Today, we visited the Sarah Orne Jewett House, a Georgian-style home built in 1774, just one of 36 properties managed by Historic New England. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name, Sarah Orne Jewett, she is a famous writer, who lived from September 3, 1849 to June 24, 1909. Her first story was published by Atlantic Monthly. She is known for her works of fiction.
The photos still on the wall, as well as the gifts she was given by such friends as Celia Thaxter (framed copies of poems; and painted china pieces), and the books laying on tables and present in book cabinets, provide witness to the fact that she associated with other artistic/literary notables of the day, among them: Celia Thaxter, Thomas Bailey Aldrich (who wrote among other books, The Story of a Bad Boy, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, a fine poet, essayist, and abolitionist.
Note: Sarah’s mother belonged to the Gilman family who were prominent settlers of Exeter, New Hampshire. We have visited the American Independence Museum several times, an imposing, antique yellow home that tells the history of the Gilmans and the times in which they lived. A story, with photos, appears on our website. Note: This file was totally reformatted this afternoon, when I realized it had become a disaster. There are gremlins who live in my computer!
Sarah’s ancestral home is open for public viewing. A nominal fee is charged to those who are not members of Historic New England. Walking through the 18th century home, that has a 19th century addition in the back, is truly a stroll back in time. Every room has a fireplace, reminiscent of the time before central heating and electricity. Firescreens, fire buckets, and muskets, and many more items tell the story of life in early New England.
Several bedrooms feature 4 poster beds, one with a canopy that resembles fishnet, and all of the beds covered with white spreads. A William Morris stair runner, heavily adorned with leaves, complements the large scale wallpaper in the stairwell foyer. The front door is exceedingly wide. Upstairs is the room where Sarah Orne Jewett slept, wrote, and died. Several linen samplers in the room are a tribute to persistence and industry, both of which she possessed in abundance. The second floor includes other bedrooms and servants’ quarters.
Although she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, she loved to travel. In fact, she went to Europe at least five times, and enjoyed spending two seasons of each year in Boston, just a train ride away, during that period. Her traveling companion was a woman named Annie Fields.
We thoroughly enjoyed the tour given by “Ann,” who gave us a comprehensive explanation of family history and the house itself, as well as a glimpse into the life of this important 19th century writer. Sarah Orne Jewett did much of her writing while sitting in a room that overlooked the busy central square. Indeed, one photo shows the square filled with cattle. The room would have been a good vantage point to people watch.
If you love literature, especially that of the 19th century, then you would enjoy the work of Sarah Orne Jewett. The pieces with which I am familiar are The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) and “A White Heron” (1886), a story placed online by Peter Wickham.
This former, elegant residence is well worth visiting if you are in the area of southern Maine, just over the border from Dover, New Hampshire. This is a cursory summary, as you will find if you visit this site. Several of the most intriguing details, I will leave for you to discover.
To read a list of works by Sarah Orne Jewett, please visit this wikipedia file.
A very interesting essay about Sarah Orne Jewett appears courtesy of a Google search.
We certainly enjoyed the day, in spite of the constant rain. Now that we are home, the sun is out. Go figure! Wonderful trip! This was my “birthday date” with my honey! He always thinks of the most fun little trips for us to take! Two peas in a pod, I’d say.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
