Roseland Cottage
by schummi06514
Roseland Cottage depicts the summer life of a prosperous family in mid 19th-century America. Built in 1846 in the newly fashionable Gothic Revival style, the house provided a seasonal escape from a more formal city existence for Henry Chandler Bowen and his family. Bowen, a Woodstock native, made his fortune in New York and became an active abolitionist, Congregationalist, and Republican.
The entire complex, with a boxwood parterre garden, an icehouse, garden house and a carriage barn with a private bowling alley, reflects the principles of writer and designer Andrew Jackson Downing. In his widely popular books, Downing stressed practicality along with the picturesque, and offered detailed instructions on room function, sanitation, and landscaping.
Beautifully situated on the village green, Roseland Cottage has survived virtually unchanged, with its original Gothic furniture, embossed Lincrusta Walton wall coverings, and coral-pink exterior.
The barn houses The Historic New England Museum Shop at Roseland Cottage.
