Hearthside - The House That Love Built

ANNUAL FALL HERITAGE FESTIVAL FEATURES PASSPORT TO GREAT ROAD’S HISTORIC SITES

Plan now with your family to take a trip on Saturday, October 2 nd , but be sure to get your passport. While a passport will usually bring you to far way places, a “Great Road Passport” will bring you far back in time….300 years to be exact…and you only need to travel 3 miles. Great Road in Lincoln is one of the country’s oldest thoroughfares which includes several 17 th through 19 th century historic sites and is a National Register Historic District. To help promote a greater understanding of the rich history and heritage of this area, several organizations are coming together to sponsor the Great Road Fall Festival on Saturday, October 2 nd , including the Friends of Hearthside, Inc., John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, the Town of Lincoln, Friends of the Whitman House, Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, and the Saylesville Friends Meeting House.

The event, which runs from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., features a bus tour of Great Road and Lime Rock as well as visits to historic sites and demonstrations of traditional crafts, horse-drawn hay rides, and an outdoor country-western concert. The historic sites that are being opened to the public include: Hearthside (1810), Saylesville Friends Meeting House (1703), Eleazer Arnold House (1693), Hannaway Blacksmith Shop (1880), and the Valentine Whitman House (1694). The event is free, making it a perfect family outing on a crisp, fall day.

Take advantage of this unusual opportunity to visit several local historic sites all on one day. Park at the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop at Chase Farm Park and catch a continuously running shuttle bus which will bring visitors to the individual historic sites along Great Road, featuring Hearthside, as well as two stone-ender houses from the 17 th century, an 18 th century place of worship which is the oldest continuously used Quaker Meeting House in New England, and a 19 th century fully-operating blacksmith shop.

Or, to get an overview of the area’s history, hop aboard a tour bus to travel Great Road and learn the linkages between several 17 th through 19 th century historic sites, while exploring the evolution of Lincoln from a few frontier homesteads, to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, to present day. The 30-minute tours will be available starting at 11:30 a.m., and run again at 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30 p.m. A National Park Service ranger will be on board the bus to provide the fully narrated tour, which will also leave from the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop at Chase Farm Park on Great Road and travel by these individual historic sites as well as through the quarry village of Lime Rock and along Louisquisset Pike.

The “Great Road Passport” is being issued by the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. Visitors will be given their passport at the various individual sites, as well as on the Great Road Bus Tour. The passport, which will quiz visitors about some Great Road facts, will be stamped at each site, and when the passport is full showing that the visitor has “traveled 300 years in 3 miles,” they may present the fully-stamped passport at The Lodge Restaurant located just up the road from Great Road on Breakneck Hill to receive a free dessert with the purchase of a meal. Also, the fully stamped passport will be good for a $2.00 discount off the price of a ticket at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland for a performance of traditional Celtic music that evening.

In history, the smithy was always a popular meeting spot in town and center of activity. So, it’s only fitting that the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop will be the parking area for the event and meeting spot for bus tours. While waiting for the bus, visitors will be entertained by banjo music as they watch blacksmiths demonstrate the art of hand forging. At Hearthside, several artisans will demonstrate the traditional arts of spinning, weaving on an antique loom, stenciling, basket weaving, silversmithing, quilting, soapmaking, and the art of stained glass. There will be historic artifacts on exhibit as well as historic preservation efforts discussed. Before they leave, visitors will want to indulge in some traditional fall treats such as hot apple crisp, apple cider and an array of gifts available in the gift shop at Hearthside.

Among the many artisans demonstrating their craft at the Hearthside mansion will be Olle Johanson, an internationally-renowned silversmith who has his studio in Pawtucket; stained glass artist Christopher Foster, whose studio is in Lincoln; Carol Murphy of O’Murcada Soaps of Smithfield; members of the RI Handspun group; Andy Paquette of Slater Mill; as well as other Lincoln residents who will be demonstrating their skills.

The Town of Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring horse-drawn hayrides and a country-western concert which will take place at Chase Farm Park. The hayrides will run from 12:30-4:00 p.m. and the concert will be held from 1:00-3:00 p.m.

The Blackstone River Theatre, whose mission is to preserve and support the cultural diversity and heritage of all types of traditional folk music and dance with an emphasis on the settlers of the Blackstone Valley, is partnering with the Great Road Tour to extend the focus on our heritage. On October 2 nd, the first Rhode Island appearance of Bretons & Co. will be held at the Theatre. The group performs traditional music of the Celtic region of Brittany. Their music features spectacular dance tunes with Breton pipes, bombards, rustic clarinet, recorder, mandocello, fiddle, melodion, percussion and more. Holders of full-stamped Great Road passports may receive a $2.00 discount on the $12.00 ticket price, but reservations must be made in advance at the Theatre.

A particular focus of the event is on historic preservation, both of buildings and our cultural heritage. Several of the historic sites are owned by the Town of Lincoln, including Hearthside ,the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop and Chase Farm, and the Valentine Whitman House. The Eleazer Arnold House is owned and operated by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, and the Meeting House is owned by the Saylesville Friends congregation.

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