File:American homes and gardens (1905) (17530092214).jpg

Title: American homes and gardens
Identifier: americanhomesgar00newy (find matches)
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic; Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York, Munn and Co
Contributing Library: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden
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R. THAYER'S house is a large mansion of wood, painted yellow, with white trimmings. It would be impossible to describe it in fewer words, or more accurately, yet it is very much more than this simple statement implies. It is a house of distinguished dignity, large and ample in its dimensions, satisfying in its architectural as- pect, rich in its interior furnishings and decorations, sur- rounded, on its inner side, by a garden of rare beauty, and overlooking an exquisite landscape. It is a house quite as distinctive in situation as it is in architecture. Lancaster is as quiet a town as maintains independent existence within the commonwealth of Massachusetts, its origin dating from 1643. Its antiquity, as ancient settlements are reckoned in America, is of the first rank, for it is the oldest inland settle- ment in the United States. But its chief present interest is rather in its beautiful surroundings, its vast peaceful valleys, its beautiful stretches of fields and meadows, the entrancing views it affords from almost every point of vantage. Its land- scapes are characterized by a wonderful charm of serenity that must make it very dear to those who know it and live within its borders. The associations of the Thayer family with Lancaster have been long and intimate. The site of the present great house, a circumstance that is expressed in its name, was the seat of the family homestead, made famous by the Rev. Dr. Na- thaniel Thayer, the founder of the family in Lancaster, a noted divine, many of whose personal souvenirs are still treasured by his descendants. It is a dwelling that has far outgrown its predecessor, but it has very obviously the char- acter of a great country seat, and its simple architecture, its well studied proportions, and attractive air express very
Text Appearing After Image:
The Terrace Affords a Splendid Outlook over the Country Beyond

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