Facing west toward the Queen Anne Highway (now Route 1) in Westerly, Rhode Island is an imposing 1734 post and beam Georgian mansion. Sitting in quiet dignity amid the evidence of urban sprawl, the fine old house has watched the passing traffic of raiders, peddlers, Indians, trappers, farm wagons, stagecoaches, and more recently, cars, trucks and motor coaches.

Originally built by Dr. Joshua Babcock, during its early years the dwelling housed a store that made the property a natural gathering place and favorable location for Westerly's first post office. Babcock was a friend of Benjamin Franklin's and the home's lightning rods are said to be a gift from him. Franklin's friendship probably influenced Babcock's appointment as Westerly's first postmaster.

Dr. Babcock passed away in 1783 and the Babcock farm was inherited by his son and later by his grandson. After the War of 1812, his grandson Dudley Babcock lost his ships and was unable to pay his debts. He subsequently sold the house and property to Oliver Wells who used it as a tenant farm and allowed the house to fall into disrepair.

Smith granite quarries

In 1839, Orlando Smith came to Westerly. He was a stonemason from Ledyard, Connecticut, who took an option on the Babcock property because he had discovered good granite there. By 1846, the deal was complete and three generations of Smiths developed quarries on the farm, making Westerly one of the foremost granite centers in the country. For many years, the Smith Granite Company was prominent in the stone cutting business, making monuments and statues. Sixty monuments were made for Gettysburg alone.

"I know the rooms by memory even though the whole collection is inventoried," recalled Isaac (Ike) G. Smith, Jr., a descendant. "I only vaguely recall a Thanksgiving dinner in the house as a child; I remember more about the cement walkway between the mansion and my grandfather's house next door." Ike still lives on the property. He and his wife built a small Cape Cod style house on land they bought from the company 50 years ago. He told me that they owned the land for a decade before they could afford to build. He cut stone for 13 1/2 years and is well versed in both family and company traditions. "The directors and stockholders met in the parlor of the Babcock-Smith House," he added. "Many were family, so the histories of the house and the business are intertwined."

Prime Georgian architecture

The Babcock-Smith House is a prime example of early Georgian architecture. Its front doorway and surround are distinguished by fluted pilasters and a graceful broken scroll pediment. The five-bay dwelling features tall, narrow nine-over-nine windows with the heavy sash characteristic of the period. The full basement features a support archway that cuts through the massive center chimney. There is a sub-cellar as well. Here you can still see evidence of storage space remaining from the house's time as a store.

"This was a mansion from the day it was built," explained Ike Babcock. "It wasn't like the farmer's cottage. When I was a child the summer kitchen was still there, but it's long gone now." The brownstone steps and walkway are original. The stone was imported from a Portland, Connecticut quarry and ferried by boat down the Connecticut River.

The floor plan is particularly interesting because of the various alterations made to the house over the years. The post and beam construction allowed for screen walls to be moved during the Victorian period. In 1928, Orlando Smith restored the house to its original colonial condition. Architect Norman Isham was hired for the project. The dining room was enlarged and new paneling was copied from the original. Walls and ceilings in one room needed to be replaced and accurate reproduction wallpapers were hung in the hall, parlor and dining room.

The small entryway is dramatic with its curved stairway, paneled wainscoting and carved stair treads. The parlor is rich in architectural detail with a magnificent corner cupboard featuring a domed and scalloped top flanked by fluted pilasters. All the paneling in the room, the shutters, window seats, and other details are painted in a blue-green-gray document color that was widely used in period. Above the fireplace hangs a painting of Young America, a China Trade clipper ship captained by David Babcock. The alcove directly behind the parlor was originally a bedroom warmed by the nearby keeping room fire.

At the rear of the house is the old kitchen or keeping room. A focal point is the eight-foot fireplace with its many pieces of hearth equipment; the hearth and bake oven date to the earliest period. The dining room is larger than originally designed and was built to accommodate Babcock's pleasure in lavish entertaining. Tradition tells us that his guests included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette. Sporting a fine reproduction of the original French hand-block printed wallpaper, the dining room looks much as it did in its prime period.

On the second floor are six bed chambers, some of which are furnished in eighteenth-century style, while others are Victorian, reflecting the later history of the house. Overall, the furnishings reflect multiple occupants even though the collection is generally focused on the eighteenth century.

The museum

The house was very well cared for by its last occupant, Phoebe Alice Barber, who had married Orlando Raymond Smith. It was he who set up the Orlando R. Smith Trust to protect the house. Upon his wife's death, the house was to become a museum. Since that time, the mansion has undergone paint analysis and has been re-painted inside and out with its original colors. Sash protection has been installed outside the original windows and climate control systems are in place.

I asked Ike Smith whether or not people cared about the history of the quarries that are tied to the legacy of the mansion. "Oh yes," he said. "I really don't want to get away from the Babcock-Smith House itself, but the history of the quarries is all part of it. A lot of people care; we have people here whose families worked in the quarries. There were hundreds employed here years ago and we have lots of people who are interested in their genealogy. There is a library in the Carriage House where people can research. It holds among other items 21 record books from the Smith Granite Company. Each is about 18 inches square and varies from three to six inches thick."

Monuments standing up and down the coast are documented in the company's books. The stone cutters and carvers are listed, as well as price and original purchaser. "I've been working on these records pretty steady now for the past 20 years," Ike told me, "and most of the information has been transferred to computers now. Our statues are in many towns even today. We weren't the only quarry, but we got our share."

Babcock-Smith House Museum, 124 Granite Street, Westerly, Rhode Island 02891, (401) 596-5704, www.babcock-smithhouse.com.