Long-Range Site Committee Secures $200,000 Grant to Improve Smith’s Castle Landscape R.I. Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant to be used for landscape infrastructure improvements Mary Packard Turkel The Long-Range Site and Building Development Committee submitted an application to the R.I. Department of Transportation for funding through the Transportation Enhancement Program—a highly competitive bidding process. Our efforts were rewarded in August 2002 with a $200,000 grant to the Cocumscussoc Association to be disbursed by FY2005. The monies will be used to: Hire a qualified historic preservation professional to prepare a cultural landscape report. Reconfigure the front entrance from Route 1 for buses and the general public, and improve drainage. Provide improved and appropriate signage. Provide needed lighting for public access. Construct a bus drop-off/loop road and parking area. Install appropriate fencing and barriers. Provide landscape enhancement. Provide design and engineering services. At the behest of the Executive Committee, the Long-Range Site and Building Development Committee has been working since January 2000 to develop guidelines for the care, preservation, and enhancement of the existing site features and to locate potential sites for future development of the property owned by the Cocumscussoc Association. Since the Association was established in 1948, various groups have explored the idea of developing the area around the Castle to include the types of dependencies and outbuildings that would have been part of the Castle’s farming and plantation history. Indeed, although it is a marvelous example of 17th and 18th century architectural craftsmanship, the Castle has survived as a lonesome relic stripped of the context that once gave it meaning. Today, we are left with only our imaginations to ponder the various outbuildings, barns, corn cribs, ice houses, workshops, fences, stone walls, pastures, gates, windmills, farming equipment, animals, warehouses, and wharves, that once were located on the site. Who were the workers that made all these essential pieces run smoothly? Were they skilled itinerants, slaves, Native Americans, family members? What was daily life like being part of an enormous plantation that once contained over 3000 acres? What evidence did they leave behind that’s yet to be discovered? How do we, as stewards of this venerable historic place, care for the 22 acres that are left in our charge for future generations? How do we meet our needs as an association so that we can continue to educate the public about nearly four centuries of history on this site? These are some of the questions we asked ourselves as a committee and following are some of our conclusions. Preservation and protection of all known and yet to be discovered resources of the site is vital. A preliminary list of features to be protected includes: Smith’s Castle: main building rear ell, and Victorian addition Annex building Existing foundations on the site, including the foundation for the 18th century icehouse, stone bridge, 20th century dairy barn foundations. Colonial Revival garden Common soldiers grave Slave burial ground Family cemetery Cocumscussoc Brook Wickford Cove shoreline Rabbit Island/Queen’s Island Recorded archaeological features As a first step the site committee collected and studied maps, aerial photographs, early photographs of the site, inventories, deeds and wills (which often list outbuildings long since gone), documents, letters, post cards, sketches, oral histories, archaeological surveys, and other historical resources. This research is beginning to clarify the historic evolution of the Castle’s landscape and put the Castle into the context of the physical features that once surrounded it. Some results of our research are shown in the adjacent figures. The map shows the extent of the landsowned by Richard Smith, Sr. and Jr. They extended from Quidnesset on the north to the tip of Boston Neck on the south. Research continues on land records that will allow us to further refine this map. Analyses of estate inventories (Richard Smith, Jr.’s 1692 inventory shows tax assessments, and land surveys have enabled us to identify buildings and locate some of them on the farms owned by the Smith and Updike families. An overview of the occupational and structural history of Cocumscussoc (i.e. Homestead Farm) was compiled from various sources to support the Brown University archaeological investigations of the site in the early 1990s. With the help of grant monies, the Committee will next hire a qualified historic preservation professional to prepare a Cultural Landscape Report (CLR). The CLR will include “period plans” that map changes in the Castle site and its dependent farms through time, an “existing conditions” plan that identifies all known site features within the boundaries of the property today, a historic preservation treatment plan to guide interpretation of the site for our various constituencies, a preservation maintenance plan, and an implementation strategy. Additionally, the CLR will expand the Committee’s research and data gathering efforts, advise the Association as to what areas of our property are most sensitive to development, suggest buildings that might appropriately be reconstructed in the landscape, and provide guidance as further archaeological investigations become necessary. In short, the CLR will provide the Association with a comprehensive document that will be used to strengthen our interpretive and educational programs about the landscape, and guide future development of our site. So far this discussion has focused on the landscape and site aspects of our work. However, “building development” is also one of the Committee’s responsibilities. We have begun to lay the groundwork necessary for the development of a new building. In particular, we gathered comments from, and reviewed the needs of, Association committees and members regarding their requirements and desires should the construction of new facilities be undertaken. A wide range of features were listed on their various “wish lists.” These included meeting rooms, exhibit space, climate controlled archival storage space, classrooms, library facilities, a modern kitchen, up-to-date handicap access, and a fireplace for openhearth cooking. Based on input received, we determined that an estimated 4000 square feet of space would be required to accommodate these facilities. In addition, there would be requirements for revised parking areas, paths, signage, and a redesigned front entry configuration. After careful consideration, the only area of the existing Castle site that appears to meet regulatory setback and environmental restrictions is located just north of the entrance road (Richard Smith Drive). A site map developed by the Committee and drawn by Michael Weremay, landscape architect, shows the only available location where a facility with a footprint of 4000 square feet could be constructed. It must be emphasized that the Committee is not endorsing a building of this size. A 4000 square foot, one story building would have the maximum impact on the site. An alternative solution might be multiple, freestanding buildings located variously throughout the landscape— recalling the 17th or 18th Long-Range Site and Building Development Committee century structures known to have once been on the property. When this location became apparent, we surveyed historical records to determine if there were features formally located in the area under consideration that would be impacted by disturbing the spot. The final figure shows known 18th century features overlaid on the site plan. (There are no known 17th, 19th, or 20th century cultural features in the area under consideration.) To reiterate, the above plans are the result of the Committee’s mandate to locate a site for a possible new facility. The Committee has not endorsed, nor has the Association committed itself to, the construction of any new structures. In July 2002, the Board of Trustees voted to allow the Committee to continue its research work and to give it additional authority to provide oversight of proposed changes to the landscape. The Committee is continuing to research details of the evolution of the site to insure informed decisions on future planning. Our work is a continuance of the efforts of many others who have worked for the Castle over the years. Earlier committees laid the groundwork for our involvement at this time. Thanks to all—we are moving forward! Finally, I wish to recognize the Committee members, and to thank them for their tireless efforts and for providing their outstanding professional expertise—Marilyn Cohen, Peter Dunstan, Martha Dwyer, Alex Fenik, Norma LaSalle, Darrell McIntire, Clifford “Jack” Renshaw, and Michael Weremay.