Spring time at the Hunt House

The Hunt House Museum is located on fourteen acres of land situated along the Ten Mile River in East Providence. The Hunt House is a manor house that was built in the 1750’s for John Hunt and his new bride, Betsy Carpenter. Both John and Betsy were descendants of the original land owners who first came to the area in the 1640’s. At the site are the remains of mills that were built there in 1643 to help establish a new community which is now called Rumford. The Museum, decorated and furnished with objects from the 1750’s era, is managed and maintained by the East Providence Historical Society. The Heritage Gardens at the Hunt House Museum are period gardens. They were established in 2000 from plans developed by Searle/Searle Associates.

The goal of the Heritage Garden Project is to:

• Engage and educate the Historical Society membership, Hunt House Museum visitors, EP High School students and the EP community about designing, planting, and maintaining heritage plants, with an emphasis on sustainable plants.
• Develop botanical signage for the gardens, the Hunt House and the historic mill site.
• Update and maintain the period gardens at the site of the Hunt House Museum.

Heritage Garden Project Activities:

• Review existing period gardens and plans, identify existing plants and develop a list of new heritage plants to include in the gardens.
• Create new period garden plans.
• Work with EP High School to grow heritage plants.
• Develop a handout with a garden layout and plant list.
• Develop botanical signs that label the plants.
• Work from a calendar of monthly projects, scheduled on the 2nd Sunday of the month. Each project has a specific gardening focus, depending on the time of year. Each session begins with an educational briefing and demonstration.
• Include the gardens as part of the tours given to visitors of the Hunt House Museum during the monthly open houses.
• Include the gardens as part of the tours given to school children.
• Host a Master Gardener Information Kiosk at the Hunt House Museum at the June EPHIS Annual Picnic and during the Footprints in History Weekend.

Volunteers working in the Hunt House Museum Heritage Gardens will receive a one-year complimentary membership to the East Providence Historical Society which includes free admission to the Hunt House Museum, invitation to the monthly membership meetings and a one-year subscription to the Society’s Newsletter.

2008 Heritage Garden Work Session Dates:
2nd Sunday of the month from 2:00 - 4:00PM

April 13	August 10
May 11	September 14
June 8	October 12
July 13

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Cheryl Faria by email or call 401-419-8682.

You can also email joe@trimlawnri.com.