We had the chance to visit Hale House this week and were thoroughly blown away by the renovations that have been completed. Having just looked at "before" photos before our visit, the exterior renovations were really striking. One can imagine the Hales sitting on the porches, reading, painting, and chatting. The photos below show a side-view of the house and the amazing view from the back of the home.

First Impressions: Smith's Castle

Smith's Castle in Wickford, RI is a lovely 17th century historic house museum and surrounding grounds overlooking Narragansett Bay. The house and grounds represent four centuries of Rhode Island history, a fact you just can't escape when you arrive on the property and see the docents in their period costumes!

After exploring Wickford (including a stop for ice cream) we visited Smith's Castle for the first time on Thursday. Smith's Castle is owned and cared for by the Cocumscussoc Association and we met with the Association's past President, Neil, the Assistant President, Maggie, and the Office Administrator, Melissa. The Cocumscussoc Association is clearly made up of passionate and dedicated volunteers and their enthusiasm was contagious. All in all, we had a great afternoon at Smith's Castle, a beautiful site with a lot of fascinating history and an interesting story to tell. We can't wait to go back for the Strawberry Festival on June 20th!

Interns taking a break at The Inside Scoop in Wickford

First Impressions: Linden Place

Our grand finale for the three days of site visits was Linden Place in Bristol, RI. This beautiful, old house was initially owned by General George DeWolf. While there we learned all about the family exploits from privateering to the slave trade to the family's midnight escape to Cuba. We were also introduced to the cinematic past of the house (it was featured in Gone with the Wind) as well as its connections to the ancestors of Drew Barrymore. In its current incarnation, Linden Place is a vibrant community resource playing host to everything from weddings to summer arts camps. Linden Place truly is the "crown jewel" of Bristol. The house presides over the historic waterfront district and sits right on the parade route for Bristol's famous Fourth of July parade. We'll be sure to experience this beauty in all her patriotic glory!

First Impressions: Pettaquamscutt Historical Society

The Pettaquamscutt Historical Society (PHS) is in the unique position of operating a regional organization with several properties--including the newly acquired Hale House! PHS was founded in 1958, and is headquarted in the Old Washington County Jail. The Ernest Hamlin Baker Mural housed at the PHS is a shining example of the types of art and artifacts with special significance for South County that are preserved through PHS.

With several towns to work with and the University of Rhode Island located just across the street, PHS has amazing opportunities for collaboration and innovative programming. More to come soon. . .

First Impressions: Hearthside

Hearthside is located in Lincoln, RI along the historic Great Road scenic byway. It has a commanding presence with its field stone exterior and tall front columns. Managed by the Friends of Hearthside, this property is distinctly unique in that the Town of Lincoln owns the property. There is a collaboration amongst the town and association to keep the house running as an historic house museum and property. Hearthside has the opportunity to be part of a collective group of historic properties with the Hannaway Forge and Blacksmith Shop, the Chase Farm House and Moffett Mill all along a quarter mile stretch of Great Road. Together, the properties represent how industry has progressed and evolved over a two hundred year period. There is a strong consensus to re-brand the properties into one cohesive group to appeal to tourists, local school groups and the Lincoln community. We have already had a full day of meetings with the Town Administrator, President of Friends of Hearthside and a FOH Board Member. We look forward to speaking further with the town and local schools to ensure that Hearthside and the surrounding properties are able to sustain themselves for many generations to come.

First Impressions: Babcock-Smith House

It's a Rhode Island joke that anything beyond 15 minutes away is too far to travel. Well, for our first site visit last week we drove a whole hour to the Babcock-Smith House in Westerly, and we all concluded it was worth it! A Georgian-style home built circa 1734, the Babcock-Smith House was witness to the importance of Westerly's granite industry. Its architecture and furnishings reflect the lifestyles of the families who lived here until 1972.

