Architectural and Structural Features of Hopelands Estate

Map Coordinates: 41°39'28.8"N 71°25'16.9"W

Introduction

What we now called "Hopelands" or the Hopelands Estate, was the home to multiple generations of owners, each remodeling and renovating the space to fit their needs and reflect their tastes. Touring the physical structure that stands today is like travelling through an architectural time machine. Taking ten simple steps in a chosen direction while in the house can move you from one century to another. 

 ca. 1684-1783 Early-Late Colonial-Greene's

The most western ell of the Hopelands building is considered to be the oldest portion of the structure. The original hand-hewn post and beam construction and wide hand sawn white pine sheathing found in this part of the building are indicative of northern colonial home wood framed construction of white pine. Believed, but not confirmed, to be the work of  Thomas Greene in 1686, the western section offers examples of both pocket and mortis and tenon joinery, both common construction techniques used in early timber framing construction. There is also evidence to support the theory that the very original western structure began as a New England stone-ender home, a common building during the 1600's. "Stone-enders were usually two-story buildings with one room per floor. The floors were connected by steep stairs, which were often fit between the front entrance and the stone wall" In fact, John Smith, a prominent member of the early Rhode Island colony, is credited with many Rhode Island stone-enders. "John Smith’s most well-known work was the “Old Stone Castle” of Warwick, which was the only house in the town to survive King Philip’s War. The Castle was demolished in 1779." The western ell also features wide and irregular hand sawn vertical pine plank siding throughout as well as more uniform wide pine plank flooring. It is believed that this original structure was heavily renovated and enlarged throughout its time as a Greene Family residence. Richard Greene, a generous if not ostentatious loyalist in the late 1700's, was well known for his elaborate and well-attended parties. It is quite likely that many of the building's more significant 18th century renovations occurred under his ownership.. Unfortunately for "King Richard," as he was known to many, he lost his Potowomut residence when he was forced to flea to Newport during the American Revolution sick with cancer and heavily indebted. The house would see its next grand metamorphosis when it was purchased by Moses Brown and his nephew, Nicholas Brown II, as a wedding gift to their niece and cousin, Hope Brown, who was to marry Thomas Poynton Ives. Their $11,575.00 winning auction bid, around $260,00 in today's market would certainly prove to be a wise investment.

1794-1881 Federalist Style-Iveses

Newlyweds Thomas Poynton Ives and Hope Brown Ives already owned a beautiful home on the east side of Providence, and in the early years of their Hopelands ownership, there was ample time to enlarge and renovate the building to better suit the needs of the new residents. Circa 1800, Hope and Thomas had constructed a large block to the eastern end of the original structure that nearly doubled the square footage of the home  in the finest Federal style. Throughout the 19th century the home and the picturesque grounds were used as a proper country estate by the Iveses and their descendants, the Goddards.  Eventually inherited in 1881 by Hope Brown Ives' grandson, Moses Brown Ives Goddard, the south eastern point of Potowomut and the home now known as "Hopelands" saw perhaps its greatest transformation. 

1881-1927 Colonial Revival-Goddard's

Moses Brown Ives Goddard is described as a cultured person. He loved English literature and music. He often travelled overseas to such locales as Italy and Germany to take part in music festivals of the day. His deep interest in Rome and Italian life paired with his love for the arts helped reshape the Hopelands Estate. Around 1895-1896, Moses not only added a large addition to the northern end of  Hope's Federal style addition from 1800, and although Queen Anne-style architecture was at its peak in popularity, Moses redecorated the whole of the home in the Colonial Revival style. Moses B. I. Goddard also added the beautiful veranda/piazza and 20 foot-high columns to the façade of Hopelands' southern facing front.  In photographs ca. 1890, two brick chimneys extend past the roof line. However, in later photos take from the 1920's, the western most chimney is no longer there. It is unknown when the removal of this feature occurred, or by whom. The interior of the home is filled with fine examples of both Federal and Colonial Revival styles including beautiful mantlepieces with colorful Encaustic/Cement glazed tiled surrounds and hearths, Colonial Revival style balustrades, leaded windows and modern elements of the time including an elevator and a massive Warren Range, NY coal burning iron range dated 1881, but probably installed later than that date . In addition to the changes to the main structure, it was Moses B.I.. Goddard who added many of the outbuildings on the estate including the well known carriage house with its clock tower, barns for livestock, caretaker's home and greenhouses.  A plat map, "Map of the Farm of the Late Mrs. Hope Ives at Potowomut," drawn by Cushing and Farnum dated 1856, indicates the existence of a blacksmith shop some distance south east from the Hopelands home. The area has since been converted into playing fields for Rocky Hill Country Day school, and there are no visible signs of the structure. The map also identifies a wharf south of the home jutting into the Greene River. The wharf was most likely an early 18th century structure built by the Greenes during their time on Potowomut. Photographs indicate that the wharf was most likely built of stacked field stone for water retention and covered with wooden cribbing and packed earth. It could also be a Cob/Crib Wharf, which was a common design for centuries.

Aside from the beautiful carriage house, the greenhouse is especially intriguing. Although razed at some point in the 1950's, perhaps as a result of the destructive 1954 hurricane, which damaged or destroyed several buildings and trees on the property, including a large barn. The Greenhouse, approximately 80 meters north of the rear of Hopelands, was a cast iron  and wood-framed single gabled structure encased in large louvred glass panes. Based on photographs taken that include the greenhouse in ca. 1944 and ca. 1952, it was approximately 60-80 meters long and 20-30 meters wide. At one end there appears to have been a wooden clapboard building with a brick foundation serving as possibly a supplies/potting shed. The peak of the house was capped with a repeating fleur de lis  pattern that ran the length of the building. A small rusted artifact of the this decorative cap was discovered by Rocky Hill students a few years ago, ca. 2016. 

