Consistent with federal and state health and safety guidance all buildings, including restroom facilities, currently are closed. Access via pedestrian gates permitted daily from sun-up to sundown. Trails and walkways may not be winter-maintained. Vehicle gates will remain closed until further notice. We encourage you to follow public health guidelines regarding social distancing and to wear a face covering while visiting the grounds at Grey Towers. In order to continue serving the public, staff is monitoring the phones and email and will respond in a timely manner. Please leave a message for us at 570-296-9630 or sm.fs.greytowers@usda.gov. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we all work together to minimize the impacts and spread of COVID-19.
Grey Towers was the home of Gifford Pinchot, first Chief of the US Forest Service and Pennsylvania Governor for two terms. Located in Milford, Pennsylvania, Grey Towers was completed in 1886 by Gifford's father, James Pinchot, a successful businessman and philanthropist. The Pinchot family enjoyed numerous summers at Grey Towers, entertaining guests with afternoon teas and dinner parties. Here James, disturbed by destructive logging practices then prevalent in the country, encouraged his eldest son, Gifford Pinchot, to consider a career in forestry.
Gifford married Cornelia Bryce Pinchot in 1914 and the couple moved to Grey Towers. Cornelia made sweeping changes in the design and use of the home, making it “more fitting as a Governor’s home.” The power couple continued to use the home for entertainment and their guests helped move forward their conservation, political and social justice platforms. Gifford was elected Governor twice, supported primarily by working class, agriculture and new women voters.
In 1963, Gifford and Cornelia’s son Dr. Gifford Bryce Pinchot donated Grey Towers and 102 acres to the US Forest Service to carry forward the principles set forth by his father. Today the US Forest Service, with numerous partners, administers the site as an education, conference and leadership center. Public programs and tours, education programs, conferences, seminars, and leadership development programs at the estate bring together a diversity of leading conservation and environmental thinkers to help guide the future of natural resource conservation.