Babcock-Smith is also an excellent resource for historians and researchers, both in the incredible amount of knowledge its volunteers possess and in its invaluable collection of record books from the granite quarry down the street, which are beautifully illustrated and well-preserved. With creative programming like gorgeous candlelight dinners, themed school tours, and a recently opened vintage bridal gown exhibit, the Babcock-Smith House opens its doors to its local residents as well.

No dust here - this house museum sparkles, and the dedication of the docents, board, and caretaker makes it feel like a home. We're all looking forward to working with such committed, organized, and enthusiastic volunteers soon!

Business Planning Project Underway!

The entire team spent the majority of last week visiting the five sites selected for the Business Planning Project. After convening as a group, we have decided to assign a lead person (L) for each site with a support person (S) to assist. The breakdown is:

Babcock Smith House: Sarah Marcoux (L) & Jessica Andrus (S)

Hearthside: Kim Goodman (L) & Sarah Marcoux (S)

Linden Place: Jessica Andrus (L) & Meghan Stasz (S)

Pettaquamscutt Historical Society: Melissa Higgins (L) & Kim Goodman (S)

Smith's Castle: Meghan Stasz (L) & Melissa Higgins

Over the course of the next two weeks the team will be meeting with their individual sites, traveling around Rhode Island and conducting in depth research to produce high level plans for sustainability!

For those who want to join...we will be at Smith's Castle Strawberry Festival on June 20th from 12-4pm!

Pictures from the site visits coming soon...

About the Team

Jessica Andrus is an MBA student at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Her background is in supply chain and sales management in consumer goods organizations. Her professional interests include change and sustainable business management and organizational structure in for profit multinational corporations. She has her undergraduate degree from Purdue University in Industrial Management and Manufacturing Operations.

Kimberly Goodman is a graduate student in the Museum Studies Program at the Harvard University Extension School. Kimberly's career goal is in museum administration. Holding a Bachelors degree from the University of Colorado in Anthropology, her motivation is for the preservation of material culture for future generations. She also has ten plus years experience in the corporate world as an administrative manager. Hobbies include hiking, reading, yoga and traveling.

Melissa Higgins received an undergraduate degree in Architectural Studies from Connecticut College and has worked in museums ever since. As a research associate for the Engineering is Elementary program at the Museum of Science, Boston, Melissa has developed a national engineering curriculum for elementary school students. She has also worked as a consulting fellow conducting visitor studies for the Harvard Art Museums. Melissa is currently pursuing her masters in Museum Studies through the Harvard Extension School.

Sarah Marcoux is pursuing her master’s degree in History and Museum Studies at Tufts University in Medford, MA. A native Rhode Islander, she earned her bachelor’s degree in French Studies and History from the University of New Hampshire. Sarah got her start as an interpreter for Historic New England and is excited about starting her career in the museum world. She enjoys traveling, reading, yoga, and cooking.

Meghan Stasz is an MBA candidate at Boston College and received her B.A. in Government from Hamilton College in 2001. Prior to starting her MBA program, Meghan worked for the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. where she managed a multi-year advocacy campaign to reform the $300 billion federal Farm Bill. Prior to EDF, she worked as a paralegal at a law firm in San Francisco and spent several years in the outdoor industry. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys traveling, running marathons and spending time outdoors.

Project Kickoff

Welcome to the newly created Preserve Rhode Island business planning project blog. We are a group of five graduate students selected by Preserve Rhode Island to create business plans for five historic and heritage sites around the state. Our goal is to assist sites to become financially sustainable while fulfilling their missions. We will be working in the historic Lippitt House in Providence's East Side.

Interns in the news!
http://www.pbn.com/detail/41787.html

Here are the links to the selected sites:

Babcock Smith House
http://www.babcock-smithhouse.com/index.htm

Hearthside House
http://www.hearthsidehouse.org/

Linden Place
http://www.lindenplace.org/

Pettaquamscutt Historical Society
http://www.pettaquamscutt.org/

Smith's Castle
http://www.smithscastle.org/