The Whitehorne Garden
One of the highlights of the Whitehorne House is its beautiful garden.
This inviting space is filled with antique roses, blueberry bushes and
fruit trees, and a dazzling array of perennials and annuals. Despite its
refined geometry, the garden still maintains a rustic quality. From the
precious balloon flower to the flamboyant castor plant, this garden will
delight you. This space is an interpretation of a Federal period garden
for an affluent, urban family.
Learn more about period gardening in our Resources section »
The Cultural Landscape
The urban landscape around the Whitehorne House holds three centuries of stories reflecting Newport’s unique relationship with the sea. This working waterfront neighborhood was home to many: sailors and smugglers, pirates and merchant princes, immigrant families and working women. From the house windows, the Whitehornes would have seen wharves bustling with ship builders, sail makers, teamsters and craftsmen, as well as other merchants who enjoyed proximity to their docks. Lower Thames Street, then as now, was a mix of commercial and residential buildings with a high concentration of taverns to quench the thirst of sailors and international visitors.
To learn more about the neighborhood’s cultural landscape, take a Tastes of the Working Waterfront tour.
Whitehorne’s Neighbors—New Research
Recent archeological and archival research by Salve Regina University’s Cultural and Historic Preservation program has uncovered clues to what life was like here in the 18th and 19th centuries. SRU students, along with department chair Professor James Garman, uncovered fascinating artifacts in digs at two NRF properties. This included tin-glazed earthenware, tobacco pipes, Chinese porcelain, military pieces, seeds and food scraps, and other objects of daily 18th century life.
