Marian Coffin at 150: Celebrating the Legacy of a Pioneer in Landscape Architecture
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Marian Coffin at 150
Celebrating the Legacy of a Pioneer in Landscape Architecture
September 24–25, 2026
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library and the University of Delaware
If you have any questions, would like to get involved, or are interested in sponsorship opportunities for the event, please reach out to Anna Wik, RLA, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware.
Choose a sponsorship level that fits your goals—from accessible student support to premier leadership.
Highlights range from program recognition and helping expand student access, to top-billing as a lead sponsor with prominent branding, event mentions, featured support of key moments (reception, meals, speakers), and included tickets and registrations.
Fall 2026 marks the 150th birthday of Marian Coffin (September 16, 1876 - January 2, 1957), the pioneering woman of landscape architecture who designed the landscapes of the UD Green, the gardens of Gibraltar, Winterthur, and Mt. Cuba, and many others in the Delaware Valley and beyond.
This also marks the 10-year anniversary of the launch of the UD Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
To celebrate these milestones, the UD Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program has teamed up with Preservation Delaware, the non-profit that oversees the Coffin Garden at Gibraltar, the Winterthur Museum, House, and Gardens, and Mt Cuba Center, to develop a two-day symposium bringing awareness to the remarkable achievements of Coffin, and her influence on landscapes and relevance of the field of landscape architecture and historic garden and landscape preservation today.
Event Details
Overview
Day one of the event will include a kickoff speech by Val Libby, Landscape Historian, tours of Coffin-designed landscapes throughout northern Delaware, as well as an in-depth visit to the Winterthur Archives, which house Coffin’s decades long correspondence with Henry Francis DuPont. The day will culminate with a screening of the oral history documentary on the Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar, followed by a cocktail reception on the terrace.
Day two of the event will take place at University of Delaware, and will include an exciting group of speakers, including experts on Coffin’s legacy and representatives from Coffin landscapes from Kentucky to New York, a tour of UD’s Campus, a keynote by Dr. Sonja Dümpelmann on the role of women in public space design in the early 20th century, and a student poster session. The day will culminate in a discussion of the new Townsend East Lawn and Garden project and the changing face of the role of landscape architecture in educational spaces, followed by ice cream from UDairy in the University of Delaware Botanic Garden.
Symposium Highlights
- Keynote and invited speakers
- Guided tours of Marian Coffin–designed landscapes
- Student poster presentations
- Site-based discussions
- Breakfast and lunch Terrace reception
- Continuing Education credits for landscape architects (LACES)
- Awaiting approval: Final number of CEUs pending.
Full Schedule
Day One: Thursday, September 24, 2026 | Winterthur
| Time | Event | Location | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00–9:00 a.m. | Registration | Welcome Center | |
| 9:00–9:15 a.m. | Welcome | Copeland Hall | |
| 9:15–10:00 a.m. | Marian Coffin at Winterthur and Beyond | - | Val Libby |
| 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Tour: Group One – Winterthur Group Two – Mt. Cuba & Gibraltar (10:15–11:15 a.m. Gibraltar; 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Mt. Cuba) | Various | |
| 12:30–1:30 p.m. | Lunch | Copeland Hall | |
| 1:30–4:00 p.m. | Tour: Group Two – Winterthur Group One – Mt. Cuba & Gibraltar (1:30–2:45 p.m. Gibraltar; 3:00–4:00 p.m. Mt. Cuba) | Various | |
| 4:15–5:00 p.m. | Oral History Showing + Q&A Session | Copeland Hall | |
| 5:00–7:00 p.m. | Reception | Icewell Terrace |
Day Two: Friday, September 25, 2026 | University of Delaware
| Time | Event | Location | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00–9:00 a.m. | Registration | Townsend Hall Commons | |
| 9:00–9:15 a.m. | Welcome | - | |
| 9:15–9:45 a.m. | Marion Coffin’s Legacy | - | Iris Gestram |
| 9:45–10:15 a.m. | Coffin at UD | - | Jules Bruck; Josh Twardowski |
| 10:15–10:30 a.m. | Transport to Main Campus | ||
| 10:30–11:30 a.m. | Tour of Main Campus – Old College District and the Green | Main Campus | |
| 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. | Lunch and Poster Session | Trabant Student Center | |
