Let’s Go Camping

Finds
June 17, 2013

This weekend I finished reading a really great book, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. Anyway, this book got me reminiscing about being a kid at camp in the summer. I mean, how great was camp? I spent two summers at Camp Mohawk in Connecticut, and my brother did a few summers at Camp Dudley in New York – and we both had the best time. I cannot wait until I have kids so that I can live vicariously through them with their camping experiences.

It turns out, however, I may not have to wait to live vicariously through my unborn children. Thanks to a little article in Country Living Magazine, I have just discovered Wandawega in Wisconsin, click HERE.

As Country Living put it, Wandawega is like adult summer camp. Looking at the website, this couldn’t be more true. They have tennis, basketball, shuffleboard, volleyball, archery, canoes … the list goes on. There are options of different places to stay on the grounds as well. There is the old hotel building, a cedar cabin, a log cabin, a teepee, and boy scout tents on wooden platforms. The place looks like paradise for our inner child. There is even a tree house that’s a library!

And the decor at Wandawega is a wonderful mix of all the eras that the camp/hotel has been in existence. Some have a very 1920s prohibition era vibe, whereas others toast the midcentury. It looks like the entire place has been decorated through some very chic Etsy Shops. Kitsch abounds at Wandawega.

I am going to start planning a trip for WWB and me to Wandawega right away! Are you coming with us?

Photos courtesy of Town & Country, Country Living, and Wandawega.com

A Trip to Millford

Architecture
June 11, 2013

A couple weeks ago in this post, I promised you all a post on Millford Plantation, and somehow it fell by the wayside. My apologies. Built between 1839-1841, Millford Plantation in Pinewood, South Carolina was the home of John Laurence Manning and Susan Frances Hampton. Both prominent South Carolinians, Susan was the daughter of General Wade Hampton and John was the son of South Carolina’s Governor (a position he later had himself), this project was started when the two were newly married and only twenty-two years old.

Scan 7 — Millford Plantation Rear Loggia

Millford Plantation is considered one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the country. Designed by Rhode Island architect Nathaniel Potter, a student of the famed German architect Karl Friedrich Reichardt, and built with money that Susan inherited from her recently deceased wealthy father, the house was sometimes’s referred to as Manning’s Folly. It was perhaps a bit strange that such a young couple would build such a large and impressive house.

Milford Porters Shed — Millford Plantation Porter’s Lodge

Milford Pool — Millford Plantation Swimming Pool

Milford Belltower — Millford Plantation Original Belltower & Little Mansion

The house has only had three owners. After the death of Governor Manning in 1902, the house was sold to a wealthy NYC widow, Mary Clark Thompson, whose family owned the house until 1992, when it was purchased by its current owner, Richard Hampton Jenrette. Very few changes have been made to the property over the years. The Little Mansion, seen above, was added by the Clark family as a guest house, and Mr. Jenrette added the swimming pool to stave off the South Carolina heat.

Milford Stables — Millford Plantation Stables

Milford Night — Millford Plantation Aglow

And how did a house like this survive the Civil War? When the Northern troops arrived at the house in the spring of 1865, Governor Manning greeted their commander, General Edward Potter at the door. It is said that Governor Manning commented, “This house was built by a Potter, and will be destroyed by a Potter,” at which point the General replied, ” No you are protected, Nathaniel Potter was my brother.”

Photos courtesy of Adventures with Old Houses by Richard Hampton Jenrette. For more information on Millford Plantation, reference Adventures with Old Houses or www.classicalamerican.org

Cape Tales

Architecture
June 4, 2013

The Atwood House c. 1752, home of the Chatham Historical Society in Chatham, MA, where WWB and I were fortunate enough to be last weekend. We were there for a wedding at the Chatham Bars Inn, and only a true preservation nerd (like myself) makes a point of finding the local historical society.

Another picture of Atwood House, prior to its becoming the home of the Chatham Historical Society. The Chatham Historical Society purchased this c. 1756 home in 1926, for a total of $5,000.00, which was raised by the community.

Chatham is a great looking little town, WWB and I had so much fun just strolling around. This is a picture of the shopfront of Jack Wills, a new British boutique which seems to be taking the US by storm! More on this new favorite brand tomorrow …

I mean, how wonderful is the Chatham Chamber of Commerce?

The Josiah Mayo House c. 1820, home of the Chatham Conservation Association, which sits right in the village.

A big thank you to Leslie & Colin for such a wonderful weekend, and congratulations on a beautiful wedding. Goodbye Chatham! Until next time …