Hearthside - The House That Love Built

CHASE FARM HOUSE A VIABLE SITE FOR DAIRY MUSEUM

The vision by the Friends of Hearthside to transform the vacant 1885 Chase Farm House into a museum to preserve the story of Rhode Island’s dairy industry is closer to reality. A feasibility study conducted by architect Barbara Thornton concluded that the house would work well as a museum, noting “The location in the historic district is ideal, the building is largely sound, the arrangement works well with the planned display and use can begin without a large initial capital outlay.”

The proposal includes using only the first floor of the farm house for the public, with the second floor used for storage of archives. The first floor would be split into display and story telling areas. Bathrooms, an entranceway and handicap ramp would replace the existing sunporch at the front of the house. The kitchen would be restored to a 1920’s era farm kitchen and serve as interactive exhibit space, with demonstrations of butter churning, canning, and other traditional cooking that was done by a farmer’s wife. The target audience for the museum are elementary school children.

The Chase & Butterfly Dairy Farm, dating back to 1867, was one of Lincoln’s last working farms and closed in the 1960’s. In 1979, Ben and Gladys Chase sold the farm house and former pastures to the Town of Lincoln, which is now used as passive recreation space and known as Chase Farm Park. The farm house has been used for Parks & Recreation storage by the Town since Gladys Chase passed away in 1987. The interior of the house is in poor condition and requires approximately $300,000 in initial improvements. The Friends of Hearthside plan to cover that through grants and fundraising. Discussions have been held with representatives of other farm museums around the state and a group of teachers in order to get feedback on the plans. “Everyone who has learned about the vision for the dairy museum has been most enthusiastic and supportive,” says Kathy Hartley, president of Friends of Hearthside. “Our next step is to move forward with getting the necessary approvals from the Town Council, teachers and School Committee on both the changes to the building and meeting the curriculum needs of the schools.” The project has sparked a real passion for Hartley, as she is the granddaughter of Ben and Gladys Chase.

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