it was a grass tennis court at one time.
Croquet was up here. Then the ladies had all kinds of bridge
games and contests here on the veranda on a rainy day.
[We’re up on the first floor of bedrooms.]
Abiah: These two south rooms used to be really nice
rooms. They have such big windows. The nice thing about the
Villa is they said you could always see the lake no matter
what room you were in. You had a view of the lake. It’s
true. This has the sliding doors as well. I’ve gotten
different answers, but I always heard there were 48 bedrooms
in the hotel. There was a laundry shoot here in the hall. It
used to fascinate me. Down in the cellar there were these big
canvas bags that were hooked to a framework that was on little
wheels. The chamber maids would pull the sheets and the pillow
cases and towels and throw them down the laundry shoot, and
they’d land in the basket. There was a cat that lived in the
cellar. And I brought him up stairs and dropped him down the
laundry shoot, and he landed in the basket. He wasn’t too
fond of that. There was a screen door down there, and he was
able to make his escape when somebody came in. I caught him
and brought him back upstairs and did it a second time.
Somehow I could feel someone standing behind me, and it was my
Dad. He told me he wasn’t too fond of the idea of my putting
the cat down the laundry shoot. He told me to go downstairs
and get the cat and put him outside and leave him there. Of
course, when I got down, he had already made his escape.
One of the things that I’ve always been told is that the
Villa always had electricity and always had running water.
Across the driveway there were two motors. One was used to
pump the water up from the lake and another to pump it into a
big tower that sat up off the ground quite a ways, and then it
gravity fed into the Villa. At 10 p.m. the lights went out.
People had oil lamps in their rooms and people could light
that if they wanted to stay up later. The toilets always had
big tanks up above, and when you wanted to flush you pulled
this big chain. It was a little different from anything I had
seen. Those are all gone.
Mary: Was your grandfather a builder in the area?
Abiah: No, he wasn’t. My grandfather was Frank
Briggs, and he came from Burlington. His father was Dr. George
Briggs. Apparently, he got involved in hotel management. He
went to school for this in Burlington. Now, I don’t know if
the school was part of the old Hotel Vermont or not. At the
time, he was courting a lady out here on Grand Isle, by the
name of Mattie Adams. He discovered this piece of land and
found out it was for sale, and decided he wanted to build a
hotel. He had two younger brothers, one named George and one
named Clark. Clark was a lawyer in Burlington. He had polio
when he was a young boy and never had the use of his legs.
They all went in together on this hotel thing. Clark drew up
the plans. And George was going to help Frank run the place.
Well, he soon was bought out by Frank. He then took off and
went west. No one seems to know a whole lot about him. My
grandfather and grandmother (Mattie Adams) were married in a
nearby church and the reception was held at the Villa in 1902.
It didn’t open for business until 1903. They had two boys.
My father was the older, Malcolm Briggs, and he had a brother
Edwin. Edwin died when he was about 16. I don’t know from
what. My grandfather died first, and when my grandmother died
in 1925, my father ended up with the hotel. My parents had
grown up together — my mother had grown up at the four
corners up in the village — and they had always known each
other.
She had always come down here for birthday parties and to
go skating on the lake. My mom was a junior in college at UVM
when my grandmother died. My father was not terribly excited
about the prospects of running the hotel. He was not a hotel
man, even though he had grown up with it. So he convinced my
mom to leave college and marry so they could run the place.
She had to take a lot of quick courses on how to manage the
hotel. She had a lady who was a great help to her, and as
mother said, she was always very busy. She was checking the
menu to see what was planned for the day, and checking on the
chamber maids. You had to find good people to do that work,
because they were dealing with people’s personal property.
You had the flowers to put around on the tables. There was a
man who was the vegetable gardener, and he planted the garden
so there were fresh vegetables all summer. There was a farm
across the road that my father owned — it’s all gone now
— where they raised hens. The fresh eggs came from there and
the fresh milk and cream. They had a man here who took the
guests out fishing. There were some guests who wanted the
fishing guide as soon as they jumped out of the car, they
wanted to go right away. My dad was a great sportsman. He
loved fishing, he loved hunting.
