Giraud Foster

An avid bridge player, equestrian and sailor, Foster accumulated a large fortune from coal and shipping.

[7] The Foster family had had a successful business in the clipper ship era, and he accumulated a large fortune from coal.

The couple had one child, a son:[10] Jean Foster died at Orange Grove, their winter home, in 1932.

[16] For the greater part of his long life, Foster resided at Bellefontaine, the classical 18th century-style mansion which he and his wife built, as a holiday 'cottage', between 1896 and 1898, at Lenox, Massachusetts.

While the Fosters spent their summers at Bellefontaine, they also had a winter home, Orange Grove, Aiken County, South Carolina.

Designed by the eminent New York architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, the house was built around an inner courtyard in a simple classic style; its principal facade dominated by a large portico.

The exterior of the building was restored and the interior was again rebuilt to suit the many clients of Canyon Ranch, which is an elite health spa.