﻿July, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  261 
  

  

  a 
  lonely 
  spot 
  on 
  the 
  mountain, 
  between 
  two 
  rocks, 
  and 
  his 
  

   friend, 
  Adam 
  Stewart, 
  as 
  the 
  chief 
  cremator. 
  The 
  civil 
  au- 
  

   thorities, 
  however, 
  interposed 
  and 
  insisted 
  upon 
  giving 
  him 
  

   what 
  they 
  deemed 
  a 
  Christian 
  burial. 
  

  

  Farmington 
  has 
  always 
  had 
  its 
  aristocracy. 
  Its 
  men 
  have 
  

   been 
  representative 
  both 
  in 
  literary 
  and 
  ecclesiastical 
  circles, 
  

   as 
  well 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  social 
  and 
  political 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  She 
  

   gave 
  to 
  us 
  the 
  distinguished 
  Governor 
  Treadwell, 
  the 
  emi- 
  

   nent 
  patriot, 
  scholar 
  and 
  Christian, 
  and 
  of 
  whom 
  an 
  account 
  

   of 
  his 
  public 
  services 
  must 
  be 
  a 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  school 
  

   system 
  of 
  Connecticut, 
  of 
  the 
  rise 
  of 
  foreign 
  missions 
  and 
  

   of 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  political 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  in 
  the 
  days 
  of 
  

   the 
  Revolution; 
  the 
  Rev. 
  Noah 
  Porter, 
  D.D., 
  whose 
  pas- 
  

   torate 
  of 
  the 
  First 
  Church 
  of 
  Christ 
  continued 
  for 
  sixty 
  years; 
  

  

  who 
  served 
  under 
  the 
  personal 
  orders 
  of 
  General 
  Washing- 
  

   ton 
  and 
  who 
  yielded 
  his 
  life 
  to 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  independence; 
  

   the 
  Hon. 
  Timothy 
  Pitkin, 
  Moderator 
  of 
  the 
  General 
  Asso- 
  

   ciation, 
  Trustee 
  of 
  Dartmouth 
  College 
  and 
  Fellow 
  of 
  Yale 
  

   College; 
  and 
  Deacon 
  Edmond 
  Hooker, 
  who 
  kept 
  the 
  "Old 
  

   Red 
  College," 
  which 
  not 
  only 
  counted 
  among 
  its 
  students 
  

   young 
  men 
  of 
  the 
  town, 
  but 
  Southern 
  young 
  gentlemen, 
  who 
  

   came 
  to 
  Farmington 
  to 
  be 
  fitted 
  for 
  college. 
  

  

  The 
  largest 
  and 
  most 
  prominent 
  family, 
  from 
  its 
  earliest 
  

   settlers 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  is 
  the 
  Cowles 
  family, 
  whose 
  rep- 
  

   resentatives 
  have 
  been 
  leading 
  figures 
  in 
  all 
  of 
  its 
  forms 
  of 
  

   society, 
  for 
  they 
  have 
  always 
  been 
  the 
  wealthiest 
  and 
  most 
  

   influential 
  people 
  of 
  the 
  place. 
  Colonel 
  George 
  Cowles, 
  

   who 
  subsequently 
  became 
  a 
  brigadier 
  and 
  then 
  a 
  major 
  gen- 
  

  

  The 
  Most 
  Stately 
  Mansion 
  in 
  Farmington 
  Has 
  an 
  Imposing 
  Facade 
  of 
  Roman 
  Character, 
  and 
  Is 
  the 
  Residence 
  of 
  James 
  Lewis 
  Cowles, 
  Esq. 
  

  

  the 
  Rev. 
  Noah 
  Porter, 
  D.D., 
  LL.D., 
  his 
  son, 
  who 
  became 
  

   President 
  of 
  Yale 
  University, 
  and 
  whose 
  fame 
  is 
  known 
  

   wherever 
  education 
  and 
  civilization 
  extend; 
  and 
  Miss 
  Sarah 
  

   Porter, 
  who 
  established, 
  in 
  1844, 
  a 
  school 
  which 
  subse- 
  

   quently 
  became 
  the 
  most 
  celebrated 
  school 
  for 
  girls 
  in 
  Amer- 
  

   ica. 
  Much 
  as 
  Miss 
  Porter 
  loved 
  her 
  school 
  and 
  devoted 
  her 
  

   life 
  to 
  its 
  welfare, 
  she 
  was 
  none 
  the 
  less 
  identified 
  with 
  the 
  

   village 
  of 
  Farmington 
  and 
  co-operative 
  and 
  foremost 
  in 
  all 
  

   its 
  plans 
  for 
  improvement. 
  She 
  loved 
  the 
  village 
  and, 
  in 
  

   testimony 
  of 
  her 
  love 
  for 
  it, 
  she 
  gave 
  the 
  only 
  park 
  which 
  

   Farmington 
  now 
  possesses. 
  Miss 
  Porter 
  died 
  in 
  her 
  eighty- 
  

   seventh 
  year, 
  on 
  February 
  17, 
  1900, 
  and 
  a 
  testimony 
  of 
  the 
  

   love 
  and 
  esteem 
  with 
  which 
  she 
  was 
  held 
  by 
  her 
  former 
  

   pupils 
  is 
  best 
  expressed 
  in 
  the 
  beautiful 
  parish 
  house 
  which 
  

   they 
  built 
  in 
  her 
  honor, 
  nearly 
  opposite 
  the 
  house 
  in 
  which 
  

   she 
  lived. 
  Farmington 
  also 
  gave 
  us 
  Colonel 
  Fisher 
  Gay, 
  

  

  eral, 
  received 
  the 
  highest 
  honor 
  to 
  be 
  conferred 
  by 
  the 
  militia 
  

   of 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  Connecticut. 
  His 
  celebrated 
  white 
  horse, 
  

   which 
  he 
  always 
  kept 
  ready 
  to 
  muster 
  into 
  service, 
  testifies 
  to 
  

   the 
  military 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  man. 
  

  

  While 
  General 
  Cowles 
  was 
  a 
  shining 
  light 
  in 
  the 
  military 
  

   life 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  there 
  were 
  others 
  of 
  the 
  Cowles 
  family 
  

   whose 
  lavish 
  entertainments 
  and 
  courteous 
  hospitality 
  won 
  

   for 
  them 
  the 
  love, 
  esteem 
  and 
  admiration 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  people 
  

   of 
  the 
  community. 
  They 
  had 
  fine 
  estates 
  and 
  stables, 
  and 
  

   with 
  grand 
  suppers 
  and 
  dinners 
  maintained 
  the 
  dignity 
  of 
  

   their 
  social 
  reign. 
  

  

  General 
  Cowles' 
  house, 
  which 
  was 
  the 
  most 
  dignified 
  and 
  

   stately 
  mansion 
  in 
  Farmington, 
  was 
  frequently 
  the 
  scene 
  of 
  

   much 
  gaiety, 
  while 
  its 
  subsequent 
  owner, 
  James 
  Cowles, 
  the 
  

   wealthiest 
  man 
  of 
  his 
  time, 
  maintained 
  with 
  equal 
  splendor 
  

   the 
  old 
  house 
  of 
  his 
  predecessor. 
  James 
  Lewis 
  Cowles, 
  

  

  