united states department of the interior...the commodore perry farm encompasses approximately 250...

7. C. *. 1 Th 4 r.r, Itj,vi:S t,’J !.&:-r;JO

United States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service

National Register of Historic PAaceslnventory-Nomnation FormSee instructions in How to Complete National Register FormsType all entries-complete applicable sections

1. Name

v . I /Lii . ; jL.

For NPS use only

...received

date entered

historic Commodore Perry Farm

and/orcommon Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Birthplace, "The Commodore"

2. Location

street & number 184 Post Road - not for publication

#2 - Hon. Claudine Schneidercity, town South Kings town N ..A vicinity of Cunt.cnoionnl dist4ot

state Rhode Island code 44 county Washington code 009

3. ClassificationCategory Ownership Status Present Use

district public i occupied agriculture museum-.JL. buildings .L.. private unoccupied commercial - park

structure both work in progress - educational ..._L private residencesite Public Acquisition Accessible entertainment religiousobject ?LAJn process ......X yes: restricted government scientific

being considered -- yes: unrestricted industrial transportationno military other:

4. Owner of Property

name Mrs. Wisner Townsend

street&number 184 Post Road

city, town Wakefield PLA.vicinity of state Rhode Island

5. Location of Legal Description

courthouse,registryof deeds,etc. Town Clerk, South Kingstown Town i-Jail -

02880

street & number 111gb Street

city, town Wakefield state Rhode is land

6. Representation in Existing Surveystitle See Continuation Sheet #1. has this property been determined eligible? yes ç4ç_ no

date - federal .... state county - local

depository for survey records

city, town state

02880

NP Form I0.900.h OMEI No.1074-0018.‘‘‘‘‘.t3.82 Eq, 1031-84

United States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service For Nt’S use on’y

t’lationa! Register of Historic Places received’

lnventory-Nominatñon Form dateentéred

Continuation sheet 1 *, item number ,

Historic American Bui ] clings Survey1956, 1959Library of CongressWashington, D.C.

Preliminary Survey Report--Town of South KingstownApril 1975Rhode Island Historical Preservation CommissionProvidence, R.I.

.t Description

Condition Check one Check oS.....X_ excellent ........ deteriorated - unaltered ..D .original site- good ruins DL. altered moved date- fair * - unexposed

Describe the present and original if known physical appearance

The Commodore Perry Farm encompassesapproximately 250 acres ofgently rolling fields and woodland on the west side of Post Road U.S.Route 1. Approximately 21 acres immediately surrounding thehouseand outbuildings are included in this nomination. A pair of graveldrives, joined at each end, lead up from Post Road to the farm buildings,with a spur leading up to the north side of the house see site planOn a rise near the center of the property -- with a large old barn nowconverted to a guest house, a caretaker’s house, and other outbuildingsnearby -- stands a picturesque one-and-one-half-story, gambrel-roof,shingle-clad dwelling, with a massive stone center chimney, an atypicalthree-room plan in the main block, and a one-story,, gable-roofell complex extending northerly from its west side Figures 1 and 2 . The househas had a number of changes made to it over the years.

The age of the main block is uncertain, with either 1785 or 1815given’ as the construction date in various available sources. The overallform and proportions of the gambrel-roof mass are more characteristicof earlier dwellings and would normally seem to indicate an early ormid-eighteenth-century date. Numerous changes in the building fabric,however -- such as replacement of the first-floor joists and subflooring,concealment of framing members, and removal of interior partitions --

make structural analysis difficult and inconclusive. By the time localantiquarians became interested in the Perry House in the early twentiethcentury, the original massive brick center chimney visible in in oldphotos had been removed, the interior had been altered, and the entirestructure had fallen into a state of extreme disrepair. A rather freelyconceived "restoration" executed in the 1920s was followed by anotherperiod of neglect and decay. After its acquisition by the present ownerin 1944-45, the house was thoroughly rehabilitated once again and hassince been well maintained.

