Hearthside - The House That Love Built

Doll Exhibit at Hearthside's May 10th Open House

As part of Preserve Rhode Island's Statewide Historic Sites Open House Celebration on Saturday, May 10th, Hearthside will be featuring a special porcelain doll exhibit. The open house runs from 12:00-3:00 p.m. (this is an exception to our usual Open House hours of 1:00-4:00 p.m.). Hearthside is one of 24 historic sites around the state that is opening for free on this day to celebrate National Preservation Month and Rhode Island Tourism Week.

The dolls on exhibit were handcrafted by Judy Robinson and are dressed in historically accurate clothing, all of which were handsewn by Robinson. Many of the dolls are copies of original antique dolls and have earned awards in competition. Among the dolls in the exhibit are baby dolls, a couple dancing on a music box, bride doll, Victorian Lady, boy doll, and a 1920s girl in a Brownie Girl Scout Uniform. One doll is made completely of porcelain, has glass eyes, and even human hair. Judy began making dolls over 20 years ago as a hobby. A resident of Lakeville, Massachusetts, she is a Civil War re-enactor who has participated at Lincoln’s Chase Farm re-enactments, and for the past 10 years has run JR Robinson Mercantile, provider of colonial and pirate clothes for reenactors.

Also being featured during the Statewide Open House event will be the blacksmiths at the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop, located next to Hearthside, where they will fire up the forge and demonstrate their craft of handforging steel into decorative household pieces.

For a complete listing of all available attractions, please visit www.preserveri.org to view the event poster.

About the Historic Sites Coalition of Rhode Island

In 2007, Preserve Rhode Island, the statewide non-profit for historic preservation, initiated the Historic Sites Coalition of Rhode Island (HSCRI) to connect the stewards of historic sites that are open to the public. This network was developed to encourage discussion about common challenges and solutions, support cross-promotion, and provide interactive workshops to advance the sustainability of Rhode Island’s historic structures and unique places.

As of March 2008, forty-two historic sites from around the state have joined the HSCRI. These include a variety of sites ranging from house museums, to mills, to historical and preservation society headquarters, to a blacksmith shop, and a local library.

HSCRI members are connected through the historic sites coalition listserv, an online discussion forum, where members can ask and answer questions, post their upcoming events, share resources, and receive updates and information about workshops from Preserve Rhode Island.

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