The Newtown bee., 1890-08-22
A Queer Sort of House.


But as it was, and still is, for that mat
ter, case of too many hills or too few
people, it happened that many of the
sightliest SUBMITS were left without
buildings upon them and were turned
either into wood lots or pastures, accord
ing to the convenience of the owners.
Two or three years ago, Peter Lori.
lard Ronalds of New York came a-tour.
ing through this end of Fairfield county
He was man of wealth and he had trav'
elled over most of the globe, but just
then he was looking for a site for coun-
try house. So Mr. Ronalds rode about
the town and saw the hills that had been
neglected by those who had come before
him. One rise of ground greatly pleased
him and he bought it.
ROnalds' Peak, as it is now called, is
one of the high hills in this county. 1t
lies about half mile west of this village.
the backbone of the ridge having the
north and south trend that most of the
hills take. Mr. Ronalds's purchase occu.
pies the southern half of the plateau and
commands view of miles upon miles OF
charming country.
Very quickly the news spread that the
newcomer intended to build him house
embodying some original architectural
notions of his own. The house isn't fin.
ished yet, but for two years it has been
one of the sights of the county. People
make pilgrimages to see it. The Summer
boarder, who swarms over the land, de-
seconds upon tor rather ascends to it
and meets other of his kind on the same
mission. Residents of the neighbOring
towns visit the peak frequently. They
have been there before, but that doesn t
matter.
| As was soon learned, Mr. Ronalds pro-
posed to follow IA line of striking origin
ality in the construction of his country
house. 1t is now unanimously agreed
by his neighbors that he has succeeded
In his travels, it was explained at the
first, he had mastered the details of many
noted buildings and the features of each
of them which had struck his fancy he
desired to unite under one roof. Work
on the structure has been going on for
about two years and another year or two
may pass before the house is completed
The plans call for n structure about 40
feet on its front, which faces the south,
and two stories in height, not counting
the slOping roof. The main building,
which is Al feet deep, is to have two
wings in the rear, O. by Is feet, inclosng
court about GO feet square. Compare
lively little has been done on the extern
sions, but the main building is nearly
completed, so far as the exterior is con-
cerned.
The cellar is one of the novelties of the
establishment. By some persons, it is
argued that there is no cellar; by others,
that it is above ground. AS matter of
fact, what in other houses passes as the
ground floor will here be devoted in part
to the uses to which a cellar is usually
put. About the only thing completely
under ground is the big tank or reservoir.
Right above the tank is an arched pass
ageway running the width of the house.
1t is the middle one of three such arches
set side by side. They are built of stone
and when the work of construction was
in its early stages they looked Il great
deal like u section of stone bridge or
group of culverts. The arches make up
the first story of the castle. The spaces
between their tops are filled with stone
and big iron braces have been fitted to
add to their solidlty.
The middle arch will be used as drive
way through the house. Entering by
this passage, one comes to n door set in
the north wall and leading to the stairs
to the upper or living floor. Other doors
give entrance to rooms in the two outer
arches and in these rooms are placed the
furnace which warns the big house and
other fittings usually placed in cellars.
Part of the archway space, too, is now
used as living quarters for employees.
Another of these rooms has been turned
into sort of armory and reioices in the
possession of dozen figures clad in arm
or and collection of weapons of all ages
and nations. The armor is a novelty in
this section of the world and the room in
which it Is kept is one of the most inter-
esting ia the castle.
-Four bedrooms take up the corners of
the upper floor, on which are also dining
rooms, drawing rooms Onto one of which
runs pipe to supply a fountain with its
stock In trade), private rooms and the
kitchen. The house Is rich in balconies.
fIhara ira g., -
the south side, while the opposite side of
the building has room for two more and
one has been built at each end, over the
entrances to the central archway. Bath
ing facilities are abundant enough to
satisfy the most earnest advocate of
cleanliness. Each bed room has its bath
mot tucked away in side apartment,
but safely slowed in the floor of the
room. Lift up a little trap door and
there is yonr bath.
Another flight of stairs-and all the
stairways have an easy rise in this house
leads to large room that runs from
one end of the buildingto the other. 1t
Is filled as conservatory and half of the
surface of the slopes of the roof is of
glass. just now there Is only q small
stock Of plants under cultivation, but
there is room In the conservatory for u
very attractive floral display. A squire
observatory" has been built in the mid
die Of the roof and from this lofty place
a beautiful view Is to be obtained OF hill
and valley stretching away for miles To
/
the east, south and west. There is ira
dition that on particularly clear days
Long Island Sound, 10 miles away, can