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NI’S !‘,,, ID 900 I . IMPI Ni, II1driQtII 3 82i E.xp- 10-31-84 - United States Department of the Interior National Park Service - - National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Continuation sheet 59 Item number Ear NPS use only received -- - date éntèred 8 Page 6 - - - The Watch Hill Improvement Society was founded by a group of gentle men in 1888 and incorporated a year later. Its stated aims were ". . .to develop and improve the village of Watch Hill, cultivate pub] ic spirit, quicken the social and intellectual life of the people, secure pubLic health, beautify and build up the village, and render Watch Hill a still more inviting and desirable place of residence.’’ The prov:i sion of pro grams-for intellectual and* cultural enrichment went along with the Victorian notion that leisure time should he spent in educational as well as recrea - tional pursuits. However, as the number of cottages grew, the emphasis of the society shifted to issues of civic betterment and beautification. By 1900 control of the Improvement Society has passed to the women of the com munity. The village’ s public sculptures and monuments were placed under the auspices of the group. The Misquamicut Golf Club was foun Club in 1913 to provide recreational an laid out a nine-hole course in 1896 on with a clubhouse converted from an subsequently acqui red a large tract hack of the former Pendl eton farm. house was constructed in 1901 . ‘I’h the c tnh bui Id i ng has been ciii a rge piings in Watch Hill. Cove in 1922 hurri cane of 1938 and replaced the today as centers of Watch Hill soc The growth of Watch lull ultimately called for the provision of certain basic municipal. services. In 1901 the Watch I-li 11 Fire District was incorporated; This organization, funded h’ a special assessment levied on property owners, prot’ ided fire protection and later oversaw construction and maintenance of a sys tern of piped water connected to the Westerly water works, - which eliminated the village’s rel iance on private wells with wind- mill pumps-. The Fire Di strict built an engine house, in 1910 that still stands off Bay Street Road outside the district, hi re listri ct organization management of the vi 1] age’s ded in 1895 and the Watch Iii 11 Yacint d social activities. The golf club the south side of Ocean Vi ew -Ii. ghway ol d corn crib on the property. The ci ub on the OO5 te side of the highway, Here a -new course va s bull t and a c I.ui - e course has since heen redesigned and ci. The Yacht TI ub erected a ni I I ci Hg on This structure was des t io y ed by t. inc following year. Both clubs survive ial life. see entry 33. The present station, on Westerly was erected as functions as a civic affairs. a replacement -- in 1952. The sort of local ‘‘town council’’ for ihe shabby condtton of tine waterfront along Bay Street in the early years of this century prompted the formation in 1908-10 of a Park Com mission that developed as an offshoot of the Fire -District. The Park Commission was authorized by the Rhode island General Assembly to acquire and demolish unsightly structures to create a shorel-ine park that was land scaped and ornamented with public sculptures. - See Continuation Sheet //60
N i’c i oi in ‘0 qI’0 WAI I II. i ‘0:4 - .10111 lii, 10-11-114 United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service For P8’S usa only National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form -. Continuation sheet 60 . Item number a received date entered Page 7 IV a tch Hill’s heyday lasted from the 1880s through the early decades of the twentieth century By the end of this period the hotels had sl i_pp e d into decline and the community had become primarily a cottage colony. The P1 ympton House and Larkin House were both demoli shed in 1906, the latter to c lear the way for an end ave of new summer houses . ‘there after, a series of disasters had a significant impact on the plnys ical fabric of the a rca. A fire in Octoher 1916 destroyed the Watch lii ii and Colonial forme rly the Atlantic Houses, -the upper floors of the Co iurnhi a House, and two dwellings. Another fire in February 1938 consumed eight structures in t he village. The worst damage by far was wrought by the hurricane of 21 September 1938. Thirty-nine cottages and five huil dings of the Watch Hill Beacln Assoc iation were swept off Napatree Point, and eight other -houses were damaged by winds gusting up to 200 miles p er hour and high seas that flooded buildings atop forty-foot bluffs alon g East Beach. After the hutricane most homes and shops were repaired a md tine beach association and yacht club buildings were replaced, hut no houses were huilt on Napa tree, and the present undeveloped state of the point i. an outcome of this devastating storm. Although a number of new buildings have been constructed here in the past forty-five years, Watch Hill remains primarily a product of--its de velopment as a resort during the years from 1870 through 1940. ‘the houses in the district ‘exemplify American domestic architecture of the late n ftc teenth and early twentieth century. They i llustiate the use of eclectic ism to create a form of arclnitectnral expression based on an inventive synthesis of elements adapted from historical sources. They reflect the evolution from the more idiosyncratic compositions .of the 1$80s, which often combined features from different styles, to the more academic designs for period houses in the 1910s and 1920s . Most dwellings from the earlier ye-ar s are in a i-tytlrld style coiinbinng characteristics of the Queen Anne with those of the. Modern Colonial or Shingle Sty-Ic, often with asymmetrical, artfully picturesque massing influenced by European medieval design. The academicism that dominated architectural practice after 1910 brought a change to more studied dwellings in style such as the Colonial Revival, English lucto r Rev I t’a I , and Norman Pa i-mhou s e . St Cottage, i ii , ma nv houses o C the I 9 I Is a nd 1920s to I towed a ha sic Co rmn;n t den ved from tine Co 111 Ia I Rev i va I w I I: ii ‘‘no ci e 1.11’’ touches such as deep overhanging eaves witin extended-rafter stick hracket I ng. This country-house architecture for tile well-to -do represented the epi tome of good taste and served as a, model for tine des ign of- middle-ciass sIlIlIII il :n 11 res I dences . - The houses at Watch HiLl are also notable is a collection of butldings by archi tects from all over custom in, -resort communities the of Uni ted seasonal States, a consequence residents bringing of the common in outside See Continua t ion Sheet / 61
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Page 87 and 88: STONINGTON , CONN. COVE Ti I-,
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Page 92: P Vie facing northeasterly. Negativ
Page 96: Photo View facing northwesterly. Ne
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Page 103 and 104: Yosemite, now Bellefort, Massachaug
Page 105 and 106: Marshes near Westerly Road Watch Hi
Page 107: Photo #11 View -lacing southerly. N
Page 111: Ph View of Bluff Avenue facing sou
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Ph View of district from Watch Hill
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