You’re invited to visit the Georgia Heritage Room from now until the end of September to view a special exhibit curated by Harriet Dick Speer, granddaughter of Harriet Adelaide Dick Speer. Harriet’s exhibit tells the story of her grandmother, who was born in 1873 in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In 1898, Harriet Adelaide Dick Speer embarked on a trip around the world with her father, Samuel Bernard Dick, a widower, and her cousin, Leila Laughlin. On these travels she collected textiles, art and artifacts, as well as memories that would impact her granddaughter and namesake, Harriet Dick Speer, born in 1954.
She eventually settled in Augusta with her husband, Joseph McKnight Speer, and their three sons around 1912. An important aspect of Mrs. Speer was her dedication to gardening. At Goshen, where she and her husband build a Dutch Colonial house, she created sunken gardens with formal layouts, cultivated large drifts of daffodils in fields, wisteria supported by a long pergola on the south side of the house, and other species, such as mountain laurel, that she realized would thrive, even in Augusta, due to the slightly higher elevation of their property. Their garden was featured in the 1933 book, A Garden History of Georgia.
The carefully curated exhibit tells the story of Harriet Adelaide Dick Speer through the artifacts most precious to her in her lifetime, as well as those collected during her world travels. Her granddaughter, Harriet Speer, an accomplished artist, includes several of her paintings, inspired by her grandmother’s gardens and home at Goshen.
The Georgia Room is located on the third floor of the Headquarters Library at 823 Telfair Street. Hours are Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.