Florence Griswold Museum: The House

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Visit our Tour Destination: Connecticut page to see the entire tour of the state’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

The Griswold House in a painting by Matilda Browne, one of the few female
artists who established herself at the Lyme Art Colony.  This image, circa 1910,
depicts the facade of the Griswold House from the northeast side and shows
the original configuration of the steps, now restored, and the painted
capitals, also replicated during the restoration.  Image courtesy of the
Florence Griswold Museum.

Florence Griswold Museum

96 Lyme Street

Old Lyme, CT

Website:  Florence Griswold Museum

The Treasure:  The Griswold House itself is a treasure, capturing the changing roles of an elegant Connecticut mansion originally built at the peak of Old Lyme’s prosperity as a maritime center. As the Florence Griswold Museumreceived two Save America’s Treasuresgrants, this is the first of two entries (the second will focus on the art treasures within the historic house).

Accessibility:  The Florence Griswold Museumis open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 1 to 5.

The Griswold House, designed by
Samuel Belcher.  Photo courtesy of
the Florence Griswold Museum.

Background:  Houses undergo transformations over time, always retaining suggestions of their past even as new circumstances change them. The building that’s now known as the Griswold House went through an extreme conceptual transformation during the first two decades of the 20th century. In those years, a once-proud mansion received renewed vitality, reborn as the home of a world-class art colony. But look past the vibrant artworks and boardinghouse atmosphere and you can still catch glimpses of a home that was built for an entirely different community.

The town of Old Lyme went through a boom period from the American Revolution through the 1820s. Located at the confluence of the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound, Old Lyme established itself as a center of the coastal shipping industry, largely through shipyards that built the great steamships that dominated the seas at that time. When William Noyes decided that he needed an elegant mansion in the most fashionable section of town, he turned to the architect Samuel Belcher, who had a reputation as both a skilled shipwright and a master builder. The house that Belcher built for Noyes in 1817 was a late Georgian-style exemplar of Connecticut affluence and respectability.

A young sea captain, Robert Griswold, purchased the 15-acre estate in 1841. At first, the Griswold family prospered but as times changed the family failed to maintain its wealth. Old Lyme’s steamboat industry collapsed as the shipping industry turned away from steam toward wind power. After several difficult decades of financial struggle, Robert Griswold died in 1882. He left the estate—and little else—to his wife Helen who now had responsibility of caring for three unmarried daughters.

One of those daughters, Florence Griswold (1850-1937), would lead the house into its next phase. At some point in the 1890s, the women began to offer the estate as an informal summer boardinghouse, accepting payment from urban residents looking for a bucolic summertime retreat. In 1899, the year that Helen died, Florencewelcomed Henry Ward Ranger, a tonalist landscape painter, to their boardinghouse. Ranger was enchanted with the location and proposed the idea to Florence that the Griswold House might make a fine art colony. The fortunes of the house were about to rise again…

The ionic capitals are a graceful feature on the facade of the Griswold House.
Restoration of the capitals uncovered forgotten details enabling them to be
returned to their original appearance when they were painted to match the
clapboard color of the house.  Photo by Liz Farrow, courtesy of the
Florence Griswold Museum.

A photograph of the center hall of the Griswold
House.  The hall served as the main artery of
the house, as well as an impromptu
gallery space where the Lyme artists hung their
work for sale.  This photograph was used to
guide the restoration of the hall.  Photo
courtesy of the Florence Griswold Museum.

Notes from the Editor: Many historic houses are furnished and interpreted to capture the feel of a specific time. As mentioned before, the Florence Griswold House retains suggestions of the old New England prosperity of the early 19th century. This nostalgic feeling was retained and even emphasized by the artist colony that gathered in the summer months during those two busy decades following Henry Ward Ranger’s first visit to the house.

When the Florence Griswold House reopened in June 2006 following a year of major restoration work, it was intentionally designed to reflect its appearance in 1910—midway through the glory years of the Lyme Art Colony. It was a very good year for the old house. While Florence was away for some weeks during the summer of 1910, her artist boarders along with other helpful neighborhood friends re-shingled the roof, mended the chimneys, dug a well, and redecorated the grand hallway and parlor. “I never knew I had such wonderful friends,” Florence is reported to have said when she returned home and saw their gift of a beautified house. “It’s a dream of a lifetime come true.”

The hallway restored to its 1910 appearance
following the 2005-2006 restoration.
Photo by Joe Standart, courtesy of the
Florence Griswold Museum.

The fireplace in the historic Dining Room in the Griswold House in the process
of being restored to its 1910 appearance.  The fireplace served more as a
decorative, rather than functional, feature in the room.  Photo by Liz Farrow,
courtesy of the Florence Griswold Museum.

Other Recommended Sites:  Like to explore artist homes, studios, and art colonies? The National Trust for Historic Preservation offers a handy Historic Artist’s Homes and Studios search engine with information on 30 important arts sites located throughout the country. Connecticut has three:  The Florence Griswold Museum (of course), the Bush-Holley Historic Site, and Weir Farm National Historic Site.

To explore Connecticut life long before the Griswold House was built, you can travel eastward down the coast to Guilford. The Henry Whitfield State Museumdates to 1639, making it Connecticut’s oldest standing house as well as the oldest stone house in all New England.

In nearby Old Saybrook, there’s a small museum dedicated to another strong-minded woman. Katharine Hepburn called this beautiful section of Connecticut her home, and the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center(affectionately called The Kate) is the town’s tribute to her. Its 250-seat theater keeps a busy schedule and there’s a small museum within it that honors Hepburn’s many impressive achievements on film and on the stage.

The front of the Griswold House midway through the 2005-2006 restoration
as it is returned to its 1910 appearance.  The new steps have been built, replacing
the old steps.  The house has been freshly painted a deeper color based on
scientific paint analysis.  The windows have been conserved and
are being reinstalled, and a new copper drainage system is being put in.
Photo by Liz Farrow, courtesy of the Florence Griswold Museum.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Tuesday’s destination:  Florence Griswold Museum:  The Panel Paintings

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price