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Clingstone

Coordinates: 41°28′55.6″N 71°21′11.5″W / 41.482111°N 71.353194°W / 41.482111; -71.353194 (Clingstone)
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North-northwest view from the water of Clingstone
North-northwest view from the water of Clingstone.

41°28′55.6″N 71°21′11.5″W / 41.482111°N 71.353194°W / 41.482111; -71.353194 (Clingstone) Clingstone is a house built in 1905, perched atop a small, rocky island in an island group called "The Dumplings" in Narragansett Bay, near Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Architecture

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The dwelling, designed by Philadelphia socialite J. S. Lovering Wharton and artist William Trost Richards, is a three-story 23-room 10,000-square-foot shingle-style cottage.[1] The structural system of heavy mill-type framing was designed to withstand hurricane-force winds.[2] The name "Clingstone" was suggested by a remark that it was "a peach of a house".[3] In August 2010 the interior was documented in a series of panoramic photographs.[4]

Film director Wes Anderson modeled the house from Moonrise Kingdom after Clingstone, specifically the interior shingles. [5]

Owners

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The original owner, a nephew of industrialist Joseph Wharton, built the house in response to the government condemning his earlier summer home in order to build Fort Wetherill.[6] Wharton summered there until his death in 1931. Although little damaged by a hurricane in 1938, the residence was still vacant at the time of his wife's death in 1957 until it was purchased in 1961 by Boston architect Henry Wood.[1] Wood, a distant cousin of the Philadelphia Whartons, was able to purchase the property for $3,600, the amount owed in back taxes.[7] The house is known by locals as "The House on a Rock".[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Green, Penelope (2008-08-07). "Who Lives There - The Old House and the Sea". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Historic and Architectural Resources of Jamestown, Rhode Island". Jamestown Philomenian Library. Archived from the original on 2009-12-09.
  3. ^ Buttrick, James C., Jamestown Historical Society (2003). Jamestown: Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-1192-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "A Visit to Clingstone". Archived from the original on 2011-02-22. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
  5. ^ Parent, Tatiana (2013-02-13). "A Whimsical Road Trip To Moonrise Kingdom Filming Locations". Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. Retrieved 2013-08-22.
  6. ^ "Jamestown and Newport, Rhode Island — Interesting and Useful Information".
  7. ^ Hammel, Lisa (1976-09-08). "Family shares island empire with birds". St. Petersburg Times.
  8. ^ English, Bella (2009-07-28). "Home sweet rock — No man is an island, but Henry Wood comes close". The Boston Globe.