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Sunday, September 26, 2010

The First Home in Smoke Rise: Didja Know?

Didja Know?
In one of his early Didja Know? articles, Cornie Hubner wrote about the first home built in Smoke Rise in 1947.  Here is his account.



First Home

published 9/15/1985

The foundation for the first home in Smoke Rise was started in 1947. It was built for a world renowned philanthropist, Ms. Isabelle Kemp, a good friend of J. Alden Talbot, to provide tangible evidence of support and her confidence in this unique development.

Ms. Kemp adopted a small village in France after World War II, financed reconstruction of homes and utilities, relocated families and was adopted as its "mother" by all of its citizens.  She planned and supervised the home, a French Stone Farm House at No. 1 Brush Hill from France and scheduled a cocktail party on its completion.  Guests at the celebration in mid '48 were greeted by the hostess who returned to her village the next morning.  On arriving in France she placed her home on the market after having spent just one night in it.


[Note: the only reference I found to Isabelle Kemp came from a Wikipedia entry on Pauline de Rothschild in which Isabelle Kemp is described as "an heiress to a New York drug-store and real-estate fortune." An obituary from 8 July, 1965, in the New York Times is cited as a reference.]

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