Mary: Who were the guests for the most part?
Abiah: They had a lot of people who came from
Philadelphia, Boston, New York City. What made this hotel so
popular was that the Rutland Railroad came into being here on
the island at the same time. So people would come up from the
city, and they’d deposit their kids at Grand Isle Boys Camp,
which was in South Hero, or some other camp, and they’d come
to the Villa and stay for a month, and they’d pick up the
kids on the way back, and get back on the train and head home.
Mary: These must have been the more wealthy people?
Abiah: Oh yes, they were. There was a CEO of a tobacco
company, not that I’m crazy about tobacco, but I’m sure
there was money there. There were a lot of people with money,
who weren’t afraid to spend it. The rates were a little
different and the money might have gone a little further.
My folks separated shortly after I was born, but I spent a
lot of time here in the Villa with my Dad. I have two older
brothers Frank and George, and we’d spend a lot of time
around here during the day. At the end of the day I’d go
home. My mom lived close by. So it was not a big deal. We were
back and forth whenever we pleased. Frank is still alive, but
George died in 1988. I have a younger half brother who is out
in Chicago. My mother always said that I was more like my Dad,
because I loved to hunt and fish, and just be outdoors. I was
always considered more of a tomboy than a lady. My mother
would always say, “We’ll never make a lady out of you, not
till you’re 80.”
I’ve always loved the hotel. I was sad to see it just sit
here, since 1993.
Mary: How did the property change hands?
Abiah: My Dad sold it to the Sisters of Mercy in 1956
or ‘57.
Mary: Why did he sell it?
Abiah: Mostly because there wasn’t much call for a
hotel like this any longer. People were getting into the
camper-trailers, and getting out on the road, more back to
nature. And I would say from the late ‘40s on, it was not
used much for a guest hotel. The sisters opened it in ‘58
for a camp and that was used right up until ‘93. I was very
afraid that something would happen to it, because it is made
out of wood, and that it would be lost. I would hate to see a
building like this go. The Preservation Trust has done so much
to put it back to the way it was. They’ve put new shingles
on the third level. They’ve put the widow’s walk back.
There used to be a flag pole up there. I don’t know if they
intend to put a flag pole back up there or not. They’ve put
the rail back around the widow’s walk.
Mary: Let’s get back to when you were a child. You
talked about the chef and the wealthy people who came. What
was a traditional meal like?
Abiah: I have this ad that was in the newspaper in
1904. It said that summer train service made it possible to
reach the Island Villa for a special Sunday dinner. Price $1
includes transportation to and from Grand Isle station.
Mary: Who owned the property before your grandfather
bought it?
Abiah: A gentleman who lived up the road said there was
a Daniel McDickson who owned this property, and had become
quite fond of horses. He had a race track right here on the
point before there were any buildings. I don’t know how much
of a thing it became but it lasted awhile.
As I said my mom grew up in the village, and she said she
loved to sit on the veranda and watch the conveyance go over
to pick up people at the train station who were coming over to
the Villa. My mom, when she was a little girl, said she was
always fascinated with the people and the clothes they wore.
They were always dressed up quite fancy. My Dad was born in
1903 here at the Villa. They had a pastry cook Della who live
up in the Village. She always made our birthday cakes. The
boys had birthdays close together in September.
[We’re standing outside on the driveway a little back
from the building.]
Abiah: Right here was the pump house. [There are still
some bricks to indicate that a building was there.] Those
bricks were part of the footing for the tower that held the
water cage.
They always had a fishing guide, a man who could tell
people where to catch the best fish. He was very needed and
people really enjoyed him. Fishing was a big thing. Mr. Ball
who was president of Pierre Lorillard, would arrive and get
out of his car all dressed up so nicely. He’d rush up to his
room and come right back down all set to go out on the lake.
He always wrote ahead for the guide and wanted him right away.
The beach was down below here where the boats were all kept.
Mary: Tell me more about the food and its preparation..