The north and south sides of the main house each contain a centralentrance flankedby asymmetrically spaced windows. The southern doorway,with a five-light transom, was originally the main entrance. The plaindoorway on the north, oriented to a vehicle court in the angle betweenthe house and the ell, and the gabled dormer breaking up through the eavesover this doorway are both additions made in the l9SOs. The varied massingof the dl complex is the result of multiple additions over a hundred-year period. The portion immediately west of the main house, with itsgable parallel to the gambrel, was added in the 1860s. The wing extendingnorth from this earlier section, with its gable roofs perpendicular tothe aforementioned one, was added in two stages: the part closest to the1860s dl in the l920s, the outer part in the l9SOs. On the east sideof this northerly wing there is a rear entrance into the l920s section anda modern overhead door opening into a garage occupyingpart of the 19’SOssection. The most recent portion of the ell complex, abutting the mainhouse on the south side of the l8ôOs dl, is a solarium completed about1971, with window walls composed of sliding plate-glass doors and bubblesky lights in a shed roof formed by reconstructing and extending part ofthe old ell’s gable roof.

See Continuation Sheet # 2

NP5 Form .10900. . 0MB No.1024-0018Eq, 10-31-84

Uniéed States Department of the InteriorNatIonal Park Service For Nt’S use only

National Register of Historic Places recewed -

Inventory-Nomination Form datoentered

Continuation sheet 2 Item number 7 Page z

The interior of the house has been considerably altered over theyears. The first story of the original part of the house now comprisesthree relatively large rooms. The old main entrance on the south onceopened into a small central stair hall containing a steep staircase witha plain, square newel and stick balusters. The partition between thishall and the southwest corner room was removed and a new neo-Colonialstaircase was installed in the l9SOs. The larger space is currentlyused as a library and informal sitting room with the staircase at theeast end.

The present main north entrance opens into a handsomeand spacioushall with paneled walls, a cupboard in the northwest corner, and a stonefireplace in the southeast corner with a bolection molding around the fire-box Figure 3 . The wall paneling is composedof old doors and was installed, together with the corner cupboard and corner fireplace, duringthe 1920s restoration. At that time the room was used as a dining room.A window in the north wall was closed up and the new front doorway wascut in the 1950s. The hall connects to the library through a door nextto the fireplace. A narrow spacebetween these two rooms is divided intoclosets opening into each room and a powder room opening off the library.

East of the hail and library is a living room occupying the entireeast end of the house Figure 4 . This space was probably once dividedinto two rooms, but the partition between has long since been removed..A large fireplace, added during the 1920s restoration, projects into theroom at the center of the east side. It has a molded architrave fireboxsurround, a bulbous mantel shelf resembling a piece of an overscaled cymarecta molding, beveled overmantel and side panels, and cupboards on eachside of the chimney mass opening sideways rather than forward. Somecased corner posts and a massive cased summer beam in this room are theonly visible evidences of timber framing in the house.

West of the present entrance hall the space in the l8ôOs eli hasbeen converted from a kitchen into a dining room. The fenestration hasbeen changedby moving the two windows in the south wall closer togetherto make a double window and by cutting a window the west wall and installing the sash from the window closed up in the ctitrance hall. Promthe dining room doors lead into the solarium on the south and the remainder of the dl complex on the north. The part of the dl adjacentto the dining room was added as a maid’s room and bath in the 1920s andwas converted in the 1950s into a large kitchen with a breakfast area.At that time an addition containing a large kitchen closet, a mudroom,and a garage was added off the north end of the new kitchen.


NP Fo,mID-900’a ,. ., 0MB No.1024-00183.82 ‘ " Exp. 10-31-84

I.Jni.ted States Departnient of the InteriorNational Park Service - For Nt’S use only

National Register of Historic Places recved

Inventory-Nomination Form

Continuation sheet 3 item number 7 Page 3

The second story of the house originally contained four small bedrooms opening off a walkway surrounding thestaircase. One of the bedrooms was turned into a bathroom in the l920s. This arrangement waschanged during the .l9SOs renovations and the staircase now rises to asmall hall with a bathroom straight ahead in the gabled dormer additionand one large bedroom on each side.

