Thank You to Fallingwater’s Greatest Advocate, Caretaker and Friend
Lynda Waggoner first visited Fallingwater as a teenager in 1965 when interviewing to become a tour guide.
“I arrived here to be a guide – an anxious teenager fearful of speaking in public,” recalled Waggoner of her feelings as a 17-year-old.
Little did she know that this encounter was only the beginning of a long and significant career at the historic house above the waterfall.
Lynda will retire this month after more than 40 years working at Fallingwater in a variety of capacities.
A native of Farmington, Pa., Lynda grew up with an appreciation of the rural communities in Fayette County that surround Fallingwater. Her formative high school and college years as a summer tour guide at Fallingwater exposed her to other cultures and enriched her interests in the arts, culture and architecture. After college, she returned to Fallingwater in 1985 and used that knowledge as a curatorial consultant and became curator and site administrator the following year.
Since 1996, Lynda has held her current position as director of Fallingwater and vice president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. During this time, she led Fallingwater through remarkable projects and fundraising campaigns, such as addressing the structural issues in Fallingwater’s cantilevers in 2000. She also coordinated Fallingwater’s massive collection of sculptures, paintings, textiles and other historical items.
Fallingwater’s immersive educational programs and workshops within the Fallingwater Institute, programming to local schools in Fayette County and surrounding areas and the Insight/Onsight learning experience were all initiated under Lynda’s devoted leadership.
“When I’m showing the building to someone, I walk down the path and still have the same feeling as I did the first time as a teenager,” said Lynda. “It’s a thrilling, wonderful place and I’m going to miss it.”
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is grateful for Lynda’s leadership, vision and enduring care given to Fallingwater to ensure its legacy lives on for generations to come.