Pamela Cunningham Copeland
| Pamela Cunningham Copeland | |
|---|---|
Cunningham Copeland, 1960
|
|
| Born |
May 5, 1906 Litchfield, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | January 25, 2001 (aged 95) Mount Cuba, Greenville, Delaware, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Horticulture, Historic preservation, Philanthropy |
| Spouse(s) | Lammot du Pont Copeland (m. 1930) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Seymour and Stephanie Whitney Cunningham |
Pamela Cunningham Copeland (May 5, 1906 – January 25, 2001) was an American award-winning horticulturist and historical preservationist, known for her philanthropy. Her home and gardens became Mt. Cuba Center, a public garden and research center for Appalachian Piedmont flora that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Pamela Cunningham was born on May 5, 1906, to Seymour Cunningham and Stephanie (Whitney) Cunningham of Forked Chimney, in Litchfield, Connecticut. She attended boarding schools in the United States and, from 1920 to 1921, in France. In 1924, she graduated from the Knox School of Cooperstown, New York. For several years she took lessons in voice at the Juilliard School in New York City, travelling to Paris in January 1929 to study voice.
While in Paris in 1929, Cunningham met Lammot du Pont Copeland. They married on February 1, 1930. From 1930 to 1935 they lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1935 they moved to Wilmington, Delaware. In 1935, they purchased 126.7 acres, the beginning of what eventually became a 250 acre estate. In 1937, they completed construction of the Mount Cuba house which became their permanent home. They had three children, Gerret van Sweringen Copeland, Lammot du Pont Copeland, Jr., and Louisa du Pont Copeland. Pamela Copeland was listed in Forbes Magazine in 1985 as one of the wealthiest people in America, with a fortune of $150 million based on holdings in the Du Pont Co.
In 1937 the Copelands built Mount Cuba, at 3120 Barley Mill Rd., Greenville, New Castle County, Delaware, not far from Wilmington. It was designed by architects Victorine du Pont Homsey and Samuel Eldon Homsey. The house, in neo-Georgian style with extensive gardens, was furnished with eighteenth century American furniture and wood paneling. Copeland was well known for her collections of American furniture and Chinese export porcelain.
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