The census of the twelve houses described and pictured in this book is worth completing. One, Mount Vernon, is, as I have said, owned by an organization of patriotic women; two are owned by their municipalities and are cared for by patriotic organizations; one only is the home of a lineal descendant and namesake of the builder—though three others belong to persons having in their veins blood of the first masters of their houses. And one—a most interesting, but not historic house—is a poor battered tenement. Seven of the houses are situated in Northern States, one in a Border State, and four are in the South. The builders of two of the houses, the first and third Presidents of the United States, are buried on the grounds nearby, and in one case the builder is buried under the chancel of a private chapel, a part of the house itself.
These historic houses may well be regarded as taking the place with us of the crown jewels of an empire. I am thankful to have seen eight of the twelve. For, like one of Goldsmith’s characters, “I love everything that’s old—old friends, old times, old manors, old books, old wine.”
Therefore I find myself particularly pleased at being associated with this book, though in so slight a way. The two men who created it—for in this case the author and the artist surely stand on equal footing—are my old friends. Obviously, the book is one of old times and old manors, and if that does not make it an old book, what could? Only the old wine is lacking to complete the quintet. And even that may some day be accessible again. Who knows?
—Julian Street.
Norfolk, Conn.,
September, 1921.
List of Illustrations
| Monticello | [Frontispiece.] |
| Facing Page | |
| The Haunted House, New Orleans | [28] |
| Doughoregan Manor | [42] |
| The Jumel Mansion | [54] |
| Mount Vernon | [68] |
| The Quincy Homestead | [82] |
| The Timothy Dexter Mansion | [94] |
| The Kendall House | [106] |
| The Longfellow House | [120] |
| Cliveden | [134] |
| The Wentworth Mansion | [144] |
| The Pringle House | [158] |