Guidebook to Historic Houses and Gardens in New England by Willit Mason

Author:Willit Mason [Mason, Willit]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781532025419
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2017-07-18T04:00:00+00:00

Billings Mansion

SENATOR JUSTIN MORRILL HOMESTEAD

214 Justin Morrill Highway, Strafford, VT 05072

Website: www.historicsites.vermont.gov

Phone: 802-765-4484

Season: End of May to Mid October

Days and Hours of Operation: Wednesday through Sunday Plus Holiday Mondays 11 to 5

Days of House Tours: Same as above-tours given hourly

Entrance Fees: $6 Adults/ Children 14 and under - Free

In 1810 Justin Morrill was born into a family of 10 children in the town of Strafford, Vermont. His father was a blacksmith and couldn’t afford to educate Justin beyond the age of 15 despite Justin’s obvious intellect and curiosity. After he apprenticed in a general store, Justin opened and owned several stores of his own which allowed him to retire in 1848 at the age of 38. With the idea of building an experimental farm and a homestead for his future family, he purchased 100 acres in Strafford. Drawing on the ideas of Andrew Jackson Downing, he built a Gothic house, created gardens and erected several barns that would specifically house horses, cows and sheep, etc. On the completion of the house, he married Ruth Swan, a schoolteacher, and proceeded to have children. His first child died and his son James was born in 1857.

In 1854, Justin was persuaded to run for Congress and won, leading to a long career as a legislator. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives until 1867 when he moved to the U.S. Senate. Initially, Ruth and James stayed in Strafford with her sister Louise while Justin served in Washington, but in 1876, the family built a mansion in Washington and spent six months of the year there while Congress was in session. However, every summer they would return to Strafford. Justin started out as a Whig, but given his strong abolitionist views, became a Republican in the late 1850’s. He believed in the gold standard and tariffs as a way of strengthening and building U.S. business (Morrill Tariff). He is best remembered for his championship of legislation that allowed governmental support of public non-military colleges or land grant colleges where the curriculum would focus on agricultural and mechanical studies. These bills, passed in 1872 and revised in 1890, led to the creation of 105 colleges and universities in the U.S. (including Cornell, MIT, LSU, UVM, Rutgers, Purdue, etc). Justin served in the Senate until his death in 1898.

His son James continued to occupy the house in Strafford until he died in 1910, and it was then occupied by Ruth’s sister until her death in 1919. The house was then purchased as a summer retreat in 1936. Understanding its historical significance, the new owner did very little structurally to change the house. In 1964, the state of Vermont took possession of the house to be maintained as a historic museum.

The house and the outbuildings are open for tours Wednesday through Sunday. Many of the furnishings of the house are original including Morrill’s library. In the carriage house, there is a very good exhibit detailing Morrill’s life along with a demonstration of equipment used back in the 1850’s.

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