Rosemary Cottage

Rosemary Cottage was an American charity and summer retreat in Eliot, Maine.[1] It was built by Hannah Tobey Farmer in memory of her dead child.[2] The camp was available for children and mothers from the congested districts in Boston.

Location

A large, airy house, located halfway up an eminence known as Frost Hill, in Eliot, Maine.[3] The house commanded a beautiful view, and featured the fresh air of Maine's woods and pastures, along with apple blossoms and lilacs.[2]

The grounds included approximately 12 acres (4.9 ha).[4]

The winding road was lined with nut trees, and a grove of them was farther down the hill. On one side stood an old willow and white-stemmed birches. Far away to the westward, stretched the undulating country with the Piscataqua River winding through it.[2]

History

The cottage was named after a line spoken by Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, "Here's rosemary-that's for remembrance", in honor of Farmer's dead child.[5]

Guests came in remained a fortnight.[5] The families were sent to Rosemary Cottage for vacation privileges by the various Congregational churches of Greater Boston.[4]

It was made available for children and their mothers who otherwise would have to spend hot months in the crowded, narrow streets of Boston or some other city along the Boston and Maine Railroad. Once a fortnight, through June, July, August, and a part of September, on Monday, groups of children arrived with their mothers,[2] via the Boston and Maine Railroad train.[2] In addition to mothers with their children, an elderly woman also spent time at Rosemary Cottage.[5]

The cottage was given to the City Mission Society of Boston, and was carried on by its Fresh Air Fund,[5] a recognized institution in Boston. It promoted by Rev. D. W. Waldron who made appeals for contributions to it.[6] The vacationers were selected and sent there by Waldron, as he and his associates knew many people in Boston, and they were apt to know who would benefit from time spent in such a home.[2]

By 1908, 10,316 mothers and children had participated in the program.[7]

In 1919, Rosemary Cottage was under the leadership of Mary Anderson of Park Street Church. The cook was the head of the English Department in a large city high school. The workers all served from the missionary motive.[8]

Architecture and fittings

The cottage had twenty rooms, with accommodation for forty-eight guests. Sleeping-rooms had small white beds. It was decorated nicely, many of the rooms having been furnished by clubs or private generosity. The parlor had pictures, books, and ornaments, as well as the Wadsworth Mottoes, given by the King's Daughters of Eliot: "Look up and not down. Look forward and not back. Look out and not in. Lend a hand."[5] The "Helping Hand Society" of Ipswich, Massachusetts made picture books of cards. Pails and shovels were on hand for digging dirt.[3]

References

  1. ^ Beedy, Helen Coffin (1895). Mothers of Maine. Thurston Print. p. 389. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Hale, Edward Everett (1890). "Rosemary Cottage". The Look-out: A Monthly Magazine for Young People ... (Public domain ed.). J.S. Smith & Company: 18. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b Hale, Edward Everett (November 1888). "Rosemary Cottage". Lend a Hand. 3 (11) (Public domain ed.). J.S. Smith: 666. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Rosemary Cottage charity by Hannat and Sarah Farmer". The Portsmouth Herald. 10 July 1937. Retrieved 17 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Social Problems". The Cosmopolitan. 8 (3) (Public domain ed.). Schlicht & Field: 379. January 1890. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  6. ^ Freeman, A. L., ed. (23 January 1898). "Rev. D. W. Waldron". The Morning Star and Free Baptist. Morning Star Publishing House: 389. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  7. ^ City Missionary Society Boston (1908). Annual Report (Public domain ed.). The Society. p. 38. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  8. ^ "What a Summer Center Accomplishes". The Congregationalist (Public domain ed.). Pilgrim Press: 391. 25 September 1919. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
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