Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1896-06-17
The House of the Quincys.

The many friends OF Prof. and Mrs. H.
M. Willard will be interested in reading
the following, taken from the Boston Her.
aid.
| The venerable landmark, situated some
| hundred yards back from Hancock street, in
| Quincy, dates back to colonial days, when the
| Adamses and the Quincys kept "open house
! for all the dignitaries of those early times.
Here Washington and Lafayette, successive
| governors of Massachusetts, Boston's mayors
| and other prominent national, state and mu-
nicipal leaders were often made welcome.
| Here were born and reared two of Boston's
| distinguished mayors, the grandfather and
great-grandfather of the present mayor, who
was himself born in the only less famous
Quincy mansion, which stands nearby; here,
too, in later days were entertained right roy
ally illustrious authors and statesmen, noted
divines, scholars and educators. Ralph
Waldo Emerson, E. p. Whipple, James L.
Fields, Horace Mann and scores of their con-
temporaries enjoyed its hospitality.
! And it is u curious circumstance that the
changing wheel of time has now brought this
latter residence under the control of name
sake ofone of these welcome guests. Horace
Mann Willard, long known principal of
Howard seminary, Bridgewater academy,
Colby college and the Vermont academy,
and as superintendent of schools in Newton
and Gloucester, has recently established here
a girl's seminary.
Quincy, with it's widely known Adams
academy and uneXcelled public schools, has
long been noted educational centre, and
this new acquisition to her resources prom
ises to become one of her most vigorous insti-
buttons. The experience and success of DR..
and Mrs. Willard in the educational field, and
the qualifications of the able men and women
who with them comprise the faculty, insure
Il high standard of accomplishment, while the
school euuIpment cOmnlefp and m in
every department.
| The mansion house is in all respects adj
mirably adapted for a school home. Spacious
and comfortable, attractively imposing in ap-
pearance, with broad Plazzas and great rooms,
| it impresses one still with the hospitable
| grandeur for which it has so long been IA
| nous. Completely fitted out with every
| modern appliance, steam heat, electric lights,
| perfect sanitary arrangements and handsome
| furnishings, it seems to meet every require
| ment for health and comfort, together with a
cheerful home atmosphere.
Its situation in the beautiful Wollaston
Park, is a particularly happy one for an in
| stitution of this nature, occupying a COM
handing position at the end ola long avenue
| OF century-old elms in triple rows, surrounded
| by several acres of attractive grounds. with
| fine lawns, hedges, shrubbery and noble trees.
1t is secluded, yet open to sun and air, and
commands an extensive panorama of restful
| landscape, distant hills, the city proper and
iOWnS, quincy DaN
| (whose shores are near by, offering ample
| facilities for boating and bathing) and the
outer harbor with its islands, forts and ship
ping. Being virtually in the country, it is
yet in close touch with the musical and liter
airy advantages of Boston.
The mansion will be the home of the pupils,
while a large school building is being erected
for recitation and lecture purposes. The his
toric character of the place will be preserved
in the felicitous title of "rhe Quincy Mansion
School" Its curriculum has been arranged
upon the broadcast lines of modern educational
methods, and the indications now point to
highly satisfactory opening in September.
1t is matter for general congratulation
that this palatial home of the later Quincys,
as well as the colonial homestead of the former
generations, is to remain in its old-time char
acter, and to fulfill so worthy purpose, fos-
tering, as it must, in the developing mind of
the young, spirit of patriotism and rever-
ence for our country's past.