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The History of the Smith-Appleby House
and Property
by Jim Ignasher
The Smith-Appleby
House, circa 1905
The
Smith-Appleby House at 220 Stillwater Road is the headquarters for the
Historical Society of Smithfield and is open to the public.
The original
portion of the house dates to about 1696 when Elisha Smith (b.1680 – d.1766) of
Providence moved to Stillwater and built a single room home with a small loft.
The house was a “stone-ender”, meaning, one wall was composed entirely of
stone. This stone wall held a large fireplace used for cooking and heat.
Elisha was a
farmer and he eventually acquired 721 acres of land surrounding the present-day
house. In addition to farming, he built two mills on his land. The remains of
one of these mills can still be seen today at the rear of the house.
Elisha
married Experience Mowry and together they had 10 children; seven boys and three
girls. As the sons got older, the land was subdivided into 100 acre parcels
among them. According to local records the girls did not inherit any of the
land.
Elisha died in 1766 and was
among the first to be buried in the cemetery located on the grounds of the
house.
The remains
of one of the mills built by Elisha Smith can still be seen today.
With
Elisha’s passing, the house went to his eldest son, Philip Smith, (b.1703 –
d.1792). Philip married Waite Waterman, whose father owned and operated the
famous Waterman Tavern in Greenville. Philip and Waite had seven children and
were the owners of the house during the time of the American Revolution.
The next
owner was John Smith, (b.1736 – d.1807), the son of Philip and Waite (Waterman)
Smith. He married Phoebe Ballou in 1761 and they had three daughters. When
Phoebe died John married Waite Brown and they had two sons.
John died in
1807 and is buried on the grounds. His will left half of the house and a
portion of the farm to his wife, and the other half of the house and some land
went to his youngest daughter Waite.
John’s
daughter, Waite Smith married Thomas Appleby on November 14, 1784 and moved to
Wionkheige Hill where they raised five children. When she inherited her portion
of the Smith property in 1807 it is presumed that she remained at her home on
Wionkheige Hill, while her mother continued to live in Stillwater at the family
homestead. Waite (Smith) Appleby passed away on October 15, 1843.
With Waite
Appleby’s passing, the house and property went to her eldest son John Smith
Appleby who was born in 1787. He married Patience Harris on June 18, 1809 and
moved to the homestead where he farmed the land and ran a grist and saw mill. A
blacksmith shop was built later. During this time period the house was also
used as a school house to teach the children of Stillwater until a permanent
school house was built.
Before 1850,
Stillwater Road was located on the other side of the present-day Smith-Appleby
house and continued south where the upper end of Georgiaville Pond is today.
This means that the rear of the present-day house was once the front and faced
the road.
Today, this is the rear of the Smith-Appleby house, but it was once the front.
The Federal style door with sidelights was added about 1808/09.
Stillwater Road was re-located to its present day position near the
Smith-Appleby House around 1850 during the creation of Georgiaville Pond. The
remnants to the old road can still be seen today when the level of the pond is
lowered every autumn.
This row of
stones indicates where Stillwater Road used to be in the 19th
Century.
Stillwater
Road circa 1900
The house
was expanded during the late 1700’s with two rooms added to the north side and
the fire places re-configured.
Further
rooms were added around 1800 which included an add-on addition to the east
portion of the house that doubled the size of the living space. This addition
was actually another house that came from Johnston, Rhode Island. In those days,
if one wanted to add-on to their home, they had to cut the timber, mill the
lumber, and build it themselves. Another solution was to purchase an existing
house, dismantle it, and re-assemble it at another site, which was less labor
intensive than the first option.
A final addition was added
about 1830 that includes the present day kitchen area and the room above it.
This vintage
photo shows the kitchen wing addition that was added circa 1830.
John Smith
Appleby died May 17, 1857, at age 70, and is buried on the grounds along with
his wife Patience and four daughters.
With John’s
passing, the house went to his Wife Patience (Harris) Appleby who lived there
until her death in 1873. The house was then left to her eldest son, John Smith
Appleby Jr. who was born August 25, 1830.
John Jr.
never married but continued to work the farm for the rest of his life. Besides
farming, he was active in local politics serving on both the Smithfield town
council and school committee. He also held the positions of tax assessor and
director of The National Exchange Bank in Greenville. He was said to be one of
the most successful farmers in the area.
John Smith
Appleby Jr. died August 8, 1904 and is buried on the grounds. Since he had no
children of his own, he left the property to a nephew, Sidney Merton Appleby,
(b. 1846 – d. 1929). Sidney was the youngest son of John’s younger brother
Silas Appleby.
Sidney
married Sarah A. Cozzens of Cenrtredale on May 21, 1879. They had one child,
Maria C. Appleby who was born January 22, 1888.
When Sidney
was married, he moved to Limerock and worked a dairy farm. Shortly after Maria
was born, the family moved to the Angell Farm in Smithfield where Sidney’s
father, Silas S. Appleby was living.
Sidney’s wife Sarah died in
1890. In 1905, Sidney and Maria moved to the Smith-Appleby House along with two
of Sidney’s sisters; Abby Harris, the widow of George Harris, and Clara Appleby
who never married. Sidney died December 23, 1929 and is buried on the grounds.
With his passing, the house went to Maria.
Maria Appleby,
center, with her father and two aunts, circa 1905.
Maria C.
Appleby
Maria
Cozzens Appleby was a woman ahead of her time. She was well known for her hard
work and outdoor activities which included dairy farming and golf. In the
1920’s, she built and operated Smithfield’s only golf course which stood on land
now occupied by Route 295. She was aided in her golf course venture by Abbie
Sargent, who was a lifetime friend and companion of Maria. Abbie and Maria
lived in the large house together, but as time went on Ernest Rehill was brought
to live on the property as a handyman and grounds keeper. Mr. Rehill lived in
the small outbuilding to the rear of the house.
