Hearthside House

Bringing History to Life 

Through Hearthside’s creative and entertaining programs, learning about history can be both engaging and fun. Each year, a different schedule of events is developed, with some programs being annual favorites, while others may only be offered every other year. The result is an ever-changing menu of themes and innovative ideas being presented that offer appeal to a wide range of interests and audiences.

Enjoy browsing the event galleries from our past programs, and please check our Calendar for this year's schedule of tours and programs.

“Such unique events ... from the World's Fair to Victorian Mourning and teas. A beautiful building with a ton of interesting history.”

Afternoon Teas

It’s a return to the gentle splendor of a bygone era at Hearthside, with spring flowers, elegant hats, delicate lace, dainty teacups and fancy finger foods as Friends of Hearthside hosts its annual Afternoon Tea on the second Saturday in May. This popular event, especially as a Mother’s Day celebration always sells out so early ticket purchase is recommended. A different theme is featured each year, such as “the history of hats, the language of the fan, the language of flowers, the history of the parasol, and more recently, a “Downton Abbey Tea” based on the popular tv series. Prizes are awarded and raffle baskets are always a feature.

American Girl Doll Events

In the spring of 2007, Hearthside introduced the American Girl DollTM Tea Party for young girls along with their mothers and grandmothers as a special event they can share with their dolls. Wearing their Sunday finery and toting their favorite doll, the Tea has proven to be so popular that it now is held over two days, with four seatings in order to accommodate the numbers of guests who come each year. The tea is an elegant afternoon of tea, lemonade, miniature sandwiches and dainty sweets, as well as a crash course in proper Victorian etiquette. The Tea event led to a Christmas event, and eventually to a Garden Party held in August.

All of the American Girl Doll events continue to be quite popular and have given hundreds of girls and their families some very special memories from their experience. All three of these annual events center around the American Girl DollTM historical character Samantha Parkington, a nine-year old orphan raised by her wealthy and very proper grandmother in 1904. That story coincides with the year that Hearthside got its name and really captures the essence of what it was like growing up in Victorian America. History comes to life and is made more interesting for the girls as they experience firsthand in an actual mansion how Samantha lived during the first years of the 20th century.

Spirited Evenings at the Hearthside House

Everyone who visits an old house invariably asks the question “Is the house haunted?” Some have hinted that they have experienced strange feelings in one room or another, or heard noises while in the house alone. On occasion, Hearthside hosts programs to explore spiritual happenings with psychics and spiritual readers. In each case, the featured guest presenter provides some reading from Hearthside, giving us even more information to ponder about its history. Past presenters have included Carol Lynne, Paul Enos, Shelley King, Lynn Kent, and Jodi Lynn. In 2016, an evening with renowned spiritual medium Roland Comtois took place in the intimate setting of Hearthside’s drawing room for an exclusive event for 30 guests to receive personal messages channeled from the other side, followed by a book signing, dessert and informal conversations with the presenter.

Gone but Not Forgotten:
Victorian Mourning Customs

Each October, Hearthside, and all of its volunteers, get draped in black, giving all who pass by the message that this is a house in mourning. The occasion is the wake and funeral of former Hearthside owner, Simon E. Thornton, who died on May 2, 1873. His body was prepared at the house by the undertaker, who came with his equipment and a portable embalming table. The coffin was displayed in the Drawing Room where visitors would come and pay their respects. Following the ceremony, the coffin would be carried out of the house and into a waiting hearse to bring it to the gravesite for burial.

Hearthside re-creates the Victorian mourning customs practiced during the time when Simon Thornton passed away, with displays in each room of the house that include mourning clothing, mourning clothing, jewelry, artwork, stationery displays, post mortem photography, and other funerary exhibits. To kick off the inaugural exhibit in 2012, a funeral ceremony was featured, complete with an 1868 hearse.

There’s no place like Hearthside at Christmas time. The house is decorated so beautifully that it is no wonder it was selected to be featured in Yankee Magazine, Worcester Living Magazine, and two books about “Christmas at Historic Houses.” Each year, volunteers spend weeks decorating to transform the mansion back to a turn-of-the-century Christmas. Visitors to Hearthside delight in the magic of a Christmas from long ago as they enter the house and are greeted by our volunteers dressed in period attire.

Each room is elaborately decorated with Victorian ornamentation of lace and gold, festive garlands, and countless poinsettias and many special personal touches brought in by the volunteers from their own holiday collections. The festive atmosphere is enhanced with live seasonal music and caroling, homemade cookies and hot cider, and a gift shop stocked with holiday gifts. The amber glow of candlelight and the white lights of the gaily decorated trees add to the warmth of this beautiful home, making it a popular destination to visit after Christmas for candlelight tours during the vacation week before New Year’s.

