Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, was a painter by trade and his Poughkeepsie, New York, home emphasized his interest in art rather than technology. His artistic ideals were incorporated into both the home's design and landscaping.
Morse extensively remodeled the clapboard Federal-style home to resemble the hilltop homes in Tuscany, Italy. Among the additions were an asymmetrical tower and half-octagonal wings.
The landscape follows the style of the romantic landscape movement, making the estate and home blend into its surrounding environment. Morse designed his landscaping so that every window of the home framed a landscape beautiful enough to rival paintings by the masters (figure A). He did not totally neglect technology in his new home. Amenities included running water, a servant call system and his personal telegraph station (figure B).
Resources Locust Grove: The Samuel Morse Historic Site
Locust Grove: The Samuel Morse Historic Site
2683 South Rd.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
USA
Phone: 845-454-4500
URL:
www.morsehistoricsite.org
Samuel F.B. Morse (Cambridge Monographs on American Artists)
by Paul Staiti (ISBN: 0521322189)
Cambridge University Press, 1990
Order this
title.
Cambridge University Press
110 Midland Ave.
Port Chester, NY 10573-4930
Phone: 914-937-9600
Fax: 914-937-4712
Website:
www.cup.org
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