Oak Glen is a historic house at 745 Union Street in

Portsmouth, Rhode Island Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence Plantations, Provide ...

. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a highly pitched gambrel roof and jerkin-headed (clipped) gable ends. The house was built about 1870 by

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

and

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe ( ; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She w ...

as a summer retreat. The ell attached to the rear of the house is a c. 1850 cottage which was standing on the site when the Howes purchased the property. After Samuel Howe died in 1876, Julia (best known as the author of "

The Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War. Howe adapted her song from the soldiers' song " John Brown's Body" in November 1861, and sold ...

") made this her permanent home. She died here on October 17, 1910,Corbett, William. ''Literary New England: A History and Guide''. Boston: Faber and Faber, 1993: 175. at the age of 91. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Houses in Newport County, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Portsmouth, Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport County, Rhode Island {{NewportCountyRI-NRHP-stub

See also

References