Warren H. Manning (1860-1938) by Margaret Ingraham and Alec Ingraham Warren H. Manning was a direct lineal descendant of Samuel Manning, the early settler who many believe built the Manning Manse in North Billerica (1696). Mr. Manning was instrumental in saving the Manning Manse from collapse in 1900, forming the Manning Family Association to ensure its preservation. Warren Manning became a nationally acclaimed self-taught landscape architect. He was an associate of Frederick Law Olmsted and after Mr. Olmsted's death Mr. Manning was acknowledged to be artistically one of the best representatives of the Olmstedian style of landscape gardening. He was a principal designer or advisor in the planning of many college grounds in all parts of the country, one of which was the Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst, MA. He had a special interest in the development of Massachusetts public parks, reservations, road systems and state institutions. In Billerica Mr. Manning shared his expertise with the town in many betterment efforts, two of which resulted in the creation of the Manning State Forest and preservation of Gilson Hill as open space. The attractive Talbot Oval in North Billerica also resulted from his plans. This article was extracted from the Spring 2000 edition of The Yankee Doodle Times, newsletter of the Billerica Historical Society. Manning's papers reside at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, here: http://library.uml.edu/clh/mancol.htm Also, the Manning Family Association still owns the Manning Manse.