In 1958, after Mrs. Houghton's death, the ground were abandoned and the property eventually subdivided. The beloved "wild garden" fell into decay as volunteer trees crowded out the original plantings and the waterways blocked with silt. 

In 1968, the Newton Conservation Commission persuaded the City of Newton to take nearly ten acres of the original garden by eminent domain as part of the Webster Conservation Area and Hammond Pond Reservation, a 114-acre parcel, the largest conservation area in Newton. In 1979 the Houghton Garden Annex was listed on the National Register of Historic places, and gate east of Woodman Stream were also included in the property. Since that time, the Chestnut Hill Garden Club and the Newton Conservation Commission have worked to preserve the Houghton Pond and woodland garden section of the original estate.