Dorr Mansion & John Brown House, Old Colonial Houses
Additional Details:
| Dorr Mansion, built 1809, 109 Benefit St., Providence, R. I., stands upon ground that was a part of the original home lot of Roger Williams and near it was supposed to have been his grave. It was long the residence of Thomas W. Dorr, whose efforts at 'reform' brought about the Dorr Rebellion in 1842, but helped R. I. to gain the adoption of a State Constitution after 180 years of Royal Charter government. John Brown House, built 1786, Power Cor. Benefit St., Providence, R. I., was built by John Brown, the merchant prince of Providence. The bricks were brought from England and the mahogany from San Domingo on his own ships. The house is known as one of the finest Georgian style houses in this country. John Quincy Adams called it 'the most magnificent and elegant private mansion that I have seen on this continent.' Washington and many other men of note have been hospitably entertained here. The little weather-beaten statues that surmount the gate posts are subjects of a pretty tradition: when they hear the clock strike twelve they bow to each other and turn to stone again. |
