Locust Grove, a 150-acre estate and Tuscan-style villa, was purchased by Samuel Morse, painter-turned-inventor. The 19th-century artist invented the electric telegraph and Morse code and made a fortune that his paintings -- though respected -- never brought him. Morse purchased the 1830 Georgian estate from the Young family (today the art, furnishings, and decorative arts primarily recall their stay here) and brought in the noted architect A. J. Davis (designer of Lyndhurst and Montgomery Place) to expand and remodel it. The property has a man-made lake, waterfall, and lovely gardens. A recent addition to the estate is a small but well-done museum dedicated to the life, art, and inventions of Morse, and an excellent visitor center that shows a film on the estate and Morse's life.