Gardens at Millbourne on path to open as York’s first public garden
Once a hidden gem, work is underway to turn the private grounds of Louis Appell Jr. into a public, accessible garden. Opening is anticipated in 2027.
Work is underway to make the Millbourne estate of the late Louis Appell Jr. and Jody Appell a public garden.The 50-acre site in York Township already has a carriage house, chapel and even a hilltop ruin.The Powder Mill Foundation plans to add accessible trails, a visitors’ center and more before opening the grounds, hopefully in 2027.
The Appell family’s gardens are stepping out from behind the hedges.
Work is underway to ready the Millbourne estate into a public, accessible garden. The Powder Mill Foundation, established by the family, is funding the endeavor and hopes to welcome visitors in 2027.
The project will add features and accessible trails to the estate, which spans 50 acres in York Township and already boasts classic English gardens.
It’s just the latest set of changes at the property — and one that will fulfill the dream of the late Louis Appell Jr.
“He wanted a legacy. He wanted to do things that people would enjoy in the future,” Louis Appell III said about his father.
Seven years: The prominent businessman and his second wife, Jody, created the gardens on the estate they shared from 1980 until Louis’ death in 2016. A groundbreaking ceremony for The Gardens at Millbourne last month marked the next chapter, building upon what they had made.
Michael Hady III, president and CEO of the Powder Mill Foundation, spoke of how the “stunning gardens” have hosted private and nonprofit celebrations tied to causes important to the Appells. Planning for the project was seven years in the making, he said.
George Hodges, chairman of the board of trustees at the Powder Mill Foundation, said Hady’s “interpretation, comprehension and understanding of the plan that Louis and Jody had laid out” was instrumental.
When complete, it will be the first public garden of its kind in York County. Organizers see it as a place akin to Longwood Gardens.
‘Ongoing transition’: Louis Appell III offered some history, referring to the site as an “ongoing transition” since his parents bought it in 1964. When they moved in, a house, barn and garage were all that was there, surrounded by overgrown fields.
“There was nothing here like what you see in the way of gardens or anything,” he said.
He left for school a couple of years later and recalled how the hedges on the side were 12-feet-tall and “awe-inspiring.” But after his parents divorced in the 1970s, he wasn’t sure what would happen to the house.
As it turned out, a lot would transpire on the land after his father moved there with Jody Appell in 1980.
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Louis Appell III described how he watched it transform over the next 35 years. New walls, gardens, bridges, stonework and more went up each time he returned.
“My dad had a plan, and it kept changing,” Appell III said. “But it was amazing.”
English architecture-inspired structures that include a carriage house, a chapel and even a hilltop ruin, built to resemble an actual ruin, were erected.
Louis Appell III said his father never stopped doing the work.
The plans: Now, Stewart & Tate Construction will take it over as the general contractor. Tim Tate, the firm’s president and CEO, called the project a “once in a career opportunity.”
Crews will install approximately 2,500 feet of walkable and ADA-accessible trails throughout the grounds. Much of it will be wheelchair accessible, Tate said.
A new maintenance building, restrooms and a visitors’ center will enhance and support the experience.
Expansion plans include a walled-in courtyard, a detailed rose garden and a reconstructed gazebo. Tate also described secret gardens, water features and a frog pond.
The plans “practically mirrored” what Louis Appell Jr. had envisioned, as found in a book, Tate said, adding that Louis and Jody were likely smiling from heaven.
Louis Appell III said his father’s life “really revolved around making things better for everyone.” And that essence guides the project.
He read a quotation that brought his father to mind: “Blessed is he who plants a tree under whose shade he will never sit.”
The public is asked to stay off the property until the gardens are completed, which is expected to be sometime in 2027. Visit powdermillfoundation.org/millbourne for more information and updates as it progresses.
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