The History of Jacob Hill Farm
“A Seekonk landmark”
Eleonora recently appeared on Seekonk TV9’s Discovering Seekonk History to discuss the history of the Jacob Hill Farm. Watch the three episodes here.
Celebrating the 290th Anniversary (1723-2013)
The original building (The Club House) was built between 1722 and 1723 by the Allyn Family, who had 10 children.
In 1792 the Deacon Calvin Jacob bought the property, because of his prominence in the community the area became known as Jacob Hill (or Jacobs Hill), a name that has remained for nearly 300 years. Calvin Jacob also served in the Revolutionary War.
The Allyn’s and the Jacob’s were related by marriage.
The property remained in the Jacob Family for over 100 years. The next significant change to the property took place in 1915, when the Grosvenor’s purchased the property and made major renovations adding on the rear or side ell. Up until this time all the cooking was done over the open fire and in the beehive oven next to the fireplace, in what is now a gathering room. The Grosvenor’s built the ell as a kitchen wing with servant’s rooms above.
The main house had dormers added to the third floor, and the stairway that was in the front of the house was moved to the back of the main house. This allowed the stairs to continue up to the third floor.
Jacob Hill HistoryAfter the Grosvenor’s updated the house, they sold it to the Jacob Hill Hunt Club Inc. This was a group of very affluent people, mostly from the east side of Providence. The Hunt Club members included such names as Vanderbilt, Chaffee, Gladding and Firestone. The Grosvenors were also club members.
Some Relics that remain from the Inn’s Hay Days are the door knocker now on an inside door. It was originally on the front door of the Hunt Club. The servant’s call box, used buzzers to summon the servants. The antique wainscot paneling is authentic to the Hunt Club, it was in the men’s smoking room. The corner posts in the same room are exposed and marked with the date of the original structure in 1723. Photos, Horse Show Tags, programs, trophies from a few of the many Horse Shows, also Newspaper Artilcles. A few pieces of the china from the Hunt Club are also on display.
The Hunt Club was dissolved in 1943 and the buildings became a private residence once again. It had three owners until 1991 when Bill and Eleonora Rezek purchased the property. They decided to make it into a Bed Breakfast/Inn to help preserve and share their appreciation and enthusiasm for the Town’s history.
We hope you choose to stay with us, by doing so it is your contribution to preserving American history for future generations. For more information on Seekonk’s History see www.HistoricSeekonk.com.
Note: To protect the privacy & security of our guests, tours are by reservation only. Please call the Inn at 508-336-9165.
Thank you for supporting our cause…Bill and EL