Roseland Cottage

The Bowens in New York

The Bowen family spent several months each year in Woodstock at their summer home, Roseland Cottage. The rest of the year, they lived in Brooklyn, New York, and Henry traveled daily to Manhattan, where his newspaper and silk/dry goods businesses were located. Despite Henry’s Woodstock roots, this was a Brooklyn family, happy to spend summers in the cooler, more relaxed country atmosphere, but their center of gravity was New York. Furniture for Roseland was made and shipped from New York. They were founding and faithful members of first Pilgrim and then Plymouth Churches in Brooklyn, for which they provided generous financial support. Lucy gave birth to all her children in Brooklyn. And the clubs and entertainments enjoyed by family members were centered in New York. Henry’s involvement in the planning of Roseland Cottage, his interest in ecclesiastical architecture, and his belief in taking a responsible role in making towns attractive leave little doubt that his homes and offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn would be stylish buildings.