By Christine Lynch

Across from St. Joseph’s Chapel on Millfield Street in Woods Hole, the Mary Garden sits on Eel Pond, with its view of the village laboratories on Water Street across the way with the sea beyond. Just entering through the wooden gate of this garden brings a serenity helpful for weathering the stress of the pandemic.

This revered space has been opened to the public in 1937, thanks to the generosity of Frances Crane Lillie. She donated the monies for both the garden and bell tower on church land bestowed by Joseph Story Fay in the 1880s. Ms. Lillie was a deeply religious person, yet she also was steeped in the world of science. Growing up with vast wealth, she married Frank R. Lillie, a respected zoologist with connections to The University of Chicago and the Marine Biological Laboratory. He ultimately became director and president of the MBL. Ms. Lillie found religions fascinating and embraced mystical Catholicism, which led her to dedicate this 189-by-25-foot parcel in honor of the Virgin Mary. Her Mary Garden was the first of its kind in America. Read more …