History of Jacob Hill Farm 1723 - 2023 #historic #Seekonk #history 300 year #anniversary

In addition to writing novels, one of my passions is visiting and researching historic sites.  Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the historic Jacob Hill Farm in Seekonk, Massachusetts.  It is now an amazing wellness center, with three of the original structures still gracing this beautiful property, 300 years after the farm was first built!  Before it became the wellness center, it was Jacob Hill Inn, Seekonk's first professional bed and breakfast.  The owners of the Inn purchased the property in 1991, and did a great deal of work to restore the landmark buildings, while also researching the property's history.  Much of this post includes information from their website and television appearance, used with permission.  Visit the site for more details and photos at HistoricJacobHill.com  and view the corresponding 3-part televised discussion on Discovering Seekonk History.   

The land itself was first deeded to Reverend Samuel Peck by the Wampanoag Tribe.  It passed through generations of his family and was eventually deeded to Thomas Allen in 1722.  With 10 children, building a large home was necessary, and it still stands today.  When Calvin Jacob, a prominent deacon, married into the family, the property eventually acquired the name Jacob Hill Farm.

The "Front House", known as the "Club House"
 during the years it was a hunt club
(and then again when it was the Inn), as it appears today

In 1915, the wealthy Grosvenor family purchased Jacob Hill Farm, in part due to their love of horseback riding.  In 1924, it became the Jacobs Hill Hunt Club, a members-only establishment possibly arising in part to the restrictions of Prohibition.  The Grosvenors donated the Front House to the club, and that became the Club House.  Members included such prestigious figures as former Governor of Rhode Island William H. Vanderbilt and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Firestone, and Mrs. Gammell Cross of the family that founded what is now A.T. Cross, one of the oldest pen manufacturing companies in the world. (There are even some Knights on the list!  Probably no relation).  See the member (box holder) list from 1939 and other photos on the Historic Jacob Hill website under the History tab. 

The arbor was once a coach stop ~
note the seats on the sides!

In another current photo of the Front House, you can see the arbor that was once a coach stop on the Providence to Taunton route.  Note the seats on the sides for waiting passengers.  One of the other three buildings still standing today was originally a barn which was converted to a carriage house.  The third structure, known as "The Barn", was the barn constructed by the Hunt Club.  It was painted white...a symbol of affluence at the time as white paint cost more in those days than the usual red paint associated with barns on farms.  It is still white today.

The Hunt Club was active from 1924 -1943, hosting horse shows and fox hunts (where no foxes were actually harmed!  Only their scent was used for the chase).  The property passed through several families until it was purchased as an Inn.  At one point, a member of the Atomic Energy Commission resided there, and there was a phone in the Front House that connected directly to the White House.

Hello? ;)
Door to the Front
House basement

So, with such a rich history, this author of ghost mysteries had to ask about any unusual happenings.  One person told me he saw the door to the basement open by itself while standing in the current kitchen of the Front House, but of course, it is a very old (but very beautiful) building.  

Speaking of kitchens, the Front House still holds fireplaces original to the building, including the one pictured below, which was a cooking fireplace (note the long iron arm).  To the right, the small door still houses a beehive oven, once used to bake bread.

Original cooking fireplace and beehive oven (behind door)

I've posted a few more of my photos below!  Thanks for stopping by, and if you enjoyed this post, you might also want to check out a few of my other posts on historic places: Historic Mt. Washington Hotel, Historic Falmouth, Cape Cod, Haunted, Historical Barnstable, and Visiting Brewster.

Side view of the Front House

Gazebo off the Front House

Wallpaper in
the Front House

The Carriage House, now a gym and offices

Sunset at Jacob Hill

 

 

 

Bathroom Makeover ~ From 90s Mauve to #FarmHouse Coastal! #FixerUpper Style Cape Cod #Remodel

So thrilled with how it all came together!  Wall color is Hale Navy.

After months of delays, the glass for our master bathroom shower was just installed, which means the entire remodel is officially DONE!  I couldn't wait to post the pics of the bedroom, so they're already up, but now I can share the bathroom pics as well.

One of the things I asked to have to
remind me of my grandparents...for
reason I always like this painting, and
if the medium was right, so did my
Grandma Renie.

I can't find any before pics, which is a relief...it was just as bad as the master bedroom in both decor and design.  For one thing, I still had the ratty (but frequently washed) shower curtain from our first house...I couldn't seem to part with it because it matched this watercolor painting I'd brought from my grandparent's house after my grandmother passed away.  And I was so attached to the painting...not just because I liked it enough to ask my uncle, when they were cleaning out the house, if I could have it.  But also because it reminded me of my grandparents, and even more compelling, because one time when I was at a psychic medium show (researching my main character's abilities for Gull Harbor), a medium picked me out of the crowd and told me my grandmother "was happy I had the painting."  My mind was blown...I'd never seen this medium, I hadn't signed up for anything, it was cash at the door and an auditorium full of people.  And I don't think it was a lucky guess, as she also talked about the charm bracelet of my grandmother's that I held on to as well.  

