Kellie Roddy
Arch 1900
October 1, 2013
Gosner
Plantations House
What is now called Plantation house on the Brown University campus was built in the last years of the 1800’s at 219 Bowen Street. At the time it would have been one in a series of houses on the street and in the surrounding area,in what has now primarily become Brown dormitory housing.
The name “plantation house” does not point to the construction of the house but the use of the house as part of Brown’s residential complexes. The concept of “plantations house” itself is not exclusive to one specific site. The term was in fact a term used to describe the on campus housing available to commuters for special occasions. The first plantation house was actually located in 1954 at George St. in the space of a refurbished former frat house. The designation “plantation house” then moved locations, first to a house on benefit street and finally to the current “plantation house” on Bowen in the early 1970’s. The house functioned in this capacity on Bowen St. for about ten years. After this it is unclear when the house was converted into a full time dormitory, but it is possible that the house has been occupied continuously since 1970.[1]
Before Brown’s ownership of the property, the building seems to have been used as a private family home. The house’s address comes up in a number of curious records from the early 1900’s. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Harris come up as inhabitants of the building in the year 1905 in the “Providence Society Blue Book”.[2]The “Blue Book” was, in its own words “a compilation of the most prominent householders and residents published in the most convenient form for reference by our lady patrons”. While certainly exclusive to members of Providence society ” in the time of 1905, the book is more like a snobby yellow pages than a true listing of the “who’s who” of Rhode Island. The listing of names and addresses is over 80 pages long. The fact that the 219 address, however, appears in this context shows that the building was built to be part of “society”. Aspects of the house, such as the large kitchen and stained-glass windows in both front entrance rooms would be suited to welcome guests and large dinners, and the spaces continue to function in this way even in present times.
After this the “Historical Catalogue of Brown University”[3] Printed on the 150th Anniversary of the College’s inauguration(1914) puts the address of one Sarah Cranston a “special student” at the college in 1907-1908 at 219 Bowen. It is unclear whether Sarah Cranston was living in the house at the same time as the Harris’s but it would not be completely out of the ordinary- many of the founding families of Providence were interrelated and it is possible that they would have been part of the same family. While the Harris name is not as commonly known on the Brown campus, the city of Cranston is no doubt named after the same family that Sarah Cranston was a part of. The street itself-Bowen street- is itself named after a family who probably owned the land in the surrounding area previous to further development.
Maps of the site from before and after the building date are also interesting.A map of Providence from 1899 shows an “asylum”(While the place certainly held the mentally ill, the asylum functioned more as a poor house and functioning farm) two blocks away from Plantations house in what is now The Brown athletic complex.[4]The proximity to “Dexter asylum” did not dissuade the building of this house, however. While the actual inhabitants of the asylum where blocked from view by a large thick stone wall that surrounded the entire complex, this stone wall and its corresponding status as an asylum would have clearly been in the line of site of the front street for the inhabitants living on Bowen St.
Numerous alterations have been made to the buildings architecture, but dating these alterations were is difficult. A sun room has been added onto the original house, with a brick wall on one side probably showing the exterior boundary of the old kitchen. This addition is no doubt from before 1970, as Brown would have little interest in making sunrooms for students, but pinpointing dates any more specific than that is not immediately possible. The use of space in the building has also been significantly altered. While some rooms have bricked up fireplaces, many rooms that are now used for living space seem to have no prior heat source. These spaces seem like uncomfortable sleeping or living areas in the past, (the temperature drops in them very quickly during winter months without a heating source) but it is not clear what their prior use would have been. Windows in these rooms, like all rooms are double windowed, so some care was made into insulation regardless of other sources of warmth.
The entrance to the building contains what appear to be original marble steps, but the hand rails seem to have been replaced at some point and are now deteriorating. The kitchen has been obviously changed. From the quality of the materials and the style of renovations I would assume that these were Brown made changes, but I cannot be sure. The stairs of the building are also strange. There are two sets of stair in use at the house. Having a servant’s stair with an entrance from the kitchen and side door and one having an entrance closer to the parlor and entrance makes sense as part of the original construction, but the stairs are similarly built and are both very large and take up a significant floor plan in the very center of the house going up. Modern doors have also been placed in numerous places in the house, and it is unclear in some cases whether their positioning corresponds with original doorways. Bathrooms too must have been added after the first construction of the house, and seem to have different styles of decoration hinting at different installation times.
The building has a variety of engaging artifacts and “leftovers” from previous inhabitants. While functioning like a college dormitory, the small size and limited access to the building has resulted in a variety of miscellaneous objects inside of it. The house hosts 16 students at a time, and unlike in other dormitories where all left objects would be removed, Plantation house has a collection of private couches, cookware, and decoration that have collected over the years from its many inhabitants. The sunroom has a collection of particularly ugly floral couches and lamps, and storage areas on the second floor hold gigantic rugs, fans, and holiday decorations. One particular poster in the kitchen describes a 1980’s music festival, which has been presumably been left there since the owners time and not placed there by a later inhabitant.
It’s unclear when the house actually came into the holdings of the university. The building is currently squeezed between expansions of Champlin Hall and New Pembroke, and Andrews Hall. While Champlin And New Pembroke were later additions(Champlin in 1960, New Pembroke in 1974) Andrews hall was built in 1947, and Brown may have bought the property in around this time period- as Andrews hall is just yards away from the house.
Works Cited
Bates, Louise Prosser.Historical catalogue of Brown University, 1764-1914. Providence, R.I.: The University, 1914.
Boumenot, Diane. "Access the Records of the Colony of Rhode Island | One Rhode Island Family." One Rhode Island Family | My Genealogical Adventures through 400 Years of Family History. (accessed October 1, 2013).
Geo. H. Walker & Co.,Map of Providence, Rhode Island.Boston, Mass.: Geo. H. Walker & Co., c1899.
Mitchell, Martha. Encyclopedia Brunonia, "Plantations House." Providence: Brown University Library, 1993. (accessed September 27, 2013).
State of Rhode Island. "RI.gov: Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission Historic Property Search." RI.gov: . (accessed October 1, 2013).
The Providence society blue book: including suburbs in Rhode Island together with Fall River and the Attleboros, Mass. : elite family directory, club membership.. New York: Dau Pub., 1905.
[1]Mitchell, Martha. Encyclopedia Brunonia, "Plantations House." Providence: Brown University Library, 1993.
[2]The Providence society blue book: including suburbs in Rhode Island together with Fall River and the Attleboros, Mass. : elite family directory, club membership.. New York: Dau Pub., 1905.
[3]Bates, Louise Prosser.Historical catalogue of Brown University, 1764-1914. Providence, R.I.: The University, 1914. P.583
[4]Geo. H. Walker & Co., Map of Providence, Rhode Island. Boston, Mass.: Geo. H. Walker & Co., c1899.