FRIENDS OF TOPSMEAD STATE FOREST
Discover a hidden treasure in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut
|
|
|
The location at Topsmead which everyone referred to as “Terryplace” was part of three parcels of land purchased from Frank Turkington in 1923 that comprised about 65 acres. The property included both sides of Jefferson Hill Road South. The smaller of the three pieces, about 8 acres, was on the east side of the road and bordered land to the north and east owned until 1925 by Philip and George Buell.
The two pieces of land on the west side of the road totaled about 58 acres. The northern piece of about 11 acres bordered the area where the wildlife viewing shed, and the butterfly garden now stand. (This piece of property would later be acquired by Miss Edith from Martin Beirne in 1926.) On the southern parcel, there was an entrance from Jefferson Hill Road South which still exists.
About 500 feet from the entrance, along an unpaved field road, was an old barn. It had a stone foundation, with a dugout entrance which was used to store a “stone boat”. This was a big flat platform on skids used to haul the stones for building the walls around Topsmead. On the main floor of the barn, small equipment was stored, because the ceiling was only about 6 feet high. Above this was a mezzanine area that housed the buggy and the one-horse sleigh and was reached by a set of open stairs. The beams in the barn were huge and the frame was constructed with wooden pegs. Later, Miss Edith had another barn built attached to this one, but it was much taller to accommodate the hay loader which was about 12 to 15 feet high. Most of the other haying equipment was also stored there including the hay wagon, the hay rake and the windrow rake. Hay, along with apples, were the two primary farm crops grown at Topsmead. >>read more
The two pieces of land on the west side of the road totaled about 58 acres. The northern piece of about 11 acres bordered the area where the wildlife viewing shed, and the butterfly garden now stand. (This piece of property would later be acquired by Miss Edith from Martin Beirne in 1926.) On the southern parcel, there was an entrance from Jefferson Hill Road South which still exists.
About 500 feet from the entrance, along an unpaved field road, was an old barn. It had a stone foundation, with a dugout entrance which was used to store a “stone boat”. This was a big flat platform on skids used to haul the stones for building the walls around Topsmead. On the main floor of the barn, small equipment was stored, because the ceiling was only about 6 feet high. Above this was a mezzanine area that housed the buggy and the one-horse sleigh and was reached by a set of open stairs. The beams in the barn were huge and the frame was constructed with wooden pegs. Later, Miss Edith had another barn built attached to this one, but it was much taller to accommodate the hay loader which was about 12 to 15 feet high. Most of the other haying equipment was also stored there including the hay wagon, the hay rake and the windrow rake. Hay, along with apples, were the two primary farm crops grown at Topsmead. >>read more
|
Vertical Divider
Casement Windows and Character
October 2024 As the 2024 Topsmead house tour season winds down, Miss Edith's house welcomes October and its last weekends of tours. To beautify the house for fall tours, Debbie Feussenich, a member of the Friends of Topsmead, gathers goldenrod and other flowers from the meadows and marigolds and zinnias from the cutting garden and creates colorful fall flower arrangements in vases chosen from Miss Lucy's flower room. When she places the arrangements around the house, they add a pungent fall fragrance that enlivens the house. To prepare the house for tours, the docent team goes around opening window curtains to let in the day and cranking open the casement windows to let fresh fall air stream in and invigorate the rooms.
The casement windows in each room seem to have stories of their own. The breeze coming in through the open casement windows on each side of the bay window in the great room surely whispers stories of the original rustic cabin. Architect Richard Henry Dana integrated the footprint and the fireplace of that cabin into the structure of the current Mock Tudor house that he designed for Miss Edith to evoke her beloved English Cotswold cottages. The bathroom casement windows in the second-floor guest bathroom surely remember the swish swish sound of female guests brushing their teeth in the glory of the morning sun as it streamed in through those east-facing windows. (Male guests were relegated to the dovecote guest house.) The dining room casement windows overlooking the walled English garden must remember fondly the muted memories of many a dinner conversation between Miss Edith and her good friends and lifelong companions, Lucy and Mary Burrall. -read complete Musings essay- |
photo by Tom Holzel