Welcome to Burrillville Then & Now, where we take a glance back at how the town used to look, then show how the same space looks today.
With photos and information provided by the Burrillville Historic & Preservation Society, we look now at the Remington Mansion.
A beautiful Victorian mansion once stood on Main Street in Harrisville where the post office is today.
In the 1800s, it was the home of Dewitt Clinton Remington. He was born in 1842 and inherited the mansion when he married Emma Harris. She was a member of the same Harris family that Harrisville is named for.
There was a large barn to the left of the house which would have been located about where the gazebo is today. Behind the house and barn was a large open field where Austin T. Levy Elementary School stands now.
In 1870, Dewitt also owned a grocery store across the street called Remington Cash Store, which was to the left of the First Universalist Church. Dewitt Clinton Remington was the great-grandfather of Clinton O. Remington III – former owner of Remington Lumber in Oakland.
This house had typical Victorian features including a tower, ornate woodwork, decorative trim around the roofline, windows and doors, and was painted in bright colors. Even the construction of the fence in front of the house shows the craftsmanship in the elegant detailing. During the Victorian period this house, along with others, were painted in many shades of bright colors.
Dewitt Clinton Remington’s 4th child, Marion, was born in 1870, and was the last person to live in the mansion.
In the 1930s, the house was in a deteriorated condition. To school children walking by, it looked like a typical haunted house. When Marion died in 1941, it was in poor condition and was torn down to build the Harrisville Post Office in 1950.
Betty Mencucci is president of the Burrillville Historic & Preservation Society.
