Swanhurst (1851) (Newport, Rhode Island)

USA / Rhode Island / Newport / Newport, Rhode Island / Bellevue Avenue, 443
 house, place with historical importance, cottage, estate (manor / mansion land), mansion / manor house / villa
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This elegant and historic home was built in 1851, as one of the first of twelve Newport Mansions established along famed Bellevue Avenue. Living in Ohio, but New Englanders by birth, Judge Gustavus Swan and his wife were pleased to return to New England and spend their summers in Newport in a home they called Swanhurst: “Swan” for their name and “hurst” meaning a wooded hill. The house was stone and constructed by Alexander MacGregor who had built Fort Adams and the Newport Artillery Company Armory.


• Born on a farm in New Hampshire, Gustavus Swann studied law and moved to Ohio, where he became a successful lawyer and president of several banks.
• Judge Swann’s daughter, Sara Rives, bequeathed Swanhurst to the Newport Art Association in 1928, which created the Swanhurst Art School in 1932 as a gathering place for Newport artists. The Players Guild, RI Shakespeare Theater and Swanhurst Chorus performed in the theatre in the estate carriage house.
• Swanhurst was sold in 1987 for conversion into a private residence.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavus_Swan
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   41°28'24"N   71°18'30"W

Comments

  • The home was dedicated to the Newport Art Association by Judge Swan's GRANDdaughter, Sara Swan Whiting (Belmont) Rives. (Named after her mother Sara Swan Whiting, Judge Swan's daughter) Originally bequeathed by Sara Swan Whiting-Belmont-Rives to her daughter, Mildred Rives, Mildred died in childbirth in 1927, causing a provision in Sara's will to cause the home to be donated to the art association. The Art Association sold the property to the private sector.
This article was last modified 13 years ago