We’re pleased to announce that the Varnum House Museum will be open for the 2017 tour season in June, July, and August on Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Tours include a dynamic program featuring costumed interpreters leading our guests through this house museum’s rich history. Contact the Varnum House Museum by calling 401-884-1776 or email [email protected].
A Mansion Built by General James Mitchell Varnum
It was 1773 when James Mitchell Varnum purchased a large plot of land overlooking Greenwich Bay in East Greenwich, RI, for the sum of $90. Varnum, a gifted 24 year-old lawyer, did not buy the property solely for the view, but also because it sat behind the Kent County Courthouse (now East Greenwich Town Hall) where the most powerful and influential colonial leaders frequently met. As a prominent figure in the Revolutionary War and early-American politics, Varnum attracted a “who’s who” of guests to his mansion including George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, Rochambeau, John Sullivan, Nathanael Greene, and many others.
Varnum House Museum Architecture
Constructed by master builder John Reynolds, the house was built in keeping with the best architectural standards of the late 18th century. This Georgian-styled mansion has a hipped roof, modillioned cornices, heavily-moulded caps, and a central pedimented doorway with columned porch. The Varnum House Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places.
