Nelson Dewey's Mansion? Yes, Please!

You'd think that after working at Stonefield since the beginning of June that I would have seen all that the site has to offer, right? Well, dear readers, that is unfortunately not true. It seems like every day I'm on the job I discover some new artifact on display, or some building tucked away in the village. But the issue that I'm having now is that I always knew about the Nelson Dewey homestead and I was never able to make much of an effort to go and see it. What a fool I am letting that happen. But please let me explain why, though before you all jump to conclusions. The reason why I had never checked out the home before was because I was too preoccupied working in the confectionery, selling ice cold goodies to visitors who fell victim to the hot sun. I just couldn't let those people down!

It was on Tuesday, though that I finally got the chance to check the place out due to the few amount of tourists we had that day. I was excited for two reasons: the first being that mansions from the 1800's are fantastic, and secondly that my new friend Marie, a docent on site, was going to take me (and a few others) through. Hooray for all of that goodness!

I should warn you all now that the ONLY pictures I took of the house weren't technically of the house, but the wallpaper that was in the home, so this probably isn't going give you an excellent idea of what the mansion looks like, but I truly believe that once you see the wallpaper, it will inspire you to go out and see what's beyond what I have pictured. Just take a look...





The second I walked through the doors, I was greeted by that lovely blue wallpaper pictured above, and I immediately knew what I would be using my camera space on. Now, with a blog on tourism, I'm obligated to get people excited about the places they should visit, but what excites me may be different from what others get a kick out of, so I apologize if wallpaper doesn't please you (this is a blog from my perspective, and this is what my eyes were drawn to). I do think that this wallpaper can give you an idea of how fancy the house truly is. To me, houses with wallpaper just seem more extravagant compared to others that lack it. But there were so many lovely pieces of furniture original to the time Dewey was living there that are all in fantastic shape to check out, along with beautifully tiled fireplaces in every room and a couple of intricate hair pictures to be in awe over (these will be explained when you go on tour).

Marie did such a wonderful job explaining the life of Nelson Dewey, including stories about his family, and she also spoke a great deal on what it was like to live in the Mansion. She talked about and showed us a good deal of kitchen gadgets used long ago and referred back to previous experiences with other tourists. She really made the tour enjoyable with her willingness to talk about everything we saw.

So even though a few people may not have gotten their ice cream or phosphates at the confectionery that day, I am truly grateful that I got to see such a beautiful home and hear wonderful stories while at work.