Where to cool off a hot public life

At The Fells

1905 postcard

Excerpted and edited from an article on The New England Historical Society Web site.

“John Hay called himself ‘the winner of all life’s prizes.’ He had fame, wealth, family, accomplishments, friends—and The Fells.

“John Hay was one of President Abraham Lincoln’s two secretaries, or ‘Lincoln’s boys.’ He also ran the New York Tribune, the biggest and most influential U.S. newspaper of its day. He served as secretary of state under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. And as a member of an elite literary circle, he wrote bestselling fiction and poetry.

“On top of all that, he married an extremely rich woman.

“They had homes in New York and Washington. But the stress of being a rich, famous, successful statesman and journalist could get to be too much. So in 1891, John Hay did what wealthy gentlemen did: He built a summer home in the cool northern countryside, along Lake Sunapee, in New Hampshire.

“He called it The Fells….”

To read the whole article, please hit this link.