 Moses is also credited for the wrought iron fencing and granite capped brick pillars that frame the property. During this time period, Moses B. I. Goddard transformed the country estate into a working farm where he satisfied his passion for horticulture by growing beautiful fruits and flowers in his greenhouse and in his orchards.  In 1998, the school invited Mackenzie Woodward, an Architectural Historian from the RI Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, to visit the campus and tour Hopelands. His observations included "several examples of 18th and 19th century ingenuity including jury-rigged lath on the east wall, plaster patches, etc. He has seen this sort of thing in the Nightingale House in Providence." At the time of his visit, Mr. Woodward opined that the work in main parlor from 1895-96 was "most likely that of Stone, Carpenter and Wilson who did a great deal of work for the Goddard family at about the same time."  He also studied, after  wood wainscoting was removed during the mural restoration process and in January of 1998, the space that was exposed. Upon investigation, Woodward noted several significant and interesting observations:

• Wallpaper remnants remain under wainscoting dating prior to the room's 1895-96 renovation

• Structural evidence suggests that the room was once two smaller rooms

• Evidence of a chair rail

• Vertical planking on the interior south wall indicating that it was once an exterior wall

1927-1948

Moses B. I. Goddard died in 1907 leaving the Hopelands estate to his wife Elizabeth Amory Swann Goddard. By 1924, the property once again exchanged hands, with Hope Goddard Iseline's cousin, Charlotte Ives Goddard Danielson Shaw(1863-1942), daughter of Capt. Francis Wayland Goddard(1833-1899), Moses B. I. Goddard's brother. Beginning in 1924, records show that Charlotte Ives Shaw purchased 71 acres in Potowomut, including the Hopelands estate and its buildings. She and her husband, Robert N. Shaw  created the "Ledshaw Corporation" to help manage the property. "Ledshaw" was a combination of Charlotte's mother's maiden name, Ledyard and her husband's name, Shaw. During this period of time, the estate was used primarily as a residence and small farm. After Charlotte death in 1942, the property was leased to a small residential school called The Narragansett School, founded in 1924 by Mrs. Joann King Walpole. The school's brochure describes its students as  "the type (of child) who tests low and frequently condemned as feeble minded."3 Mrs. Walpole was granted a monthly lease for the property for approximately 7 years. In 1946, Old Colony Homes Inc., a real estate development company owned by Mr. Melacarro, purchased the property from the Ledshaw Corp., and by 1948, an ambitious couple, Nathan and Lillian Hale, purchased the property with dreams of expanding their fledgling private day school, Rocky Hill. 

Map coordinates: 41.65720492263956, -71.4228224866831

"Hopelands" South-A little known story...

William Giles Goddard (1794-1846) & Charlotte Rhoda Ives Goddard (Hope Brown Ives' daughter-1792-1881) inherited the Hopelands property in 1855. One of their children was none other than Major William Goddard(1825-1907), a Civil War Union Army Officer, Major, of the 1st Rhode Island Infantry. He and his wife, Mary Edith Jenckes Goddard(1844-1921), had one daughter, Hope Goddard Iselin(1868-1970). There can be no doubt that as the grand daughter of Charlotte Rhoda Ives Goddard, Hope Iselin was no stranger to the Potowomut property having visited and played there as a child. In A Compendium of the History of Potowomut, 1636 to Present Day, author Manton Madison of Tockwotten Farms asserts that "Moses B. I. Goddard bequeath his Potowomut lands, including Hopelands to his wife, Elizabeth, and deeded in 1913 to Hope (Goddard) Iselin." Iseline was the daughter of Moses B. I. Goddard's brother, Maj. William Goddard. This is the only mention of Hope Iseline having been associated with Hopelands after her uncle's death. Interestingly, Hope Iseline spent a portion of her life in Aiken, South Carolina starting in 1900. There "she immediately fell in love with the area. What used to be the 15 acres of farmland they bought, she turned into a lush and fruitful estate filled with gardens and greenhouses, which she named 'Hopelands', after her favorite house in Newport, Rhode Island."  It is difficult to imagine that Hope Iseline wasn't referring to the Hopelands estate in Potowomut as there is no "Hopelands" in Newport. 

Hope Goddard Iselin was a very impressive person for her time. Her biography is a study in the wealth and priviledge she enjoyed as a member of two influential families, The Goddards and the Iselins. In it, Hope is described,

Hopelands, Aiken County, South Carolina-

"Mrs. Hope Iselin began developing the gardens of Hopelands soon after her husband acquired the estate around 1900. For more than 70 years she put love and care into creating an atmosphere of tranquility and beauty until her death in April 1970. She incorporated ideas from the gardens of Europe, creating "quiet spots", centered with graceful statuary and surrounded by flowering trees and shrubs. Winding paths were bordered with thousands of spring bulbs: hyacinths, crocuses and Dutch Iris and shredded with a  lacy mantle of dogwoods." 

Please visit the site below to discover more about our "sister property" to the south.

The "Pony Barn"

Interior Post and Beam Construction

Map Coordinates: 41°39'32.0"N 71°25'20.4"W

Sources Cited

1.  Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102408854/hope-iselin : accessed 26 April 2022), memorial page for Hope Goddard Iselin (17 Jan 1868–5 Apr 1970), Find a Grave Memorial ID 102408854, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, Bronx County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Bobby Kelley (contributor 46959922) . 

2.   "

3.  Narragansett School at Hopelands. Narragansett School at Hopelands, Mrs. Jo King Walpole, Warwick, RI, 1943.