The barn, west of the house, comprises a tall one-and-one-half-story,gable-roof, early nineteenth-century main section with a lower one-and-one-half-story, gable-roof, twentieth-century addition to the south sideFigure 5. It has been renovated for residential purposes. Most of themain section is given over to a large all-purpose liVing and dining areawith a two-story central space, open to the roof, flanked on the eastand west by one-story spaces where the original animal stalls have beenremoved. The lofts above the old stall areas have been partitioned offfrom the central ‘space and are furnished as bedrooms, reached by separatecorner staircases leading up from the low side spaces. On the northside, filling the original large wagon doorway, are French doors flankedby relatively wide multi-pane sidelights, the former opening out onto ascreened porch. In the main section the hewn post-and-beam structuralmembers are left exposed with wall panels of rough plaster or planks he.tween the timbers. The addition, once a milking shed, contains a kitchenadjacent to the main section, a bedroom beyond the kitchen at the southend, and a large dormitory-like bedroom above reached by a staircaserunning up from the-kitchen. .

The other buildings on the property include a one-story, gable-roof,shingle-clad caretaker’s house, convertedfrom an early twentieth-cefrt-i.irygarage by the present owners; a small, one-story, gable-roof, shingle-clad barn with exposed rafters articulating the eaves overhangs; a one-story, gable-roof, shingle-clad shed; a very small, gable-roof, board-and-batten structure resembling a springhouse or we’llhouse; and a low, rectangular, gable-roof, wooden chicken house. These structures have nonotable exterior trim or interior finish. A swimming pool with a screenedpavilion on a terrace at its west end is located north of the drivewayleading up to the north side of the main house.

A complex configuration of stone walls divides the grounds near thehouse and large barn guest house into lane,orchard, n:i ght pasture,and field. These walls, which contribute considerably to the scenicquality of the property, are important artifacts indicating previous usepatterns of this old farm, a portion of which is still used to raise hay.‘About ‘1000 feet north of the main house, acrossa cleared field, is theold Perry family cemetery, a plot about fourteen feet square bounded bygranite fence posts lacking their original iron rails. Most of thegraves, following Quaker custom, are marked by uninscribed headstones andfootstones of rough-hewn granite. The resting places of Oliver H. Perry’s

See Continuation Sheet #4 .

NP.S Form 10.9008 0MB No.1024-00183.82 ‘ Exp. 10-31-84

United States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service For Nt’S use only

National Register of Historic PlacesInventory-Nomination Form


grandparents, Freeman andMercy Perry, are the only ones marked withinscribed slate stones.

8’ Significance

Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify belowprehistoric archeology-prehistoric community planning landscape architecture__ religion1400-i 499 archeology-historic conservation iaw science1500-1599

- 1600-1699agriculture

.L architectureeconomics ‘

educationliteraturemilitary

- scuipture- social!

.X_ 1700-1799 - engineering music humanitarian

.JL... 1800-1 899 commerce - exploration/settlement philosophy theater

...... 1900- communications

Specific datesca ca 1815,

industryinvention

Builder/Architect Carl

politics/government

F. Hartmann ?

- transportation...X.. other specify

Preservati cm,Folklore

Statement of Significance in one paragraph

The CommodorePerry Farm is a property of unusual significance. Itshitorical importance is largely symbolic, stemming primarily from itsstatus as a landmark popularly associated with historical figures, as awidely recognized historical site, and, briefly, as an historical museum.Architecturally, the Perry farmhouse is less important for the qualityand condition of the original building fabric than it is for the characterof certain subsequent alterations which provide a fascinating historicalperspective on architectural restoration standards of the early twentiethcentury. ‘ Although the Perry Farm is notable primarily as a memorial orcommemorative monument, its connection with local tradition and elementsof its architectural design invest it with its own particular significance.

The CommodorePerry Farm is generally perceived to be a fine exampleof Colonial domestic architecture historically noteworthy as the birthplace of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the commander responsible forthe decisive American victory at the Battle of Lake Erie during the Warof 1812, and possibly of his brother Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry,a distinguished naval officer best known for opening Japan to westerntrade in 1853-54. As discussed in the Description section above, thedate of construction of the existing Perry farmhouse is in question, butit is most probably not colonial, and, with its numerous alterations,,certainly cannot be characterized as an important surviving example ofa standard Federal period farmhouse. Regardingits status as the birthplace of Perry, the available evidence tends to refute this contention.There is considerable disagreement in historical sources regarding thelocation of Perry’s birth. The Rhode Island Historical Society, wishingto place a marker at the Perry birthplace, made a thorough study of thequestion in the 1920s and concluded that the property nominated herein,once the homestead farmof Oliver H. Perry’s grandfather, Freeman Perry,was indeed the birthplace of Oliver. However, Oliver Perry was almostcertainly not born in the present farmhouse. . Though some sources maintain that Perry was born in this dwelling in 1785 soon after it was completed for his father, Captain Christopher R. Perry, certain nineteenth-century sources -- relying in part on the testimony of relatives andclose friends and presumably more accurate -- state that Oliver himselfor his father built the present house about 1815 on the site of FreemanPerry’s dilapidated old "mansion house" of 1743, which had been Oliver’sactual birthplace and which was torn down to permit construction of theexisting house. The noted Providence architect and antiquarian JohnHutchins Cady examined the farmhouse in the l920s and dated it in the


