A beautiful and historic sight with a most knowledgeable and friendly staff. Their motto is preservation, not restoration or innovation. The grounds are beautiful and the gardens are impeccable. The history really is enlightening.
Anyone visiting the "quiet corner" of Connecticut should make an effort to see Roseland Cottage, a truly memorable house in the center of Woodstock, overlooking the green. This Gothic revival house is stunning, both inside and out. You are greeted by the sight of a salmon pink house rising next to the village green. The style is Gothic revival, with an emphasis on the vertical, in the lines of the architecture as well as the vertical shingles. Inside, the house is a revelation, a sumptuous gathering of furniture, carpeting, stained glass windows, and wall furnishings that reflect the splendor of a bygone age. Truly one of the most interesting houses I've ever visited, and not to be missed..
Great tour of this historical house! We learned a lot from our fabulous tour guide, Jade, about this unique house. She was excellent and so kind to send us an article about the Lincrusta wall coverings that fascinated us. We had never seen anything like this kind of gorgeous wall covering before. We highly recommend that you visit here.
A nice way to spend an hour or so wandering around the garden (nice but not huge, and mostly off limits due to boxwood blight concerns) and taking the house tour. The house tour was very interesting and the house is nicely restored. Our guide (Jade) did an excellent job of gearing her tour to my 5 year old and engaging her. Nothing in the house can be touched so I wouldn't suggest it for younger children or those that can't keep their hands to themselves!
Our guide was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. This is an historic building, so they keep it how it would have been when it was built or soon thereafter. I love to visit old homes to see how people actually lived way back when...and the gardens are also beautiful. This is a definite must see!
The home was very beautiful and somewhat eclectic, particularly for the time period. It also had very pretty gardens which were accentuated by the beautiful fall colors. Our tour guide was very nice and very knowledgable. A very enjoyable tour!
Beautiful grounds, beautiful home. Historically significant. This is a nice place to visit in a fairly remote, but awesome town to visit.
Such a nice, quiet New England village with this fascinating Gothic Revival "cottage" built in the mid 19th century. The tour is excellent giving a slice of life into an influential american family. Several presidents and notables visited here. The interior and furnishing are mostly original with lots of pink and flowery themes. And a beautiful garden. Definitely worth a visit!
Purchased in 1970 by Historic New England, this house is a gem. The hour tour was well done and very informative. The family named it Roseland Cottage, but it should be called the Bowen House. Henry Bowen had this house built in 1846 as a summer home. He had 10 children with his first wife. After her death, he remarried and had one more child. For the next 122 years (until 1968) Henry's descendants lived in this house. This house is full of Bowen furniture, Bowen china, and Bowen pictures and moments. Some things including the "parlor" sofa and chairs date back to 1846.Henry made lots of money in the silk business and became well known in political circles. Four presidents (at different times) attended the huge July 4th celebration he used to run each year.President Grant bowled in the bowling alley which can still be visited as part of the tour. Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford Hayes, and William McKinley also visited the home when they attended the July 4th festivities.This home is one of the reasons that we are so glad that we are members of Historic New England. We get to visit fascinating homes and at the same time help to preserve them and to maintain the beautiful gardens.
Lovely place to visit - especially in the summer and fall. We enjoy their special events the most - they bring in performances as well as large craft shows each year...lots of things to see and do! Parking on such days can be difficult but they do offer parking detail to help guests.