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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 1907 



Only Sufficient Trees Were Cut Away to Form a Clearing for the House in the Forest 



XKe Summer Home of Frederick P. Hill, Esq. 

 Water Witch, New Jersey 



The suniiiier home and garden of Frederick P. Hill, Esq., 

 at Water Witch, N. J., illustrated on pages 165, 166, and 

 167, constitute a place of distinctive interest. It is a house 

 perched on the top of the "Highlands" in the village of 

 Water Witch, a rugged park of many acres, studded with 

 forest trees, and a spot of historic interest, intimately asso- 

 ciated with James Fenimore Cooper, who at one time lived 

 on the "Highlands," and whose place now 

 forms a part of this park. Here he wrote 

 his well-known novel "Water Witch," to 

 which the place now owes its name. 



Mr. Hill's house stands in a dense growth 

 of trees. The gateway to the property is 

 overhung with a mass of trees and shrubs. 

 Below are steps to the winding path by which 

 the house is reached. Further on, and quite 

 near the entrance, is a second flight of steps, 

 with tubs of hydrangea hortensia on either 

 side, at the top. Then come the house steps, 

 painteci white, with a white balustrade, lead- 

 ing directly to the entrance doorway, which is 

 shielded by a massive hood. The house is 

 surfaced with natural cedar shingles, which 

 have now taken on a silvery gray color; the 

 trim throughout is painted white. On the 

 east side is a piazza with columns of red 

 brick that support a balcony at the second 

 story, where their summits are surmounted 

 with red terra cotta pots filled with red ge- 

 raniums and vines — graceful bits of color 

 against the quiet tone of the walls. 



The trim of the entrance hall is painted 

 white. It contains a Colonial staircase, with 

 treads and balustrade painted white, and a 

 mahogany rail. The walls are tinted sea 

 green. The great living-room, which im- 



mediately adjoins it on the 

 left, and which occupies the 

 larger part of the first floor, 

 is trimmed with cypress, 

 painted white. The ceiling 

 timbers are exposed and are 

 stained and finished in a 

 soft brown. T he walls are 

 colored a soft shade of 

 terra cotta. The large 

 open fireplace, with a 

 chimney-breast rising to the 

 ceiling, is built of common 

 brick and has a shelf of 

 stained cypress. The rugs 

 and bookcases, the old mir- 

 rors, clock, and antique fur- 

 niture make a delightful 

 ensemble. The appropriate 

 inscription by Goethe, 

 "Ueber Allen Gipfeln ist 

 Ruh," is inscribed on the 

 face of the arch over the 

 fireplace. 



The adjoining dining- 

 room has walls tinted with 

 Colonial yellow and trim 

 painted white. The open 

 fireplace, with its ceiling- 

 high chimney-breast and 

 columns and mantel of old 

 Egyptian black and gold marble, is a conspicuous feature in 

 the room. French windows open onto the piazza, which is 

 used as a dining-room in warm weather. The butler's pantry, 

 kitchen and its dependencies are completely fitted up, and are 

 trimmed with yellow pine which has received one coat of 

 wax finish. 



The second floor contains four bedrooms and two bath- 

 rooms. They are trimmed with whitewood painted white. 

 The bedroom walls are tinted in various colors, and the 

 bathrooms are tiled and furnished with porcelain fixtures 



A Serpentine Path Helps to Conceal the House from the Outer Roadway 



