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The Longfield House
1200 Hope Street Bristol, RI
This 19-century historic Gothic Revival style home, known to many as Longfield, was designed in 1848 by architects Russell Warren & Son on sixty acres of DeWolf family land.
As a wedding present it was given to Charles Dana Gibson (the grandfather of the famous artist and namesake) upon his marriage to Abbey DeWolf, the daughter of the late US Senator James DeWolf. Hence, also being referred to as The Gibson House.
Then in 1901, the house was passed down from Abbey DeWolf Gibson to granddaughter Josephine Gibson, who became the longtime chatelaine of the estate. Josephine was one of the models of the "Gibson Girl" illustrated by her brother, named Charles Dana Gibson after their paternal grandfather.
Later Josephine Gibson married a Mr. Knowlton and made Longfield a center of social and artistic gatherings until her death in 1969. Her son, bookbinder Daniel Gibson Knowlton, eventually sold the house in 1972. In May of the same year, it was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and was officially added on July 17, 1972.
Longfield still remains a slightly altered example of Late Gothic Revival architecture interpreted in wood. Set back a few yards from a heavily traversed Hope Street, and nestled beneath an overgrown lot looms. The property also included smaller houses and cottages, originally constructed to house servants and caretakers. According to a National Park Service survey, the foundation of the house is of stuccoed stone and the walls are constructed of wood clapboards. The house has four chimneys. The original cut-out bargeboard trim was removed from the gables around 1907. The front porch was rebuilt with a steeper shingled roof and its Gothic bracing and wooden crockets were removed. The Gothic window over the front porch may have had its sill-level raised. The south side porch was enlarged from a half-octagon shaped protrusion, which had been accessible from only the south parlor window. Its Gothic balustrade, bracing and parapet railing were kept. The original exterior window blinds of the house are stored in the attic. The rear entrance porch was rebuilt in 1963. The original partition separating the front southwest bedroom from a dressing room was removed. The house originally had a wood-shingled roof and was painted light red with darker trim. As of 1979, the house was painted white with black trim.
Once one of the most elegant houses in Bristol, a rare example of the American Wooden Gothic Revival Style built to perfection in 1848. Listed on the National Register in 1972 and now in need of total rehabilitation, it waits for a person with vision and passion to bring it back to life.
For more information on the house or to schedule a viewing, contact Dory Skemp with Coldwell Banker Residential at 401-247-0202.