And the town said, what are we gonna do with the Manor House? One Town Council member — and I won’t mention his name — said it should be bulldozed. Saner hearts prevailed.”

Town Historian Jim Garman

PORTSMOUTH — Glen Manor House and the volunteers who cared for it over the years were fêted Wednesday night during a 100th anniversary open house celebration of the town-owned historic home.

Dozens of families turned out and strolled the property’s manicured lawns, its rolling hills, the dock extending into the Sakonnet River (featured in the movie “Moonrise Kingdom”) as well as the first floor of the home. They brought picnic dinners (or purchased from one of the two food trucks there), enjoyed the sounds of local band Deja Vu, feasted on fresh-caught oysters, and listened to Town Historian Jim Garman recount the early days of Glen Farm and the origins of the Manor House.

Brenda Doran, president of the Friends of the Glen Manor House, introduced John Brady, who served on the Glen Manor House Authority for more than 25 years. 

Brady was responsible for the development of the Glen Manor House’s mission statement, and was instrumental in the creation of the Friends, the non-profit arm of the organization that raises money for the building’s restoration, preservation, and maintenance. Town Council President Kevin Aguiar read a town proclamation in Brady’s honor.

General Assembly citations recognizing the 100th birthday of the Glen Manor House were read by Sen. Linda Ujifusa and Rep. Terri Cortvriend, accompanied by Rep. Michelle McGaw (wife of this story’s author).

Garman, who’s authored a book about Portsmouth’s “gentlemen’s farms” as well as several others, spoke for about 20 minutes about the history of the home and surrounding property. It all started with Henry Augustus Coit (“HAC”) Taylor, a prominent entrepreneur of railroads and other business interests who had homes in New York City and Newport.

Taylor wasn’t happy with the high taxes in Newport, so he started buying farms in the “country” — Portsmouth. “He actually bought about 15 farms, starting with one that was 112 acres. Ultimately, he put together a farm that included over 500 acres — everything from Sandy Point Avenue to Glen Road and all the way from the water to East Main Road, and then some,” Garman said.

Taylor was interested in agriculture and farm animals, and built the Glen Farm barns in the early part of the 20th century and raised prized animals. He lived in a farmhouse, but around 1918 or so he decided he was going to build an appropriate manor house. He hired famous architect John Russell Pope (Jefferson Memorial, the West Building of the National Gallery of Art), who incorporated some of the features of the “Petit Trianon” at Versailles into the design of the new home.

“During the beginning of the construction, HAC Taylor died, and his son Moses, with whom he had been working very closely with, took over. The completion in 1923 was done by Moses and his wife, Edith, and they began to summer here,” Garman said.

Glen Farm because the first of Portsmouth’s “showpiece” farms, he said. “There were a couple of others that came along soon after. One was Oakland Farm, which was developed by the Vanderbilt family, and another was Sandy Point Farm, which was developed by another branch of the Vanderbilt family,” said Garman, noting that the three farms took up a pretty big chunk of south Portsmouth — nearly 1,000 acres total.

Moses died in 1928, Edith took over, and she remarried in 1938. “Mrs. Taylor donated a lot to this town; she donated a wing to the library, for example. During World War II, she set up in the barn an emergency Red Cross station,” he said.

Glen Farm was productive and self-sustaining, but it dissolved as a corporation in 1939. Edith died in 1959, and her son Reginald sold the property to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, which built a school to the north of the Manor House and ran Elmhurst Academy from 1961 to 1972.

“They also got the Manor House. The price? $155,000,” said Garman, noting the purchase included 39 acres of land.

In 1972, the Sisters wanted to sell the property and Portsmouth needed a new school. “The only deal was, the nuns said if you buy the school, you have to buy the house, too. And the town said, what are we gonna do with the Manor House? One Town Council member — and I won’t mention his name — said it should be bulldozed. Saner hearts prevailed,” Garman said.

Volunteers manage it

The town formed a group of volunteers into the Glen Manor House Authority, and leadership fell to Richard Cosimini, the druggist who operated Nadeau’s Pharmacy, and Barbara Kearney. They took charge and reached out to people such as John Brady and Garman to decide what to do with the Manor House. 

“Through Richard’s and Barbara’s leadership it became self-sustaining, and obviously it’s booming today. It became a wedding palace, but also for other special activities,” Garman said.

He recognized the hard work and stewardship of Katie and Don Wilkinson, who served as caretakers for over 30 years before the town entered into an agreement with Russell Morin Catering & Events to operate the home. The Glen Manor House Authority was dissolved, but the Friends is still active.

“I photographed 55 weddings here, including Katie and Don’s,” Garman said.

As for the rest of Glen Farm, parts of it were sold for private development and the remaining portion was operated by Mason Phelps, who ran the International Jumping Derby there before retiring and putting the land up for sale. Like they did with the school and Manor House in 1973, voters approved the purchase of 92 acres of Glen Farm for $3.6 million in 1988. It’s now used for numerous athletic activities and passive recreation.

Garman said both acquisitions have greatly benefited Portsmouth residents. 

“I walk my dog through the Glen all the time and I think, what do other neighboring towns have as far as athletic fields and things like that? Not anything close to what we have. We are very fortunate,” he said.