to victory in the Battle of Lake Champlain during the War of 1812.
• Robert Lee Stanton, a godson of General Robert E. Lee, farmed Westcroft as a diversified farm in the late 1800s. A main product was hay for the horses that pulled trolleys in the nearby city of Detroit.
• Ernest Newman Stanton, who developed the botanical gardens that the farm is famous for, served the U.S. in Europe during World War I. During WWII, he was asked to produce food for the armed services, raising thousands of turkeys until V-J Day – after which he said he never wanted to see or hear a live turkey on the farm again.