Historic homes a window to the past

LIVING HISTORY: Jerry Eklund at his West Warwick home, better known at The William B. Spencer House. The structure was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD
LIVING HISTORY: Jerry Eklund at his West Warwick home, better known at The William B. Spencer House. The structure was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

Houses can be windows to understanding the past, says Rick Greenwood, deputy director of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.
“The architecture tells the story, as do the stories of the families who lived there,” said Greenwood. And many of the houses with the best stories, such as Burrillville’s Esten-Bowen House and The William B. Spencer House in West Warwick, become part of the National Register of Historic Places, in recognition of their value to a community’s history or their representation of a style of architecture.
Such properties, according to Greenwood, can be important to their communities.
“Tourism, for example, in Rhode Island, is to a large [extent] driven by the quality of our historic buildings and places,” he said. “In many ways, even if its not tourism, historic buildings give communities a sense of identity, a sense of continuity, and that can be very positive for a community’s sense of itself and its desirability as a place to live.”
The Esten-Bowen House was built around 1790 by John Esten before Burrillville separated from Gloucester and became its own town. The wood-frame home was laid on a stone foundation and built with the traditional five-room lay-out with a center-chimney and supplemented by a kitchen ell. The lay-out remains intact except where two of the rooms have been combined. The house was the centerpiece of a 32-acre farm with several outbuildings, only a couple of which remain.
“The house tells an interesting story of the beginnings of Burrillville as a town and the beginnings of its rediscovery as an ‘exurban’ community,” said Greenwood. John Esten was on Burrillville’s first Town Council and served the town as a member of the General Assembly. “It’s representative of the type of farm that helped develop the area from the wooded frontier of Rhode Island to an agricultural community.”
Eventually the viability of farming in the town waned, and so did the local prestige of the property. After passing through a few different owners and a period of abandonment in the early 20th century, the home was purchased by Esther Bowen in 1941 and renovated in what’s known as the “Early American” style. Greenwood said Bowen’s purchase and restoration of the home was, “an example of early historic preservation and reuse. It wasn’t the way we’d do it today but it was an important step on the way to the kind of historic preservation we do.” Additionally Greenwood said Bowen’s move to Burrillville was, “an excellent example of the pre-World War II trend of people working in the city who rediscovered the country setting as the place to live, thanks in large part to the development and availability of the automobile.”
The Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission helped prepare the nominations of the Esten-Bowen house and The William B. Spencer House to the National Register. Both were recently added to the list by the National Park Service that includes more than 13,000 Rhode Island dwellings.
The William B. Spencer House is most notable for its builder and his exploits in the community. William Spencer was one of the village of Phenix’s leading citizens and entrepreneurs for over six decades.
Spencer first found success with a dry-goods store in 1831. Capital from his success allowed for investments in commercial buildings and other Phenix institutions, including banks, the village’s first public library and a newspaper. Like John Esten in Burrillville, Spencer was a member of the Warwick Town Council and represented the community at the General Assembly.
The Spencer House, built in 1869, is a 15-room, asymmetrical, L-shaped design of the Italian Villa form. Architecturally, it is significant because in the words of its National Register application, “it is elaborately finished and unusually well-preserved.” Throughout the house, original finishes are especially well-preserved. They include varnished surfaces on wood elements, decorative hardware, marbleized fireplace surrounds, ceiling medallions and flooring. The Burrillville and West Warwick properties are privately owned; as a result they are not open to the public. Despite that, West Warwick Town Planner Fred Presley believes the new listing of the Spencer House on the National Register can be an asset to the town.
“West Warwick is unique because it should have an historic district but it doesn’t have any right now,” he said. “An historic district, especially if it includes some homes on the National Register, does draw people to the area. People want to be in areas that have historic character.”
In Burrillville, where historic districts already exist, the strategy is different, especially since the Ester-Bowen House is not visible from the road.
“It’s tough to say whether or not people are coming to town specifically to see properties like this,” said Burrillville Town Planner Tom Kravitz. “I know we’re not collecting tickets like they are in Newport, but I do know that people appreciate the historic character these properties provide.”
The owners of the two properties expressed similar motivations for their efforts to get the homes on the National Register.
“John Esten was one of the people involved in the organization of the town,” said Esten-Bowen House owner Linda Steere. “He is actually buried on the property and my grandmother, Esther Bowen, bought the house in the early 1940’s and restored it, so I felt as if it would be a nice tribute to both parties to have the house on the National Register.”
Jerry Ecklund, owner of the William B. Spencer House, said the property and its builder deserve the recognition.
“I’m hoping it will also inspire some people around the area to maintain the historic character of their own homes,” he said. •

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