Adamsville Pond area is becoming an historic haven

Adamsville Pond area is becoming an historic haven

Story courtesy Westport Shorelines

February 27, 2008

Photos by everythingwestport.com

ADAMSVILLE - Westporter Ralph Guild has bought a third house in this quiet intersection that seems like a crossroads of history -- a small Greek Revival at 7 Main Street on the Rhode Island side. The house has two rental units whose back side overlooks the pond.

Mr. Guild, who has said he wants to preserve this stretch so people can enjoy it as he did as a child, has now restored Gray's Grist Mill and, after 15 years of effort obtaining permits, has finished dredging the pond.

He has owned the pond, grist mill and the offices next to it since 1980 and has been funding the mill's operation since.

Dredging of the pond involved removing 5,000 cubic yards of muck. Anne "Pete" Baker, Mr. Guild's restoration adviser, said the big mounds of muck still sitting on land will be trucked away soon.

Mr. Guild bought the old Longfield house on the Westport side of the pond in 2006. He is in the process of renovating the house and its outbuildings, which once housed lantern and blacksmith's shops.

Under the dredging agreements with the two states, the pond's remaining thickets are being kept to accommodate alewives and wildlife.

Left and center: Longfield buildings before restoration – spring 2007. Right: Longfield house in the final stages of restoration with addition – March 2008

More to come

It started with Gray's Grist Mill, then Longfield house and now a Greek Revival. Ralph Guild is restoring this idyllic and historic crossroads one building at a time.

Thus, despite the loss of Abraham Manchester's to a fire several years ago, this idyllic intersection is showing new signs of life.

Gray's Grist Mill is in Westport. So is Longfield house, with its blacksmith shop, which Mr. Guild is having restored.

Mr. Guild also bought Adamsville Pond and paid to have it dredged. Once choked with overgrowth, the pond is now so full with all this rain, it sometimes looks like it might overflow.

"Thank God for Ralph," said restoration historian Anne "Pete" Baker who has been working with him on all these projects.

Ms. Baker said a copy was made of the old turbine and gears that were used to provide energy to the grist mill's operations. It is ready to be installed as soon as the casing is designed and built. Once it is back in operation, it may actually save money in electricity.

The little island in the pond is a bird preserve. Now that the pond has been dredged, people can skate or row around it for the first time in many years.

The pond has a new fish ladder but Mr. Guild has also fixed the old stone fish ladder, so now, "There are two accesses for alewives to come back up," Ms. Baker said.

In the future, "We would like to introduce salmon," Ms. Baker said. "We will bring in salmon babies."

It takes time for the salmon to take hold and come back naturally to a spot. Ms. Baker said, "It's a long term thing but it would be really wonderful."

Longfield house was built sometime around 1790 to 1800 but it wasn't called Longfield house until the Longfields bought it in 1923. Mr. Longfield was a popular blacksmith; his forge was in the barn. The family also had a little shop by the road where they sold lanterns. All of these buildings are now being restored.

Left: Stone fish ladder in early 2007 before restoration. Center left: Fish ladder during restoration - fall 2007. Center right Restored stone fish ladder at Adamsville Pond - March 2008. Right: A view across Adamsville Pond to the dam with the Longfield house in the background – March 2008.

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