| 12:30–1:30 p.m. | Women in the Creation of Public Space (Keynote) | - | Sonja Dümpelmann |
| 1:30–2:00 p.m. | Return to Townsend Hall | ||
| 2:00–2:15 p.m. | Coffee Break | - | |
| 2:15–3:15 p.m. | Fort Ticonderoga / Oxmoor Farm | - | Stuart Lilie, Fort Ticonderoga; Shirley Harmon, Oxmoor Farm. |
| 3:15–4:00 p.m. | Panel of Stewards | - | Liz Allen, Gibraltar; Josh Twardowski, UD; Carol Long, Winterthur; Stuart Lilie, Fort Ticonderoga; George Coombs, Mt Cuba Center; Shirley Harmon, Oxmoor. |
| 4:00–5:00 p.m. | Talk and Tour of Townsend East Lawn and Garden | University of Delaware Botanic Gardens | Lauren Kope, UDBG Director; Rosa Mannion, NV5; Erin Ramsden, NV5. |
| 5:00–6:00 p.m. | UDairy Ice Cream | University of Delaware Botanic Gardens |
Featured Speakers
- Liz Allen
Garden Manager
Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar - Wilmington, DE
- Dr. Jules Bruck, Ph.D., FASLA, PLA
Director, School of Landscape Architecture and Planning
University of Florida- Gainesville, FL - George Coombs
Director of Horticulture
Mt. Cuba- Hockessin, DE
- Prof. Dr. Sonja Dümpelmann (Keynote)
Professor and Chair of Environmental Humanities
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- Iris Gestram
Landscape Historian - King of Prussia, PA
- Linda Eirhart
Alice Cary Brown Director of Garden
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library- Winterthur, DE
- Lauren Kope
Director
University of Delaware Botanic Gardens - Newark, DE
- Valencia Libby
Landscape Historian, Maine
- Stuart Lilie
Vice President of Public History
Fort Ticonderoga, New York
- Carol Long
Garden Manager
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library- Winterthur, DE
- Rosa Mannion, RLA
Landscape Architect
NV5 Design - Philadelphia, PA
- Josh Twardowski, RLA
Director, Landscape Services
University of Delaware - Newark, DE
Getting here
Nearby major airports include...
You have to major options for train and bus access to and from Newark, DE.
- Newark Regional Transportation Center offers intermittent Amtrak and SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) services straight into Newark, Delaware—though not as regularly as the busier Wilmington Station listed below. This station is within walking distance to UD's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources campus.
- Wilmington Station (Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station) offers regular Amtrak and SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) services to nearby Wilmington, Delaware.
You have to major options for train and bus access to and from Newark, DE.
- Newark Regional Transportation Center offers intermittent Greyhound/ FlixBus services straight into Newark, Delaware—though not as regularly as the busier Wilmington Station listed below. This station is within walking distance to UD's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources campus.
- Wilmington Station (Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station) offers regular Greyhound/ FlixBus services to nearby Wilmington, Delaware.
Being here
Hotel block information
- We have reserved a block of rooms at the UD Marriott.
- Other local hotel options will be listed here shortly
UD South Campus
Parking will be available at the University of Delaware's south campus (details coming soon), with bus transportation provided to and from locations on the agenda. Attendees who do not require accessible access should use the provided bus transportation, as parking is limited at Mount Cuba and the Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar.
Winterthur
Parking details coming soon.
Accessibility
Buses being used at the symposium for tours are not wheelchair accessible. Please refer to our Accessibility section for more information.
Buses being used at the symposium for tours are not wheelchair accessible. We encourage only those who need accessible transportation to join us using your own vehicle.
We are unable to provide wheelchair accessible transportation, though portions of the garden tours will be accessible, as described below.
- Winterthur: The Reflecting Pool area is not wheelchair accessible.
- Gibraltar: The Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar feature historic pathways and varied terrain that are not fully accessible in all areas. Walkways include flagstone, crushed stone, dirt paths, steps, and some uneven surfaces with exposed roots. Railings and alternate paths are available in some areas, and seating is located throughout the garden for resting as needed.
- Mt Cuba: Mt. Cuba Center is the former private estate of Pamela and Lammot du Pont Copeland. Because it started as a private residence, some paths are uneven, narrow, or steep.
