The house, formerly Edward Howland's farm, was the largest in Little Compton as of 1895 and included 500 acres. Today, the soft grey shingled house sits on one landscaped acre, surrounded by 200 acres of working farmland, preserved by the State of Rhode Island.
The house has four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and over 3,000 square feet of living space.
Next door and across the street are beautiful farm stands with gorgeous produce, baked goods, and friendly neighbors. The house is five miles from South Shore Beach (public), five minutes from the LC town Center, and 15 minutes from shopping in Westport.
The first floor has a roomy gourmet chef’s kitchen that opens into a large family room and adjoins a dining room and a second smaller library/sitting room with its own TV. There is also a powder room on the first floor.
On the second floor, there is a spacious master suite with a full bathroom, sitting area, cathedral ceiling and wall of built-in bookcases. There is also a guest bedroom with two twin beds, a guest room with one queen bed, and another full bathroom.
On the third floor, there are two small bedrooms with two twin beds each.
Stone walls enclose the front lawn. A large flag stone terrace at the back of the house is a welcoming place to enjoy the pastoral views. There is a built-in gas grill in this patio area.
Quakers arrived in Little Compton in the eighteenth century and remained a strong cultural presence well into the nineteenth. By 1900, Quaker meetings at the nearby Friends Meeting House and Cemetery (National Register of Historic Places) had ceased, however, Edward Howland continued to worship there each week until his death in 1903. Accordingly, a historic plaque on the house reads: “E. Howland The Last Quaker c. 1830.”