House and Garden 
THE TALLMADGE PLACE ON NORTH STREET 
up hill and down dale (up hill chiefly) and swept into 
Litchfield Town at six o’clock. 
On South Street stands the home ot Oliver Wolcott, 
signer of the Declaration^)! Independence/Governor 
of Connecticut, and Major-General of the Conti¬ 
nental army. It was built in 1775, and has been in 
continuous occupation by the Wolcott family, except 
for a short period some twenty years since, alter 
which Miss Alice Wolcott, its present owner, re¬ 
purchased it, and she now resides there. To this 
mansion was brought from New York in 1776 the 
leaden statue of King George III. which the “Sons 
of Liberty” tore down from its pedestal in Bowling 
Green. It was cut in pieces, and from it, in General 
Wolcott’s orchard, were molded 4,200 bullets, by 
actual count, by the daughters of General Wolcott 
and other patriotic women of Litchfield. And these 
are not the only bullets which the Wolcotts can 
claim, for imbedded in the walls of the house are 
several others, reminiscent of the days ot the Indian 
warfare. 
In the Wolcott mansion are many rare treasures 
preserved by Miss Wolcott: family portraits, old 
china, and beautiful dark mahogany. It is one ol 
the features of Litchfield that not only in these old 
mansions but in every cottage and farmhouse can 
be found heirlooms both wonderful and precious, 
handed down from one generation to another, and 
beyond all price to their fortunate owners. 
The Tallmadge place on North Street was pur¬ 
chased by Colonel Tallmadge in 1782 from Mr. 
Thomas Sheldon. The house was erected in 1775, 
but after Colonel Tallmadge visited General Wash¬ 
ington at Mount Vernon he added the north and 
south wings, which are a fac-simile of those ot the 
historic Virginia mansion. Back of the house are 
extensive grounds, in recent years terraced, with 
accompanying landscape gardening, and a parterre 
of flowers, but all arranged in keeping with the 
colonial period. Here, as a bride, came “The Rose 
THE SANFORD RESIDENCE, BUILT IN 1832 
of Sharon,” the wife of Frederick Tallmadge; she 
was the beautiful Miss Canfield of Sharon, Connecti¬ 
cut, and her sister, also a famous beauty, was, in 
the poetic fashion of the day, given the name of “The 
Lily-of-the-Valley. ” Looking out on Mount Tom 
and the terrace, a sun-parlor has been added to the 
house by its present owner, Mrs. John Arent Vander- 
poel, of New York, who makes her summer home 
in" Litchfield. She is the daughter of the late Hon. 
William Curtis Noyes, and a great-granddaughter 
ot Colonel Tallmadge. She has added greatly to 
the beauty of Litchfield by erecting a fine building 
tor a free library and the Historical Society, to the 
memory ot her mother and grandmother. The 
latter rooms have a wonderful collection of valuable 
and curious articles given and loaned by the descend¬ 
ants ot old Litchfield families. To do it justice, 
this collection would require an article entirely de¬ 
voted to it. Among the many heirlooms preserved 
there is a most interesting collection of old-time 
samplers. One, worked by Harriet Woods, aged 
eleven years, is a large apple tree, on which the apples, 
suspended from each branch at regular intervals, are 
transformed into hearts on which are embroidered 
the name and date of birth of each ancestor, and 
under the tree are two hearts entwined on which is 
embroidered her father’s and mother’s name, and 
the date ot their marriage, and directly beneath it is 
inscribed this couplet: 
“Ye, guardians, with tender care, 
This fruit protect from every snare.” 
Another small maiden, aged seven, contributes a 
large canvas square, covered with many painstaking 
stitches, to which she appends the following admoni¬ 
tion : 
“ Happy the chi'd whose tender years, 
Receives instruction well, 
Who hates the sinner’s path, and fears 
The Road that leads to Hell.” 
(Continued on page 5, Advertising Section.) 
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