NPS flrm ‘0-900-s17.81. -.


National Register of Historic PlacesInventory-Nomination Form

Continuation sheet 5 Item number 3

early nineteenth century, lending credence to the latter story. ThusOliver was probably born on the property but not in the house nowstanding. Matthew Perry was almost certainly born in Newport, not onthe Perry Farm.

In spite of these facts, a considerable oral, written, and evengraphic tradition has grown around the Perry Farm, and specifically thefarmhouse, identifying it intimately with Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.After his victory at Lake Erie, Perry became one of the most celebratedheroes of nineteenth-century America. He was lionized in articles andbooks, and his untimely death at age 34 in 1819 only seems to have increased public admiration and esteem for him. A woodcut of the presentPerry farmhouse was included in Lossing’s Field Book of the War of 18121868; see photo number 6 as "the birthplace of Oliver Hazard Perry"and since then the picturesque little gambrel-roof dwelling has been sopictured in innumerable publications, souvenir prints and photos, andpostcards.

As might be expected the Commodore’s fame had a special impact onhis home town and a considerable body of local tradition developed concerning him, perhaps exacerbated by a regional peculiarity. SouthKingstown lies in what is commonly known in Rhode Island as South County.The South County, corresponding roughly to what is officially designatedWashington County, is not a corporate entity devised for political admiration, but exists extralegally in the perception of Rhode Islandresidents as an area defined by its-environmental character and historicaland cultural traditions. More than elsewhere in the state, local historyhas been an integral part of the popular culture of South County andhas spawned a pervasive, rather nostalgic, anecdotal historical tradition -- transmitted in both oral and written form -- based in largepart on intimate personal recollections of personalities and places.This rich body of folklore and legend is unique in Rhode Island and hasan almost mythic significance. The tales long in circulation about Perryand the Perry Farm place the property squarely within this tradition andmake it a South County landmark of major literary and cultural importance.

The Perry Farm’s significance to the community is indicated by intermittent attempts to insure its Ijreservation. By the time Oliver H.Perry reached adulthood, parts of Freeman Perry’s homestead farmhadbeen set off or sold off to various descendants, and a large parcel wasput up for auction to pay debts of Freeman’s estate in 1814. Oliverpurchased this latter parcel and added it to two other parcels from theold farm one acquired previously and one subsequently to form a tractof about 162 acres surrounding the present farmhouse. This seems tohave been motivated by a conscious effort to keep "the homestead" inthe family. In 1824 Perry’s widow Elizabeth C. Perry sold the farm toher uncle Christopher G. Champlin, who later sold it out of the family.

-

Page 2


NPb-o,m 10-900-a- 7-81J . -


National Register of Historic Placeslnventory-Nomination Form

Continuation sheet 6 Item number 8

In 1865, George Tiffany of New York, a son-in-law of Matthew C. Perry,purchased the farm, motivated by the fact that it had been the home ofhis wife’s ancestors. Thus the property returned to the possession ofPerry descendants. It was rented out to tenants, however, and by theearly twentieth century had fallen into a state of terrible disrepairafter undergoing destructive renovations.

