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Thursday, July 5, 2018

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion, Woodstock, Vermont

Front view of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
54 Elm Street, Woodstock, Vermont

Wikipedia site
Three sided veranda, with lots of white wicker furniture.
Last month, I visited three historic homes on my "bucket list." This mansion and a castle, both in Vermont were toured the same day. The other house is about 35 minutes away from me, and you can read and see photos HERE.
Three families had ties to this house. George Perkins March (impressive biography, probably America's first environmentalist) built a smaller house on this propery. Frederick Billings bought the Marsh family farm in 1869, and the Billings lived here for three generations. Mary French, a granddaughter of Frederick Billings, married Laurence S. Rockefeller.
Front hall, above and below.

"Cathedral Rock, Yosemite" by Albert Bierstadt, 1870, purchased by Frederick Billings in 1871.

Dining Room, above and below.

Tiffany window. Too far for me to read, but fortunately, on July 4th, the facebook page for this park posted an enlarge photo, shown below.
"Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night, become the touches of sweet harmony."
William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice

Both fireplaces are trimmed in glass made by Tiffany and Company. When the fireplace is lit, the colored glass glow.


Large living room. Both fireplaces with the Tiffany design are to the right.
Beautiful Library, on first floor. Photo of Julia Parmly Billings.

Tiffany glass above. Since I couldn't get closer, I took the photo below, of a puzzle, with great photo and explanation. 

Second floor hallway. Our guide went 45 minutes over our tour, by treating us to the 3rd floor. The seven of us didn't complain!


I believe this is the room Lady Bird Johnson slept in, when she was an overnight guest.


Children's Bedroom. 





I love these fire places.



From their facebook page, July 2, 2018, "The white building pictured below is our Belvedere.
This space functioned as: A pool house, a bowling alley and a Fallout Shelter.
Built in 1872, the Belvedere was designed as a bowling alley and rest area, to escape hot and/or rainy days.
In the 1930s, a pool was built abutting the Belvedere - soon the white building doubled as both bowling alley and pool house.
Then at the beginning of the Cold War, Mary and Laurance Rockefeller created a Fallout Shelter in the basement - a space large enough to hold 40 people! The shelter was designed to act as a retreat, in the worst case scenario of nuclear fallout drifting into Woodstock, VT."
Since I have Rockefeller in my tree, I was curious about Laurence's line. He was the brother-in-law to my 3rd cousin, 4 times removed, Almira Goodsell
Rockefeller.




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