Reenactments

Next door to Hearthside is Chase Farm Park, where 85 acres of picturesque meadows and hills offer an ideal backdrop to carry out a variety of historical reenactments that bring history to life. Events have included Civil War and Revolutionary War reenactments where the thunder and smoke from cannons and muskets fill the air, as uniformed soldiers charge at each other.

Historians narrate the battles, and the lessons go beyond the battlefield to the encampments for up-close and personal interactions to learn more about what life was like for soldiers and civilians alike during the periods of conflict.

Special exhibits at Hearthside, lectures and activities accompany the reenactments to provide an immersive experience for our visitors. These major events, held every other year, are popular with reenactors and spectators alike, typically bringing in 300 reenactors and over 3,000 spectators.

A primitive reenactment, Mountain Man Rendezvous, has also been held at which pre-1840 history is featured in encampments and the settlers practice their archery and knife throwing skills. Native Americans have also gathered in powwows at Chase Farm Park to hold drumming circles, storytelling about nature, and share the exotic flavors of authentic foods and craftsmanship of their wares with the public.

Chase Farm Park has hosted another type of reenactment….a foxhunt. The Downton Abbey Fox Hunt and Luncheon depicts scenes from the popular series, Downton Abbey. Majestic horses with formally-clad riders and specially-trained hounds bound across the meadows in pursuit of their prey, except it is only the scent of a fox that is used, not real foxes. An elegant luncheon, music from the series, a bagpipe, and docents in Edwardian finery add to the festivities in the hills.

Color & Light: 
Early 20th Century Portraits of Hearthside

During the summer of 2012, Hearthside hosted a photography exhibit, Color & Light: Early 20th Century Portraits of Hearthside, which was later nationally recognized with a “Leadership in History Award” given by the American Association for State and Local History, as well as written up in an article in the National Endowment for the Arts magazine. The exhibit booklet for the event was also given an honor by the New England Museum Association with a Publications Award. The beauty of Hearthside was captured 100 years ago in a new photographic process at the time known as “hand-colored photography.”

Fifty photographs by nationally-renowned photographer David Davidson and Rufus Waterman, a lesser known photographer who emulated Davidson’s work, had recently been discovered in their original pristine condition by descendants of the Talbot family, who were living at Hearthside at the time. With a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Friends of Hearthside was able to mat and frame the artwork and hosted a major exhibit featuring these extraordinary pieces, displayed in the same locations in which they were taken between 1907 and 1912.

For the first time, a glimpse of what the rooms in this home looked like was available. In addition to the photographs, the exhibit also included displays of Davidson’s original box style camera and artifacts from his Providence studio, and even the shawl worn in many of the photographs. The Color & Light exhibit was a unique blend of art and history. While the artifacts were on loan from the Davidson family and have been returned, the 50 photographs that were donated to Hearthside by the Talbot family remain in our collection.

1920s Era Events

In a tribute to the 40th anniversary of the 1973 filming of The Great Gatsby in Newport, RI, Hearthside hosted a special event, “Great Gatsby Revisited,” in the summer of 2013. A large contingent of Rolls Royce’s and Bentleys convened on the grounds as part of the Rolls Royce Owners Club Summer Meet. Hearthside’s event featured an afternoon of extraordinary cars, roaring 20’s fashions and live jazz music.

The Great Gatsby movie had featured Hearthside’s last resident, E. Andrew Mowbray (1927- 1996), and his 1922 Rolls Royce. Mowbray was an avid antique car collector and enthusiast, especially of Rolls-Royce and Bentleys. His 1922 S111BG Springfield Silver Ghost Permanent Salamanca, which once belonged to beer tycoon August Busch, appeared in the movie, and he drove it throughout the movie, playing the role of Daisy’s (Mia Farrow) chauffeur. Mowbray was a long-time member of the Rolls-Royce Owners Club, and he also published “Rolls Royce in America” by the late Arthur Souter.

Victorian Dinner Parties

With the donation of a 10-burner stove came the ability for Hearthside to be able to host elegant dinners. In 2013, a series of elegant Victorian Dinners was started as a special fundraiser for the organization. Seated in the Music Room and Dining Room, guests enjoy a variety of fresh foods from the yearly harvest of local farms and Narragansett Bay waters, prepared by professional chefs in our colonial kitchen. The extravagant 5-course meals feature authentic menu items often found on the Victorian table. Carefully selected wines will accompany the different courses.

Hosted by Victorian costumed staff, served at tables with elegant linens, flowers, candlelight, and the special historic ambience in this 200-year old house, this exclusive dinner party is like no other. All monies raised through these dinners, held seasonally, go toward the Capital Improvement Fund, providing funds for Hearthside’s most critical restoration needs.