Local historical and patriotic organizations called for preservationand restoration of the Perry house asa memorial, preferably under the

* auspices of the state. In 1929 Mayor Mortimer A. -Sullivan of Newport,in an address to the Rhode Island Historical Association, spoke of theneed to preserve memorials and landmarks to foster patriotism and specifically called upon the state to purchase the Perry Farm and turn itinto a "historic shrine" to Oliver Perry. That same year Mrs. PerryTiffany, widow of George Tiffany’s son and then owner of the Perry Farm,had the old farmhouse rehabilitated under the supervision of her brother-in-law, retired U.S. Army Colonel Carl F. Hartmann. Mrs. Tiffany, whileusing it also as a country retreat, opened the house to the public asa museum in honor of both Oliver and Matthew Perry, with memorabilia relating to the two men. At the time the work executed on the house --

including the reconstruction of the missing center chimney, the wallpaneling of old doors in the then dining room present entrance halland the neo-Georgian chimney piece in the living room -- was referred toas "restoration," and contemporary accounts comment on ‘the particular’care to preserve the simplicity and dignity" of the old house and thepicturesque and thoroughly "colonial" ambience of its setting. The Farmstill exhibits much of the character it had back when it was the "Commodore Perry Memorial." The freely handled "restoration" of this property, an isolated monument associated with a person of exceptional importance, for use as a house museum serves as a classic illustrativeexample of the most common early twentieth-century approach to historicalpreservation.

In 1936, a delegation from Japan visited the Perry Farm and plantedseveral flowering cherry trees in memory of Matthew C. Perry. Thisceremony, enacted at a location at best only occasionally visited byMatthew, if at all, attests to the substantial symbolic importance ofthis property’s connection to the Perry family.

By the late l930s Mrs. Tiffany had apparently lost interest in herlate husband’s family homestead. The property, which had been mortgagedto the Wakefield Trust Company for a decade, was conveyed to Mrs. Tiffany’ssister, Mrs. Carl Hartmann. Upon Mrs. Hartmann’s death in 1943 WakefieldTrust took title and sold the farm to Rowland Hazard of South Kingstown.Maintenance on the house was apparently defered during these years. Thefarm was acquired by the present owner and her husband for use as acountry house in 1944-45. Sincethen the farmhouse has been repaired

Page 3

See Continuation Sheet II 7

-- 7-SI -

United

States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service

National Register of Historic PlacesInventory-Nomination form

Continuation sheet 7 item number 8

and somewhat altered over the years. most extensively in 1955; N.J.Senesey, architect but though these changes detract somewhat from theearlier fabric of the house, they do not eradicate the character of theearlier work. Today the Perry Farm stands as an important local landmark with symbolic, quasi-mythical associations with Oliver HazardPerry which give it an unusual but real historical significance.

Page 4

NPS Forr lO900- - - - 0MB No.1024-0018- ta-az - - Exp- 10-31-64

I.Jnited States Departrtient of the InteriorNational Park Service For Nfl use any

National Register of Historic Places received

Inventory-Nomination Form dateente -


Field, Edward, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at theEnd of the Century: A History C3 vols., Boston and Syracuse: 1902II, pp. 618, 622.

Land Evidence Records, Town of South Kingstown unpublished; deed transcripts by Marjorie Schunke, in possession of Mrs. Wisner Townsend.

Lossing, Benson J., The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812 New- York: 1868 p. 521. -.

Narragansett Times, 8 February 1929, p. 4.26 February 1929, p. 3.

1 March 1929, Supplement n.p..28 June 1929, p. 4.

S July 1929, p. 1.

New York Times, 17 March 1929, sec. 3, p. 1.27 June 1929, p. 28.

Page, Charles unpublished thesis on history and architectural- designof Commodore Perry farmhouse, Yale University, no date; photocopyin possession of Mrs. Wisner Townsend.

Pro’vidence Evening Bulletin, 29 June 1926, p. 2.

Providence Journal, 21 January 1906, p. 30.25 February 1929, p. 28.30 June 1929, p. 5.

Providence Magazine, XXXVIII September 1927 pp. 438, 452.

Rhode Island Historical Society Cbllections, XX, 4 October 1927, pp.113-14. -

* Rhode island Historical Society, Graphics Collection old photographsand postcards of Perry Farm

NPS Forr. 10-900-a - - 0MG No.1024-0018-, -C-- -. 3-82 - * - Exp- 10-31-84

-

-, tin iled States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service For NI’S use o&y

