As it’s Mother’s Day this weekend, Marie Selby, the “Mother of Selby Gardens”, is honored in this week’s segment. Even before moving to Sarasota, she had been an accomplished pianist as well as one of the first women to travel cross country in an automobile. Find out more about this amazing person and why she was named a Great Floridian by the State.
Selby Gardens is featured weekly on ABC7 News at Noon. Tune in Thursdays to see more informative segments like this one.
The name of the Selby family is found throughout Sarasota, from libraries and art galleries to community gathering spots, including our own Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The bayfront property owned by Marie and her late husband, Bill, was willed to the people of Sarasota in 1971 so others could enjoy the natural world amid the city bustle. On this Mother’s Day, we’d like to introduce you to the woman behind the Gardens – Marie Selby, the mother of Selby Gardens.
Marie was born in West Virginia in 1885, but her given name was not Marie – it was Mariah Minshall. She grew up in Marietta, Ohio, on the West Virginia border, and there developed a love of nature, spending time camping with her family. She was also an accomplished pianist who studio the piano at seminary. Marie met her husband, William, in Ohio and the two married in 1908 when Marie was 23 years old. Bill was an oil man working with is father in the Selby Gas and Oil Company, which would later merge with Texaco in the 1940s.
Marie and Bill were kindred spirits who both loved nature and outdoor sports. Inspired by the first trans-continental automobile race in 1905, the adventurous Selby’s decided to drive the route themselves in 1909, making Marie one of the first women to cross the United States by automobile. That same year they first visited rustic, buggy Sarasota, with a population of around 800 people. It wasn’t until 1921, though, that the Selbys moved to Sarasota and bought property on Sarasota Bay, ultimately building the modest home we know today as the Selby House Cafe.
While the Selbys were very wealthy, they were understated and private people. Marie was an equestrian, and was often seen around town wearing dusty riding clothes and boots. Important to Selby Gardens, Marie was an avid gardener and landscaped her property with bamboo and banyan trees, features that are still enjoyed by Gardens guests today. Marie was also a founding member of the Founder’s Garden Circle. After Bill passed in 1956, Marie managed the family trust that would become the Selby Foundation until her own passing in 1971. While the Selbys are recognized throughout Sarasota, Selby Gardens is Marie’s most visible legacy and the institution carries on Marie’s wish that others find enjoyment from her property.
To learn more about this visionary woman who left such a generous gift to her community, come take a self-guided tour, including a permanent exhibit in her house, about Marie’s life. Thanks for watching – We’ll see you in the Gardens!