Home Sweet Home, Rehoboth
Rehoboth Bed & Breakfast Dates Back to Mid-1800s
by Leslie Patterson
We had a pleasant visit recently with Jeanne Gilbert and her husband Don Beardsworth of
Gilbert’s Bed & Breakfast at 30 Spring Street. Jeanne filled us in on the history of this historic house,
which dates back to the mid-19th century. A tree farm is also on the property.
Jeanne, who moved into the house in 1972, said that the B&B was first opened in 1984. She
shared with us a history of the property that Basil Gilbert once put together. Basil and Joyce Gilbert, the
parents of Jeanne’s former husband Martin, bought the house back in 1946. It had no modern
conveniences at that time so they had their work cut out for them in bringing the house up to date.
In 1946, the Gilberts found these gravestones in the cellar of the house at 30 Spring Street: James
Baker (died 1829), John Baker (died 1836), Mary K. Bosworth (died 1866). These members of the Baker
family are buried in the nearby cemetery on Spring Street. Basil Gilbert thought that James Baker and his
son John were originally buried near the house and then their remains were transferred to the Spring
Street cemetery at a later time.
From Bakers to Browns
According to Basil Gilbert’s research, the house was first owned by James Baker and his wife
Hannah, then by John Baker and his wife Mary K., then by Levi Baker and his wife Angelina, followed
by Annie Baker Chase and her husband John. Their daughter Abbie Chase Brown sold the house to Basil
and Joyce Gilbert in 1946.
The house was probably built during the decade of 1836-1845, though the windows may be even
older than that. Grace Swanson who lived at the corner of Hornbine Road and Spring Street once said that
she thought the windows came from an older house that was torn down. In 1946, there was a sizeable
barn located between the present stable and garage but it was in poor condition and had to be torn down.
Sometime after the house was built in the-mid 19th century, after the previous house was torn
down, Levi Baker was living there with his wife Angelina Horton. Levi’s mother was still living there too
so someone came up with a plan for two-family living. Two kitchens were added, one on the east side and
one on the north side, and rooms were remodeled to create two identical apartments with a fireplace
included in the end wall of each addition. The cellar was extended with the east wing addition. Also at
that time, a stairway to the attic was included for each part of the house and second floor rooms laid out.
This Old House Needed Renovating
After Annie Baker Chase died in 1942, her husband John continued to live in the house until he
died in 1946, when the house was sold to the Gilberts. The old house had no running water, only a hand
pump in an iron sink. The privy was outdoors behind the carriage shed. There was no central heating
system, only old pot-bellied stoves. Lighting was by oil lamp, because there was no electricity. So Mr.
and Mrs. Gilbert had to undertake extensive modernization and renovation of the house.
Jeanne said that after the house was modernized, Joyce Gilbert opened a shop out of her home in
the 1950’s called Ye Spring Street Shop, selling her own hand-made clothing for small children, as well
as wallpaper. Jeanne said that Joyce Gilbert was a RISD graduate who had previously painted murals in
Chicago hotels.
Joyce Gilbert loved horses and turned the carriage house on the property into a stable for her
horses, mostly retired racehorses. Jeanne also loves horses and kept horses for 40 years, but said that her
last horse died about seven years ago. Jeanne’s daughter Amy Laliberte also lives in Rehoboth, on
Perryville Road. Sons David and John live in Cranston and South Attleboro. Jeanne has eight
grandchildren.
Jeanne has always been active in town events. For the 350th anniversary of Rehoboth, she
organized a foxhunt, the type of hunt where someone drags a fox’s scent over the course for the dogs to
follow, along with the horses and riders. It was a lot of work to get permission for the hunt from all the
local property owners, she said. Afterwards the Anawan Pony Club held a hunt breakfast for the 27 riders
at the Carpenter Museum.
Another story about the 30 Spring Street property comes by way of Frances Magan Jones, who is
now in her 90s. John Chase had a small ice cream stand on the Hornbine Road side of the property and
Frances likes to tell how once Lizzie Borden came by in her chauffeur-driven car, to stop for some ice
cream.
Gilbert’s Bed & Breakfast has carefully preserved the historic aspects of the house and the B&B
attracts people from all over who enjoy its traditional New England charms. To find out more about what
it’s like to run a B&B, look for further comments from Jeanne and Don on our website:
carpentermuseum.org.
Pictured: Jeanne Gilbert and husband Don Beardsworth stand in front of the Gilbert’s Bed & Breakfast on
Spring Street in Rehoboth.