National Register of Historic Places rec&ved -

Onventory-Nomination Form-


The boundaries have been drawn to include the Commodore Perry farmhouse and all outbuildings describedin section 7, together with thecleared land visible from the farm complex. At the time the CommodorePerry farmhouse served as a museum in the early twentieth century -- oneof its periods of major significance -- its surroundings were regarded asan element which contributed substantially to the property’s "colonial"ambience and historicity see continuation sheet II 6, second paragraphThe visual character of the land visible from the farm buildings, withits field, pasture, and woodland crisscrossed by stdne ial1s and fences,is an important integral feature of this cultural resource, and the landhas therefore been included in the nomination. The line segments AB andBC have been drawn to follow a boundary between the hay fields adjoiningthe house and a wedge-shapedfield to the north known as the "pie lot."The "pie lot" was acquired by the present owners and is thus not historically associated with the Perry Farm; it is also visually separated fromthe hay fields by a hedgerow. The- nominated property has been extendedto line segment HA to encompass the limit of field visible from the houseand also to include the old Perry family cemetery, located just beyond asmall pond or bog, in a thicket of trees between two areas of clearedfield. The line segment DE has been drawn to include outbuildings in thewooded land south of the drive through the farm see site plan

9 Major Bibliographical ReferencesDorr Obituary Scrapbooks unpublished, at R.I. Historical Society I,

p. 122; XI, p. 150.


10.. Geographical DataAcreage of nominated property approximately 21 acresQuadrangle name Kings ton Ouadrangie scaie 1:24,000

UMT References -

A1ii 91 1218 6 2 0 I 14 SI88 14i0 j 191 1218 j8 Is60 14i si 8i8 13 tot

Zone - Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing

C1l191 I2I8i816i4i01 I4iSI8i8I2iliOI DIli9I.j2j8!8IS30j 14i5I8i810i4,0IE11i911218181312101 451881040I F1l191 2t8181219i01 14i518i8!2iOiOl

cIl9!I2I88I319pI 14l5I81812!OlOl H1l191 218181512101 141518814701

Verbal boundary description and justificationThe boundary of the nominated property is delineated by the straight-

sided polygon whose vertices are marked and situated as listed above.See Continuation Sheet #9

List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries

state code * county code

state code county code

11. Form Prepared 3y

name/title Robei-k,L_Jic..Lr. Se.njpr Historic Preservati on Planner

organization R.I. Historical Preservation Comm. date May, 1982

street&number 150 Benefit Street telephone 401-277-2678

--cityortown Providence, state Rhode Island 02903

12. State Historic Preservation Officer CertificationThe evaluated significance of this property within the state is: - . -

national ....._state X... local

As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 Public Law 89-665, i hereby nominate this property for inciusioçii?t-the National Register and certify that it has been evaluatedaccording to the criteria and procedures set fortH bythe Nat/onai Parlç Service.

State HIstoric Preservation Officer signature ‘ic Xccwi_-.----title date

For NPS useoniyI hereby certify that this property Is included in the National Register

- . ... .

- -

- .

-

date

.

- .- -

.

. . -- -

-

4:

Keeper of the National Register - . * :. . - :

Attest: date . -

- Chief of Registration

Comm

odorePerry

Farmhouse

LIVIN

GR

OO

M

PostRoad

SouthKingstw

n,Rhode

Island

SKETCHPLAN

-N

OT

TOSCALE

KITCH

EN

ENTRANCE

HALL

DIN

ING

RO

OM

LIBRARY

SOLAR

IUM

GARAG

E

CommodorePerry

FarmPost

RoadSouth

Kingstown,

RhodeIsland

toCEM

ETERYSketch

plan-notto

scale

NIG

HT

PASTU

RE

nCH

ICK

EN

Co

op

BARN

SHED

toPO

STRO

AD

CARETAKERSH

OU

SE

o"_./-

,-Fouro1o7J

/-‘S‘

*

‘

---_*‘S**’*-I/

<--:yG1*S

*i

-T;’:Tc0,

5,._5

./..*‘---*5.’ç//

N-

Knowles.

Pt

5f

*P,/1,,sfl

/*

/‘

//

-ot

S

I /-‘S-*JL

C1

/H

,5’-,

/;S

JH/

+,S-

/‘-A--‘

‘5-

*,5/

CommodorePerryFarmSouthKingstown,RhodeIsland

ABCDEFGH

1919191919191919

288620288560288640288530288320288290288390288520

45884004588310458821045880404588040458820045882004588470

ii

a

CO

NN

OD

OR

EP

ER

RY

FARMS

OU

THK

ING

STO

WN

,R

.I

Ph

oto

gra

ph

er:

Wa

rren

Ja

gg

er

Da

te:

Ap

ril1

98

2N

eg

ativ

efile

da

t:R

ho

de

Isla

nd

His

toric

al

Pre

se

rva

tion

-Co

mm

issio

n1

50

Be

ne

fitS

tree

tP

rovid

en

ce

,R

I0

29

03

Vie

wo

fth

ein

terio

ro

fth

ep

rese

nt

en

tran

ce

ha

il,fa

cin

gso

uth

ea

ste

rly.

