August, 1906 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



95 



The Automobile 



and the 



Country House 



HERE are few pleasanter ways 

 of viewing the country than 

 from the front seat of a modern 

 automobile. Consequently it 

 was with great pleasure that I 

 accepted the invitation of Mr: 

 Jesse B. Cornwall to visit "Oak- 

 knoll" at Redding, Conn., and see the 

 advantages accruing from the use of a 

 moderate-powered touring car in connection 

 with a country house. The start was made 

 early one hazy June morning, and we passed 

 through several delightful old villages before 

 striking out into the open country. Here we 

 found Nature at her best, for whether we 

 skimmed along the hilltops or wound through 

 shaded valleys cooled by hillside streams rushing 

 madly over their rocky beds or through the breaks 

 in disused dams, the same freshness of verdure 

 was met with everywhere. At length, rising 

 gradually, we skirted along the hillside opposite 

 Redding Ridge — a high range of hills descending 

 into broad valleys and surmounted by ancient but 

 staunch farmhouses that have sheltered many 

 generations. Prominent among these buildings 

 is the old church, the steeple of which still stands 

 as a sentinel over the surrounding districts, 

 though now without the huge old weather-cock 

 which so proudly proclaimed its superiority over 

 the English soldiers and maintained its lofty 

 position despite the British bullets that hit and 

 sometimes penetrated it during Revolutionary 

 days. After passing around the Ridge, we soon found our- 

 selves on top of a high hill opposite, from which the 

 country place of Mr. Cornwall can be seen to advantage, 

 spread out upon another hill about one hundred feet below. 

 On one side of the road near the summit of this higher 



The Redding Glen 



hill is to be seen the caretaker's house and barn, while on 

 the other side is an inclosed well fed by a number of 

 splendid springs, which always furnish a plentiful supply of 

 pure water to the house and other buildings on the estate. 

 Upon reaching the entrance to the grounds, with its broad 

 gateway and cobble-stone posts extending 

 into a stone fence that surrounds the estate, 

 we halt, for here it is that a close, unob- 

 structed view is obtained of the entire place. 

 The house, which faces the east, is reached 

 by a circular drive from two entranceways. 

 The road extends around the south end of 

 the house to the garage and barn beyond. 



The house has an excellent broad piazza, 

 extending across its front, and from which, 

 on a clear day, a wide expanse of the sur- 

 rounding country is visible. From the 

 piazza at the south end a beautiful view 

 down the valley of the Saugatuck River is 

 to be had. As there were ample Held stones 

 upon the property, these were collected 

 and laid with broad, .white mortar joints, 

 so as to form the first story wall of 

 the dwelling. The building, above, is 



