Newport -- Indian Springs

Correspondence written on verso, postmarked June 10 (year was torn off with stamp). Postcard published by The Rhode Island News Company, Providence, R.I. // Americhrome, Leipzig, Berlin, New York.

The rusticated native granite and brownstone house built in 1893 has been described as an organic extension of its natural situation, following the dictum of the property's landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to respect the genius of place. The house sits on a 30-foot-high cliff facing south toward the Atlantic Ocean. It was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt in a late French gothic style, to emulate architect H.H. Richardson who died before working on this commission. Olmsted participated in determining the style and siting of the house then designed a landscape garden that the current owners are recreating on the eight and one-half acre property. The house was restored by previous owners after 40 years of neglect, but the garden was overgrown with vines, nightshade, juniper and bittersweet with trees growing through roofs and turrets. After researching Olmsted's original planting list (eliminating plants now considered invasive) and visiting other Olmsted and Capability Brown landscapes the owners who bought the property in 2009 planted large trees and shrubs, restored walkways, and rescued pieris japonica and rhododendron from the original landscape. The owners installed a new gate and changed the driveway from asphalt to gravel with cobblestone edging. They have created a large garden bed and landscaped borders, choosing plants that either withstand salt spray and wind from the ocean or hotter summer microclimates from rock outcroppings. The full-size specimen trees required heavy machinery to plant in place. The estate was named after a spring on the property, and possibly a legend involving the murder of an Indian maiden drowned in a well. An historic stone bollard alongside the driveway known as the babbling brook produces a tinkling sound when pebbles are dropped over it. Future gardens plans include more borders, decorative elements, and possibly an orchard if deer and rabbit predations can be controlled. Persons associated with the garden's design: Frederick Law Olmsted, Landscape Architect (1890-1893); James Thompson, head gardener (1893-1922); Joseph Silveria, head gardener (1922-1951).

Now known as Wrentham House.