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A LITTLE HOUSE ON A HILL
HOUSE OF MR. HARRY L. SMITH, DESIGNED BY THE
OWNER, WHO WORKED ON AND SUPERINTENDED THE
CONSTRUCTION.
A LITTLE HOUSE ON A HILL
BUILT IN FRIENDLY                 INTI-
MACY WITH THE TREES: BY
CLARA GRABAU WARNS
N the early days of this country's his-
     tory it was not unusual to see here
     and there, on hillsides, among trees or
     out on the plains, distinctive little
houses that seemed essentially to belong to
the landscape. The pioneers were forced
to provide their own shelter and had to
make use of whatever material lay at hand
-the logs of the forests, field stone, if it
were plentiful, or failing these, even the
clay of the site was utilized.
  The pioneer had little time for dreaming,
yet often his home was an expression of a,
perhaps unconscious, dream of shelter, a
haven in a troubled existence. In those
days a home was a vital thing, and had to
be of staunch sturdy construction, afford-
ing the utmost resistance to attacks of the
elements, and human and animal foes.
Later, when the population became greater,
and the need of protection was not so ur-
gent, the homes became more superficial in
construction, and followed fashions rather
than the needs of the people who were to
occupy them. Nowadays, however, some
of us are beginning to turn back to first
principles, to feel the urge of the pioneer
spirit in homebuilding, and here and there,
as in former years, are seen homes of indi-
viduality, structures that express their own-
ers' needs and conform to the landscape of
which they are a part.
  In the West the pioneer spirit in home-
building has long been manifest; in the
East it is also beginning to show itself, and
the people are awakening to a realization of
the interest and comfort of living in homes
absolutely suited to their needs and tastes.
  The little house shown here was built by
Mr. Harry L. Smith, a New York artist,
who turned to first principles in the con-
struction of his home. The idea was one of
slow growth, as it should be, and many
changes and eliminations were made before
the exact expression was found for the lit-
tle home that Mr. Smith had dreamed of
building for his mother and himself. Mr.
Smith had had the advantage of architec-
tural training, and so was enabled to draw
his own plans and thus be sure that his con-
ception of the house would find the exact
form that he wished for it.
  The site selected was on a rolling hill-
side in New Jersey, about a mile south of
the village of Stirling, Somerset County,
and perhaps fifteen miles from Craftsman
Farms. All the work was done by Mr.
Smith, or under his supervision, and the
only labor employed was that of some Ital-
ian workmen who lived not very far away.
These men had been accustomed in their
native country to build houses without
plans, and they received all their instruc-
tions verbally.
  The stones for the foundation and lower
story were gathered from the nearby fields,
and were laid up in light-colored cement,
with here and there a stone projecting, in
order to give variation to the treatment of
the exterior walls. The upper half-story
is of clapboards, painted yellow; the roof
is shingled and all the window frames are
painted white. Owing to the kind of labor
employed the house has been long in build-
ing, and although it has afforded adequate
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