Maria passed
away on November 3, 1959 and was buried along with the other previous owners and
their families in the cemetery on the grounds. Maria’s Will provided for Abbie
to live in the house for the rest of her life. When she died in 1963, she too
was buried on the grounds.
After Abbie Sargent’s
passing, the property went to a church group that auctioned off the contents of
the home and sold the house to a Middletown man. The property sat neglected for
many years afterwards until it was sold to the Historical Society of Smithfield
in 1976.Top of page
Smith-Appleby
House circa 1915
The Smith-Appleby
House
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October 25, 1976 |
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The Smith-Appleby
House
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1976 (Frank Floor photo) |
It took a
few years to restore the Smith-Appleby House to its former self. Some work was
done by professionals and other work by volunteers.
Part of the
restoration process included deciding what features to keep. One room of the
house still bore original stenciling done in the late 1700’s. Another had a
faux marbled floor done in the early 1800’s. Other rooms had their original
beaded 18th Century wood sheathing on the walls, wide planked floors,
and decorative fireplaces. All of these features were meticulously restored and
can still be seen today.
The outside
of the house required the replacing of rotted boards and sills, along with
extensive painting and repairs made to the chimneys and roofing.
As one might imagine, a
house of this age requires a lot of upkeep and maintenance, therefore, the
grounds are continually maintained and kept up by volunteers. Major repairs are
funded mostly through grants and donations gathered by dues and monies collected
from special events held at the house.
Ernest Rehill
continued to live on the property as a caretaker
in this building until 2002. Today it is an office.
The building
which Mr. Rehill occupied dates to the 1800’s. It is speculated that it was
originally used for washing and baking before the kitchen wing was added around
1830. A separate building for this purpose made sense to minimize the risk of
fire to the main house and to reduce heat during the summertime. It was built
into the side of a hill which would allow any wash water to drain away from the
foundation. It is also conveniently located near the original well to the
house.
An addition
was put on the rear of the building around 1989 which doubled the size of the
living space inside and added, for the first time, indoor plumbing.
An interior view
of Mr. Rehill’s living quarters circa 1950.
The Barn
This photo shows
a dairy wagon in front of the barn.
The farm had dairy cows before 1920.
This posed
photograph dating to about 1910 shows Maria Appleby with her
father in the forefront surrounded by people presumed to be relatives.
An early
automobile in front of the barn circa 1915.
The rear of the
barn as it looks today.
Top of page
The Railroad Station
Railroad
buffs might be interested to know that Smithfield’s only remaining railroad
station sits on the property. It was built about 1873 and was originally
located on Brayton Road off Farnum Pike where it served as a “flag stop” station
and post office.
A “flag
stop” station was one where the station master would put out a red flag as a
signal to the train engineer to stop and take on freight, mail, or passengers.
If the engineer did not see a flag, the train continued on without stopping.
The station
was used until 1931 when passenger service along the Providence to Pascoag line
was discontinued. Afterwards it sat vacant and fell into disrepair. By the
1970’s it was in poor condition and in danger of being demolished when it
attracted the attention of the Historical Society of Smithfield. After some
negotiations, the station was purchased for $300 and brought to the
Smith-Appleby House property in 1975. There it sat for almost five years before
it was taken to the Davies Technical School in Lincoln, R.I. and given a
complete restoration as part of a community service project. It was returned to
the Smith-Appleby house in November of 1980 and placed on a granite
foundation.
The railroad
station before restoration - 1975
The
train station after restoration.
One stipulation of the restoration by the historical society was to preserve as
much of the original interior as possible. This was done to preserve the
character of the building which included initials and dates carved into the
interior woodwork by local boys with their pen knifes. The graffiti dates to
the early years of the 20th Century and can still be seen today.
The interior of
the train station was kept in its original condition.
Graffiti on the walls dates to 1911.
The
Cemetery
There is a
historical cemetery on the property dating to the 1760’s located on a small rise
to the east of the house, next to Stillwater Road. Many of the homes former
occupants are buried here. The oldest part of the cemetery consists of upright
field stones used as markers. Unfortunately, only one of them is marked in any
way. Many early family graveyards were done in this way for a variety of
reasons. The cemetery itself is acclimated east to west as was the custom of
the day, with the thinking that one would rise up facing the sunrise on the
Final Judgment Day.
The newer
part of the cemetery dates from the 1800’s to 1963 and consists of marked
stones, including those of Maria Appleby and Abbie Sargent, the last two people
to be interred there.
The Smith-Appleby House Cemetery, December 2006
The graves of John S. Appleby and his wife
Patience (Harris) Appleby
The Well
The well on the property sits conveniently between
the old cook house and present-day kitchen.
The Privy
Before the days of indoor plumbing, this
privy served
the needs of the Smith-Appleby House residents.
It was restored by Howard Lebeck in 1988.
Other Photos
Fishing behind the Smith-Appleby House
circa 1910
The bridge across the river that once ran
behind the house, circa 1910.
The same location of the previous two
photos in 2006
Looking towards the stone dam behind the
house, circa 1910.
The house barely visible through the trees was moved to Capron Road
at Stillwater Road to accommodate the construction of Rt. 295.
The Smith-Appleby House after the
Hurricane of 1938.
1938
A horse owned by Maria Appleby with apple
orchards in the background, circa 1910.
This view is looking towards Capron Road. Today Rt. 295 runs where the apple orchards were.
The Smith-Appleby House property in 1974
The house before restoration, circa 1977.
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