Something Old, Something New: 150 Years of Wedding Traditions

Featuring over 40 gowns dating from the 1860s to the 1990s, this exhibit looks at the evolution of wedding fashion trends decade-by-decade as well as marriage traditions for more than a century. Also included is information pertaining to cake styles, receptions, and honeymoons from each decade. A plethora of artifacts relating to the superstitions and nuptial celebrations are also displayed. Family traditions are honored with some of the dresses having been worn by two generations of the family, while others include both a mother’s and daughter’s dresses displayed together.

Linens & Lace Exhibit

Celebrating mothers with the timeless treasures of exquisite textiles from Hearthside's collections. This exhibit featured the finest needlework examples that provided an enriching look at the artistic heritage that mothers of yesteryear have left as a legacy to today's generations. These beloved heirlooms were handmade during the 19th and 20th centuries. Being shown are linens and textiles with elaborately detailed embroidery and tatting, meticulously crocheted doilies, bedspreads, and tablecloths, delicate lace collars and trims to adorn dresses and accessories, and coverlets handwoven by the Talbot weavers at Hearthside a hundred years ago.

Toys from the Attic: A Vintage Toy & Game Exhibit

A nostalgic look back to childhood with this extensive exhibit of antique and vintage toys, games, dolls and other childhood artifacts from the 1800s through the 1980s that are displayed in each room of the house museum as a century of play is explored. Over 500 items from the museum and on loan from private collections.

Antique Phonograph Exhibit

The first recorded sounds and the machines that played them are on display courtesy of the Massachusetts Bay Antique Phonograph Society. With models ranging from Edison cylinders to 1950s turntables, the owners of these remarkable relics enjoy sharing their collections with the public in a one-day exhibit.

Women's History Exhibit

In celebration of Women's History Month, the stories of the local, regional, and national achievements of women throughout history are on display covering science, politics, women's rights, sports, business, movie and tv industry, and historic preservation.

Civil War Exhibit

The stories and artifacts from Civil War living historians from Rhode Island's Battery B exhibit at Hearthside through a day-long encampment, museum exhibits and tours focusing on what life was like for the soldiers, women and children off the battlefield during the 1860s. Includes 1860s fashions, Civil War uniforms, weapons, photographs, antique musical instruments from the Providence Brigade Band, period children's toys, Civil War cannon, and genealogical records of those who served in Battery B.

War of 1812 Exhibit

In partnership with the U.S.S. Constitution Museum, the exhibit featured the ship's bell from the HMS Guerriere that was captured by the USS Constitutionin the first major naval battle during the War of 1812. That bell was puchased by Hearthside's Stephen H. Smith around 1814 and hung for over 100 years in Smith's Butterfly Factory across from Hearthside. The War of 1812 changed the landscape of Great Road as the embargo on English goods spurred the industrial development along the Moshassuck River, including the Moffett Mill.

Antique Cars

Celebrating Hearthside's last owner's passion for antique cars, Hearthside invites owners of antique cars to display their prized possessions on the front lawn during certain programs and tour days, re-creating familiar scenes during the 1950s-1990s when Andrew Mowbray had an ever-changing display of his own antique cars in Hearthside's driveway.

HERITAGE Activities

Focusing on the forgotten crafts and chores of long ago, Hearthside has sponsored events featuring demonstrations of weaving, quilting, basket making, spinning, embroidery, stained glass, use of herbs, silhouettes, gravestone etching, stenciling, rug hooking, rope making, cooking over the open fire, washing clothes in a washtub, and blacksmithing. A country stand with hot apple crisp and hot cider on a cool fall day, provided a popular family day. An old-fashioned Spinning Frolic in 2012 featured a contingent of spinning wheels and sheeps’ wool on the front lawn of Hearthside, while Celtic tunes played by local musicians provided rhythm and relaxation for the spinners on a summer day.

ANTIQUE FAIRS

Visitors to Hearthside love history and antiques, so in 2009 Friends of Hearthside hosted an Antiques Fair. What better setting for browsing antiques than on the picturesque grounds at a historic site that is located along one of the country’s oldest and most scenic roadways in the state. The Fair featured quality antique and collectible dealers. Volunteers in period dress greeted the visitors to the Fair and provided history and tours. Blacksmithing demonstrations, with the sound of metal on the anvil, enhanced the feeling of antiquity of the objects being shown. Another event, an Antiques Appraisal Day, was added because of the increasing interest in antiques. In searching for answers to “What’s It Worth?”, people from all over the state carried in their precious keepsakes from grandma’s attic to find out if what they had was truly valuable or something only of sentimental value.