So, the shower curtain and painting matched, although they were both a somewhat dated combination of mauve and green.  Our vanity was small, one sink, and my husband had long since relinquished all the counter space to me and moved his things into the hall bathroom, sharing space with our teen boys.  As the only female in the house, this struck me as fair.  But our bathroom sink didn't work very well, and the shower itself was a nightmare that I can't bear to elaborate on.

As I mentioned when posting about the bedroom, decorating doesn't come easily to me, but researching things does.  Again, I relied a lot on Pinterest!  Here's a link to the specific board for the bathroom.  Pics below...thanks for coming by and let me know what you think in the comments section!

I'm proud of the tobacco basket/wreath design...I found the
metal tobacco basket at a vintage re-sale shop, and the
wreath came from Luckett's in Virginia.

Bottles collected from flea markets and antique shops.
Terrarium and faux plant from Marshall's.

To view the bedroom pics, click here.

And I should not forget the closet space...the before closet and after is below!

A photo from demo-day. 
That narrow space under the eves was the closet...sloped ceilings and
a hidden window, with folding doors that took up space.

New closet area in a different part of the room!
So much more storage, better use of space, and a little
bench and window <3  Color is Lakeshore Green.

Bedroom Makeover ~ From 90s Mauve to #Farmhouse! #FixerUpper Cape Cod #Remodel #Design

Jinx likes the new duvet

This blog is usually dedicated to book-related things, as writing and reading are my passions.  But I also post about some of my other hobbies and interests, like exploring new places, fitness, and gardening, and for the past six months, my main focus has been on remodeling our master bedroom, a space that hasn't been updated since the early 1990s when we moved in.  Decorating doesn't come easy to me, but research does...so I've been combing the internet for inspiration and pinning pictures to imitate for what seems like forever.  Like many people, we're big fans of the HGTV show Fixer Upper, and we wanted to shed our stale mauve and floral decor and do a sort of farmhouse/cottage design in its place, complete with a few interior renovations to enlarge the tiny master bathroom and move the closet from beneath a cramped sloped dormer.  

I studied the images I pinned for what it was that appealed to me, and what made certain combinations "work".  Then I tried to come up with variations that would give the design a personal flair, especially since we don't actually live in a farmhouse.  But Cape Cod has a great deal of farming history, due in part to the area being one of the first places settled by the English in the 1600s (and I happened to research a lot about that for my latest book The Haunting of Hillwood Farm!).  This means there are tons of flea market finds from old houses and barns to be found around here!  And with the entire peninsula surrounded by water, a cottage coastal theme fits right in.  So I set about combining the two sources of inspiration, and I'm excited about how it came out.

I spent a lot of time on the sites of talented bloggers who are actually good at this sort of thing, and the links they provided to products really helped me.  So I've linked the sources for some of the items in the pictures.  The majority of decor was found at those local flea markets, or at HomeGoods/Marshalls/T.J. Maxx. 

A few "Before" pics to compare to the new look:

A mauve carpet, faux finish wall paint I did myself, heavy floral drapes,
and a worn comforter from years of washing and 3 pets who love to snuggle.
Although that's just a black cat pillow in this pic--
but one of the real cats made it into the top pic above!

What a change!  The window on the back wall was removed to create a statement
wall of just shiplap, but the window in the old closet was revealed so no loss in
total windows.  Kept the bed and nightstands but got a bed frame and new lamps. 

One of two dormers in the room...the other one was in the very small closet.

This is the dormer that was hidden in the old closet.  Kept
the table but new decor and shades.

For renovations, we moved the closet to reveal a window, lifted the ceiling into the unused attic space, and enlarged the master bathroom (those pics coming soon-still a work in progress!)

More of the new look: 

Almost all of this came from flea markets except the table

The wall color is Sherwin-Williams Silver Strand

I had a line from our wedding song made into wall art via
Etsy...it's the Romance Author in me!  Tying those curtain
tabs was a little challenging, but I found a YouTube video.

Mirror and table from flea market, chair, pillow, and vase
from Marshalls and HomeGoods.

A few specific links from things I bought online if anyone likes something in the pics (I'm not an affiliate, I don't receive anything for clicks or purchases, I just know it helped me to be able to quickly find something I liked while trying to design the room!)  I'm always happy to answer questions in comments or via email too if there's something I'm forgetting!

Also, aside from Amazon which usually tries to price match all the time, most of these sites will have sale codes on a regular basis.  If there's not one advertised, I check places like RetailMeNot to find the current codes.

wreath above the bed

table lamps  (note - I don't love the shades, they look a bit yellow to me, especially up close.  But the sale price on these was great and I can replace the shades eventually)

bed frame

bed skirt

duvet cover (light gray, button style)

rug (this site had a price $100 less than others with same rug)

ceiling fan (wait for sale offers!)

console table (I got it on a half price sale!)

long white curtains  (note--these are sold per panel, not in a set.  I purchased one and then realized I had just one curtain lol)

white Roman shades

More products I looked at and the pics I used for inspiration on my Pinterest Board - Bedroom, and check back soon for the bathroom reveal!  It should be finished by this Friday, officially ending a project that took 6 months overall.  Hopefully now I can get back to writing!  Thanks for stopping by :)