Abiah: The meat was brought in from Lyon Brothers in
Milton. They came through with a cart and they’d put the
meat in the walk-in cooler. The chef kept a big pot on the
back of the huge coal-fired range, and it always had soup
stock in it. Whatever was left over, whether it was beef or
chicken or whatever, he threw in the pot. It may not sound too
great, but he sure knew how to make soup, mother said. He was
complete boss of his kitchen and also of the table girls. He
ruled with an iron hand. Fish was always on our menu for
dinner. You always had a choice of three meats or a fish
course, a soup course and a salad. The desserts were out of
this world, because Della was a marvelous pastry cook. We had
our own hand-cranked ice cream which was on the menu. She made
beautiful angel cake.
Mary: Do you remember this food at all?
Abiah: Yes, some of it I do. Another thing I remember
is that if you were going swimming in the afternoon, you came
down the back stairway. You did not come down the main
stairway. It was not considered appropriate in bathing attire.
You could come in to the dining room at noon time in your
everyday clothes or your fishing clothes for lunch, but at
night you dressed for dinner. It was rather formal at night.
The old pictures will show awnings over every window on the
second and third floor. I remember those awnings. They haven’t
been up for a number of years.
Mary: What about the barn there?
Abiah: That barn I believe was a carriage barn.
I’ve always been able to come up here and stand on the
point. It restores my soul.
Mary: Does it bring back memories?
Abiah: Oh yes, I have some great memories. I don’t
know if I can associate any bad memories with the Villa at
all. As I said, when I was very young, my parents were
divorced, so I didn’t stay over night very often. But I used
to spend a lot of days here. I loved to go out fishing. My
father had a cruiser, and I spent a lot of time on that with
him. I love knowing the lake, where the reefs are, how to get
around .
Mary: Do you think the guests here had a real
appreciation of the natural beauty of this place?
Abiah: Oh yes, I think so. There are such beautiful
views. The view south of here, looking out toward Savage
Island and Fish Bladder Island and all the way down through
the Sand Bar is beautiful.
Mary: How was the word first spread about this place,
did you hear any stories about how the first guests came to
know of this place?
Abiah: I really don’t know how they actually
advertised, but I presume they put little notices in
newspapers. The big thing was that the railroad came in at the
same time the Villa was built. That’s how the people got
here.
When my parents were still together, they would move into
their farm across the street for the winter. There were a few
years they lived here in the Villa during the winter. They
only kept the kitchen and the bedroom right above it opened.
The rest closed up.
Mary: So it was his farm that provided a lot of the
food?
Abiah: The gentleman who was the gardener here planted
the vegetables so he had fresh vegetables from the beginning
of the season in June right on through to when the season
ended in October. People weren’t used to ordering asparagus
in February back then. They were used to a more limited
selection. They put fresh flowers from the garden on the table
every night.
I found the walk-in cooler very interesting. They cut ice
when the ice on the lake was about a foot thick or thicker.
They would cut it and put a layer in the bottom of the cooler
and then put sawdust over it, and that would insulate it, and
they would put another layer of ice and another layer of
sawdust, until they got it right up to the top. And that would
last the summer. They had the big ice house here at the end of
the Villa. There was also another one as you came up the
driveway, which later on was turned into some of the
counselors’ rooms. That was a big ice house that went down
into the ground quite away. The electricity thing really
fascinated me, because I didn’t think that you would have
power in the early 1900s. I guess you didn’t in most places.
Mary: The trees around the property?
Abiah: Most have been here all along. Right up there by
the front entry there used to be a mail box, and the mailman
would come up and go around the loop. Every year we had a
little wren that would make a nest in there. My Dad would have
to meet the mailman at the door so he wouldn’t stick the
mail in the box, because the wren had turned it into her
house. I can remember that because I was always trying to peek
in there to see how she was doing.
Mary: Were there other guests that you
remember?
Abiah: My mother spoke about the Lymans from
Burlington. I know the majority were from down country,
Boston, New York and Philadelphia. I know there was a
gentleman by the name of Dr. Godfrey. He kept his own personal
boat here. He was here every summer for a long time.
