104 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



March, 1907 



An Arts and Crafts Experiment in 



An Old Rhode Island Mansion 



By Leila Mechlin 



N A picturesque old coun- 

 try road leading from 

 Lonsdale to Saylesville, 

 Rhode Island, stands 

 "Llearthside," the stately 

 mansion which was taken 

 as a model for the Rhode 

 Island house at the St. Louis Exposition. 

 Built not later than 1 8 1 4, by Stephen Hop- 

 kins Smith, a once noted horticulturist and 

 manufacturer, with, it is said, thirty thou- 

 sand dollars won in a lottery, it is now oc- 

 cupied by Mr. Arnold G. Talbot, the grand- 

 son of the original owner's cousin, who, 

 with his wife, is reviving beneath its roof 

 the old and almost forgotten industry of 

 hand weaving. 



Architecturally the house is particularly 

 interesting, for while it is obviously Col- 

 onial in style, it presents certain unusual 

 features, and is distinctly irregular in de- 

 sign. The name of the architect is not re- 

 membered, but whosoever he may have 

 been, he was undoubtedly a man of good 

 judgment and definite originality. The 

 general form of the building is rectangular, 



The Broad Entrance Hall Divides the House in Two. The Stairs Are Partly Concealed 

 The Carved Oak Chest is Earlier Than I 700 



The Dining-room Is Crowded With Interesting Articles. The "Beaufat" in the Corner 

 Belonged to General Frazer's Mother. His Knife, Fork and Spoon Cases Are 

 on the Sideboard. Quaint Silhouettes Hang Over the Fireplace 



but the side walls terminate in curved gables 

 and the front is spanned by a broad portico 

 of four columns, extending through two 

 stories and resting upon a slightly elevated 

 stone platform. 



The material is gray stone — random 

 masonry of large, seam-faced rocks, afford- 

 ing a smoothly finished wall of vari-colored 

 elements, some of the pieces being delight- 

 fully iron stained, while others are more or 

 less agreeably weathered. The window 

 frames are of wood and the portico is 

 topped by a wooden balustrade of solid 

 panels. This, in turn, is crowned by a 

 broad dormer, which is in fact a secondary 

 gable repeating the primary motif, and set- 

 ting forth not only a similar round window, 

 but a pair of doors which open into the 

 attic. The front door is simple in design 

 but admirably proportioned, and has both 

 fan and side lights. The side door is still 

 more unpretentious, but has been made 

 specially attractive by the addition of a 

 small porch projected on two columns, the 

 roof and ceiling of which again repeat the 

 curves of the gables. This curved form has, 

 indeed, apparently been made the dominant 



