General Nathanael Greene Homestead

	General Nathanael Greene Homestead
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
	U.S. Historic district; Contributing property
	Greene Homestead, 2009
Location	50 Taft St., Coventry, Rhode Island
Built	1774
Architect	Nathanael Greene
Part of	Anthony Village Historic District (ID10000770)
NRHP reference No.	71000014
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 7, 1971
Designated NHL	November 28, 1972
Designated CP	September 20, 2010

41°41′38″N 71°32′39″W / 41.693889°N 71.544127°W / 41.693889; -71.544127

The General Nathanael Greene Homestead, also known as Spell Hall, is a historic house at 50 Taft Street in Coventry, Rhode Island.^[3] It was the home of American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene from 1770 to 1776, and was owned afterwards by his brother Jacob Greene and his wife Margaret. The house is owned and operated by the General Nathanael Greene Homestead Association, a non-profit organization, and was opened as a museum in 1924.

Description

The house is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure with a gable roof, two interior chimneys, and clapboarded exterior. It is five bays wide and two deep, with a center entry framed by pilasters and topped by a transom window, triangular pediment, and carved fanlight motif. The house follows a typical late-Georgian center-hall plan, with four rooms on each level, two on either side of the central hall. On the lower level, the front right room housed Nathanael Greene's 300+ volume library, while the rear room served as the kitchen. The rooms on the left served as parlor and dining room. There are four bedrooms on the second floor, and the attic space was later also converted into bedrooms.^[4]

History

The house was built by Nathanael Greene in 1770, part of a property encompassing 2,000 acres (810 ha), and served as his family's home through the Revolutionary War. In 1783 Greene moved the family to Newport, before eventually relocating to Georgia, where he died in 1786. This house he sold to his brother Jacob. It remained in Greene family hands until 1899, although it became run-down and was used as a tenement house in the later years. In 1919 the Nathanael Greene Homestead Association was formed to restore and care for the property.^[4] It is now a house museum, open to the public. The Greene family members have also helped keep the home historic throughout the years.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972,^[2]^[4] and was included in the Anthony Village Historic District in 2010.

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "General Nathaniel Greene Homestead". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
^ The General's first name is Nathanael, but the National Historic Landmarks program listing for him misspells his first name as Nathaniel, and the NRHP Inventory/Nomination document misspells it as Nathanel in the title but not the main body of the document (where it is correctly spelled as Nathanael).
^ ^a ^b ^c Charles W. Snell (February 16, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Gen. Nathanel Greene Homestead" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

Gen. Nathanael Greene Homestead Association
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. RI-269, "General Nathanael Greene House, Greene Street, Anthony, Coventry, Kent County, RI", 2 photos, supplemental material

Images

1930s Postcard depicting the house
Front and side elevations, 1937
Dining Room and Fireplace Wall

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.

[nhlsum-2] "General Nathaniel Greene Homestead". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2008.

[3] The General's first name is Nathanael, but the National Historic Landmarks program listing for him misspells his first name as Nathaniel, and the NRHP Inventory/Nomination document misspells it as Nathanel in the title but not the main body of the document (where it is correctly spelled as Nathanael).

[nrhpinv2-4] Charles W. Snell (February 16, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Gen. Nathanel Greene Homestead" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

Description

History

See also

References

External links

Images