Kingwood Center Gardens, Mansfield

In 1952, Mansfield entrepreneur and businessman Charles Kelly King established a trust, endowment and guidelines for how the estate he had owned since the early 1900s would be preserved for the future. Kingwood Center Gardens opened to the public the following year, and visitors have long been drawn to the 47-acre property’s beautiful plantings that evolve throughout the seasons.   

Last year, with the addition of the Garden Gateway Visitor Center, Kingwood Center Gardens announced the historic property would be open year-round moving forward, rather than the seasonal destination it had been.
  
“It provides our guests the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature in every season,” Brenda Nelson, director of development and marketing at Kingwood Center Gardens, says of the 2020 renovations. 

The change came following $10 million worth of upgrades to the property that added 100 parking spots and a parking lot garden as well as new terraces, perennial gardens and expanded pond areas. The Garden Gateway addition also included the visitor center, a new location for administrative offices, a garden and gift shop and more. Renovations inside Kingwood Hall, the site’s 1926 mansion, also provide visitors with more historical context. (Updates in Kingwood Hall will be ongoing in phases during 2021.) 

Also new to Kingwood Center Gardens is the Gateway Cafe, which is operated by Buehler’s Fresh Foods. Visitors can stop there before entering the grounds to get a breakfast muffin and coffee or later in the afternoon for a fresh garden salad, soup, sandwiches and seasonal desserts.
 
“These renovations are beautiful and functional,” says Nelson. “I truly enjoy the terraces off the south side, which are beautiful blue stones.” 

The terraces, including the Fountain Terrace, overlook the new entrance into the gardens.

50 N. Trimble Rd., Mansfield 44906, 419/522-0211, kingwoodcenter.org