Sunday Favorites: A Botanical Beauty

The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, with two bayfront locations in Sarasota County, is a living museum and sanctuary of air plants from around the world, plants native to the State of Florida and regional history. But who was Marie Selby and how did the gardens originate?

Starting a botanical museum was a dream of Marie Selby's, but it wasn't realized until her deathbed.

Born Mariah Minshall of West Virginia's Wood County, Marie, and her family relocated to Marietta, Ohio when she was a young girl. Her father was pursuing a geology degree at Marietta College while working for an oil company where he'd invented several drilling mechanisms.

Marie was a seasoned pianist and musician who was also fond of camping with her family. They frequently hiked the Ohio River and it was during these outings that Marie gained an appreciation of nature.

According to Sarasota historian Jeff Lahurd, Selby and her husband, William (Bill) Selby, met while attending high school. However, the Selby Gardens official website lists William as a partner in her father's oil business when they met. Whatever the case, the two were married on Jan. 31, 1908, at a First Presbyterian Church in Marietta.

While the wedding was lovely, it was the location of the honeymoon that really struck a chord with Bill's young musician bride. He took Marie to the Belle Haven Inn in Sarasota, a hotel he admired during a prior hunting and fishing trip.

Being the adventurous couple that they were, the two spent their first year of marriage road-tripping across the continent. Marie and Bill were fans of the first transcontinental automobile race from Seattle to New York, so when it was over they packed their camping equipment and mimicked the course, finishing six days earlier than the actual winner. In addition to their timely finish, Marie became the first woman in the U.S. to cross the continent by car.

Marie accompanied Bill on his annual hunting and fishing excursion to Sarasota. While they often returned to the Belle Haven Inn, they also stayed at Chapline cottages and on a houseboat docked at the foot of Main Street, according to Lahurd.

Marie and Bill loved visiting the area so much that in 1921 they purchased a seven-acre plot of land on Hudson Bayou, where the gardens are located today. Soon a handsome Spanish-style, two-story home was in the works.

Bill partnered with his father to form Selby Oil and Gas Company, which operated wells in Texas and Oklahoma. While Bill was away conducting business, Marie made the most of her time by landscaping their newly finished home.

Marie was always reluctant to leave their seven-acre paradise for Montana during the summer, where they owned a horse and cattle ranch.

Bill's oil business was flourishing, so to keep his wife happy he started a 3,000-acre Angus cattle ranch in Myakka, where Marie loved to ride and raise horses.

Most of the time, the Selbys kept a low profile, sticking to outdoor activities like hiking, gardening, and boating (they had several boats named "Bilma," a combination of their names).

But in 1955, the couple, who had no children of their own, set up a trust called the William G. Selby and Marie Selby Foundation to help local kids get a college education. They also helped fund New College and Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

While the Selbys had established a lasting legacy, Marie couldn't bear the thought of losing her beautiful home and gardens to a developer. Prior to her death, she set up another trust preserving her property on Hudson Bay.

At the same time, a family neighbor, Dr. and Mrs. James Paulk, who owned the Christy Payne Mansion, were having trouble keeping their historic home afloat after a bout with termites and decades of wear and tear. They donated their home to the Selby Gardens Trust in 1973. In 2020, the trust acquired an additional 45-acre historic property in Venice, known as Spanish Point.

Over the decades, the original $19.5 million Selby trust has grown to a whopping $72 million while still providing more than $83 million in donations to nonprofits and putting more than 3,500 students through school.