When I was a kid my father wouldn’t let me up in the
attic. There was just a center walkway, and the ceiling joints
were pretty much open. You didn’t want to step on them or
you’d land on the floor below. The amazing thing was there
was a flag pole up there. It sat on the ceiling joists of the
floor below, and it went all the way up through the roof onto
the widow’s walk. I presume it probably started to leak
around it, and they eliminated it. It is interesting to go up
in the attic because here’s this great big round piece of
flag pole and it only goes up to the ceiling and that’s as
far as it goes. With the flag flying and the awnings over all
the windows, it was quite a building to see. I am so pleased
they are restoring it to what it was originally — putting in
the cedar shingles up on the third floor and doing the
trimming in green. The building was always green and white. It
looks so nice.
Mary: Your grandfather’s family, they must have come
from a certain amount of money?
Abiah: Oh yes, I think they did. Their father was a
doctor, and they lived in Burlington. I think there was quite
a bit of money there I know my great grandmother’s maiden
name was Thompson, but I don’t know where she came from. I
don’t think from Burlington. But I am sure there was money
there because all three of the boys were relatively well
educated. Clark, the youngest one, went to UVM, and then he
went on to get his law degree. He donated money to the medical
center in his later years. I am sure that when my father’s
parents died, he was not left penniless. He was in pretty good
shape.
I am noticing the back porch. When I was a kid that was all
screened in. Often times when the cook wasn’t occupied, he’d
sit out there.
At one time the farm across the road was part of this
property. When my folks divorced, my mom ended up with the
farm, and my dad kept the Villa. My mom also had a farm up on
Route 2. My folks could sit and visit for hours, and laugh and
talk about things, probably because they grew up as kids
together. They’d have the greatest time. But they were only
married from 1926 to 1937, not a long period of time. I was
just born when they divorced.
My father died just as I was becoming a young adult, and
getting curious about my ancestry. I would have loved to have
asked him a million questions. He and I did enjoy each other.
We loved to fish, and we loved to hunt. We’d go pickerel
shooting down here in the swamp. He’d take me out walleye
fishing. When I was at UVM, he’d pick me up at the dorm and
we’d go out for dinner at night, and have a great time. He
loved machinery. He loved fast cars, and things like that. I
really enjoyed the time I spent with him. My brothers had a
different outlook on him than I did. My older brother Frank
was raised by a nanny because both my parents were so busy and
so involved with the Villa. His life was quite a lot different
from mine.
This mound in the middle of the driveway, right in front of
the main entry, was built up. There always used to be a flower
bed there. There were a lot of peonies around the place. They
were dark, dark, red, up the edge of the drive, and around in
different spots. But I don’t remember what was here in the
center. I think the gardener had it so there was some color
all summer long, enough of a variety, tulips in the spring.
Mary: Lightning rods on the top of the building?
My father had those lightening rods put up there. My mother
said he was scared to death of lightning, but it fascinated
him. He always told my brothers and me that if we were ever
out on the lake and saw a storm coming up, get to land. He
said he didn’t care where the land was, just get to land and
stay there until the storm was over. That’s something I
always remembered because it is good advice. We’ve lost a
number of fishermen and boaters around here because they didn’t
come in when there was a lightning storm. I think because you’re
up on top of this point, you’re quite an attraction. My
mother said that Dad would stand out on the veranda and watch
over the lake as the storm moved. He didn’t ever want to be
out there. He was a great teacher about the lake, about its
different conditions. The weather around here is different in
the fall than in the summer. He thought it was important to
learn as much about it as you could. The lake can get very
angry when it wants to get angry, and you best be aware of it.
I’ve always been fascinated by the lake, the reefs and
learning to know it and how to get around on it.
Mary: Do you know anyone now who used to know your
grandparents?
Abiah: I know of a lady who used to live just across
the bay. She now lives in South Hero, and she’s close to 90.
She loved my grandmother, and she thought she was a delightful
lady. She said she was always a little frightened of my
grandfather. He was a big man, and he had a big moustache. She
didn’t want to tangle with him. My mother never had any
problem with either one of them. She thought they were
delightful people. She spent a lot of time here when she was
growing up, and she knew both my grandparents quite well. She
thought that Mrs. Briggs was a delightful lady and that Mr.
Briggs was a little more aloof and didn’t mix with the young
people quite as much. Still, she was fond of both of them.
This interview was taken by Mary Sullivan before
