Hearthside - The House That Love Built

A Very Special Gift for Hearthside

In 2010, Hearthside celebrated its 200th anniversary.  As one of the last family members to live at Hearthside, Drew Mowbray wanted to give something special to the house in commemoration of this significant milestone.    While he first thought about purchasing an antique doorknocker for one of the interior doors, a better idea occurred to him...a commemorative plaque!  While one could simply have been ordered up, he decided that he would like to make something very unique and meaningful for the house himself.  This plaque will hang on the door leading to the back of the house where it can be seen by all.
  
This special one-day event is the result of a collaborative effort among several organizations, including: Blackstone Valley Historical Society; Historic New England’s 1693 Arnold House; c. 1835 Captain Wilbur Kelly House; 1880 Hannaway Blacksmith Shop; 1810 Hearthside; 1909 Lincoln Woods State Park; 1703 Saylesville Friends Meeting House; and 1694 Valentine Whitman Jr. House.
  
  Since he had never done this kind of work before, Drew enlisted the help of a master goldsmith, James Miller of London, to guide him through its creation.  First the flat brass plate was marked with an oval, cut out with a jewelers saw, and then hammered thousands of times into a circle, gradually getting the oval into a "dome".  The edges of the dome then had to be trimmed to an exact shape and the surface sanded down to remove all the hammer marks.   Next came the engraving of the ribbons and the shield on copper, and then the lettering and designs were pierced out with a jewelers saw.  Finally, rivets were made from copper wire to attach the copper items to the oval.  The plaque took nine months to complete.
   The piece features a shield with the names of all the owners of Hearthside and the years each owned it.  Drew incorporated symbolic elements into the design.  The flowers around the screw holes are tulip tree flowers, the trees in front of the house that were planted by Stephen Hopkins Smith in 1810. The leaves represent the English ivy that grew on the side of the house throughout the years that the Mowbray family lived here.  Finally, the rose window, which is probably one of the most prominent architectural features of the house along with the curved roofline.
  
This is one of the most thoughtful gifts Hearthside could receive, and both the plaque, and Drew, will be a part of its history forever.  

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