In recognition of the lasting ties between the Tyler family and William & Mary that span three centuries, a garden was dedicated at the university on April 30, 2004 just west of James Blair Hall.
The Tyler Family Garden includes bronze busts of three members of the family – Lyon Gardiner Tyler, who served as the 17th president of William & Mary from 1888-1919; his father, the 10th U.S. President, John Tyler, who served as rector and chancellor of the university; and Lyon Gardiner Tyler’s grandfather, John Tyler, Sr. who served as the 15th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Tyler Family Garden is part of an endowment gift from Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Ruffin Tyler, son of Lyon Gardiner Tyler, to William & Mary’s history department. The garden is located outside James Blair Hall which houses the history department, now named the Lyon Gardiner Tyler Department of History.
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