Ph

oto

#3

CO

MM

OD

OR

EP

ER

RY

FARM

SO

UTH

KIN

GS

TOW

N,

R.I.

Ph

oto

gra

ph

er:

Wa

rre

nJa

gg

er

Da

te:

Ap

ril

19

82

Ne

ga

tive

file

da

t:R

ho

de

Isla

nd

His

torica

lP

rese

rva

tio

nC

om

mis

sio

n1

50

Be

ne

fit

Str

ee

tP

rovid

en

ce

,R

I0

29

03

Vie

wo

fth

ein

terio

ro

fth

elivin

gro

om

,fa

cin

gso

uth

we

ste

rly.

Ph

oto

#4

CO

MN

OD

OR

EP

ER

RY

FARM

SO

UTH

KIN

GS

TOW

N,

R.I.

Ph

oto

gra

ph

er:

Wa

rren

Ja

gg

er

Da

te:

Ap

ril1

98

2N

eg

ativ

efile

da

t:R

ho

de

Isla

nd

His

toric

al

Pre

se

rva

tion

Co

mm

issio

n150

Be

ne

fitS

tree

tP

rovid

en

ce

,R

I0

29

03

Vie

wo

fth

em

ain

ho

use

facin

gso

uth

we

ste

rly.

Ph

oto

#2

COM

MO

DORE

PE

RR

YFA

RM

SO

UTH

KIN

CS

TOW

N,

R.I.

Ph

oto

gra

ph

er:

Wa

rren

Ja

gg

er

Da

te:

Ap

ril1

98

2N

eg

ativ

efile

da

t:R

ho

de

Isla

nd

His

toric

al

-P

rese

rva

tion

Co

mm

issio

n150

Be

ne

fitS

tree

tP

rovid

en

ce

,R

I0

29

03

Vie

wo

fth

em

ain

ho

use

facin

gn

orth

we

ste

rly.

Ph

oto

#1

,c-i

---

-It’-,

i

-1

"4

,I,

A*

"5.

-

CO

MM

OD

OR

EP

ER

RY

FARM

SO

UTH

KIN

GS

TOW

N,

R.I.

Ph

oto

gra

ph

er:

Wa

rren

Ja

gg

er

Da

te:

Ap

ril1

98

2N

eg

ativ

efile

da

t:R

ho

de

Isla

nd

His

toric

al

Pre

se

rva

tion

Co

mm

issio

n1

50

Be

ne

fitS

tree

tP

rovid

en

ce

,R

I0

29

03

Vie

wo

fth

ela

rge

ba

rn,

nowa

gu

est

ho

use

,fa

cin

gn

orth

we

ste

rly.

Ph

oto

#5

OF THE WAR OF 1812.-I.

521

Perry’s Care for his Men. :uir* in the Order of Battle. BiographicalSketchof Perry.

As the diintcr-hour wouhi ‘cur atthe probabletulle of art mu, the thought-liii Pci’i’v Ol’d19’c’l rttrcshiiuientsto be clistribut ed. Tin l’ks wire then vettedaiiil s1riuklcl with sand so that feetsliolIlil not slip wlieti 11001shouldbeginto 11ow. ‘i’hicu cvcl’y titan was placedh rowt’ position. As the ‘o1ttadronmoved slowly and silently toward theelteilly, with a ‘eiitlc breeze,at the rateof less titan thit’ee knots, the Ju’gra,CaptainElliott, leading the van, it wasdiscoveredthat Barel:iv hadmadea dis-

P0s1t1011 of his force that required achange iii Perry’s prescribedorder ofbattle. It was instiuitlv made,0111 the.merican squadron moved to the attack in the orderbest calculatedto copewith the enemy. Barclay’s vesselswerenear together. The flag-ship Deti’oit,

I Oliver hazard Perry was born in SouthKingston, Rhode Island,on the 21d of August,17S5. His father was thenin the naval serviceof the United States. He entered the navy as midshipman at the ageof fifteen years,on board thesloop-of-warGeneral Greene, whenwar On his return, while his vessel waswith France seemed inevitable, lie - lying in Newport harbor, in mid-win-first saw active servicebefore Tripoli, - ter, a fearful storm arose, lie heardin the squadron of CommodorePreble. of the wreck of a merchant vesselnpoiilie was commissioned a lieutenant in a reef six miles distant. He immediIlO, afll placed in command of the ately mannedhis barge anti saidto hisschooner Revenge,attached to Corn- crew, "‘ome, my boys,we are goingmodore Rodgers’s squatiron in Long 10 the relief of shipwrecked seamen;Island Sound. Shewas wrecked,but 11111 away!" lie rescuedelevenalmosthis cotiduct in saving public property exhaustedseamenfrom death,washighly applauded. Early in 1ii On account of piracics in the Westhe was piticed in cotnmand of a fiotil- Indies, the United StatesgovernmentIa of gun-boats in Newport Harbor. determined to send a little squadronAfter his victorious battle on Lake there for the protection of AmericanEric in he waspromoted to lmt- commerce. Perry was assignedto thecaptain, and at the close of the war he commanti of it, and in IS1D he sailedwas 11/iced in command of the Java, in the John Adams,accompanied by44, a first-class frigate, and saiied with the _Vssn’.osh. In August he was at-Decatur for the Mediterranean Sea, tacked by the yellow fever, and on his

birthday August 23d he expired, at the age of thirty-four years. He was buried at Port Spain, Trinidad, with military honors. His death produced a mostprofound sensation throughout the United Stales, for it was regarded as agreatpublic calamity. Tributesof national grief were displayed, and the Congressofthe United States made aliberal provision for his family, and his mother, wlti>was dependent on him forsupport. In 1Si his relnailiswere conveyed from Trinidadto Nev1,,,rt in he 511011-of-war !,exisqn,,, and land-el on the 27th of N V/Il/her. On M ni day leenll,er4th foil,,wiii he Was ititer-redwith fittiertil honors I/Il’to hi rank. ills 111111 re-led in a ct of ‘atafaleo, the111w-erpart lii IL’ in the form

I/AT Iof a lIon?. Tite canopy wa- -

- dt.s,ratuil with si//IN Illtrt!nnell wtlh 11/irk c/trOut/s. and at eachcortler were black Iltitues. ‘i’li,’ Slat, of itilIllIc 1st/I/Il afterward Iii.el tolie vrs-cOst a substantial r:lIIlts’ Inllnttniellt Ill hi- tnl’tllltry. It st/I/Ida 1111111 a /rr//s’v ttisttitid Ill till’ Wel silk’ If the isI-1011 ‘enu’r-, and at Oti sit-c rt-st till’ rI-Ill/ill/S i till l/Iuhllllniore 1111 tIll’ l’Ie/ised fl/is ttlnjtv. ‘l’lil’ tlllIlIttflCtIt Ill/Irsthe f0l ion iii i lI-5*rlilt I/Ill . L,-./ *‘qk ‘ l. V III Its / S//I, l’s cas, t the IgI If vsztrshi’ aehieveil the victory of Lake

VIEW OF rEgav’s IILRTU-l’l,ACE,

I -

COM

MO

DORE

PE

RR

YF

AR

MS

OU

THK

ING

STO

WN

,R

.I.

Copy

Ne

ga

tive

Ma

rch1

98

2F

iled

at:

Rh

od

eIs

lan

dH

isto

rica

lP

rese

rva

tion

Co

mm

issio

n-

15

0B

en

efit

Stre

et

Pro

vid

en

ce

,R

I0

29

03

Ph

oto

co

py

of

pa

ge

521o

fP

icto

rial

Fie

ld-B

oo

ko

fth

eW

aro

f1

81

2by

Be

nso

nJ.

Lo

ssin

gN

ew

Yo

rk:

T6

8,

with

wo

od

cu

to

fth

eC

om

mo

do

reP

erry

farm

ho

use

inth

ece

nte

r.

Ph

oto

#6

united states department of the interior...the commodore perry farm encompasses approximately 250...

Documents