A FAIRY TALE...
April 19th, 1895 was a gala evening at Five Oaks on Prospect Street, Massillon, Ohio. It was the occasion of the first open house and reception held by the J. Walter McClymonds family in their magnificent new home. Guests had been invited from as far away as Boston and Indianapolis. Many came from Canton. It was the Massillon guests, however, who were the most eager for the event, for they had followed the construction from as early as 1892. The family moved in around Thanksgiving in 1894.
Mr. and Mrs. McClymonds and their two daughters; Edna, who became Mrs. Arvine Wales, and Ruth, who became Mrs. Leslie Maitland; received their guests in the drawing room while the Massillon orchestra played on the first stair landing. There were flowers in profusion; among them, daisies, tulips, roses, and jonquils. The last made a fascinating centerpiece on the dining room table.
The decorations, as they generally do, enhanced the setting, but the guests were undoubtedly more awed by the home itself. The drawing room, now commonly called the south parlor, was described as white and gold. Today the description must be altered to green and gold, the same as in the adjoining library. In both rooms the finishing wood is rose crotch mahogany, imported from South America. This parlor has an unique fireplace with the back iron lining of the firebox having a charioteer done in relief.
The great hall is warm with its white-oak trim, quarter-sawed to bring out the grain. Undoubtedly, the lumber came from a local supply, for a hundred years ago, forests in the Massillon area would have been able to provide oaks. Oak is hard and heavy. The artisan who carved the lines in the massive beam beneath the second stair landing is deserving of accolades.
“Draw near more near forever dear
Wher’er I rest or roam
In the city’s crowded streets
Or by the blown sea foam
The thought of thee is home”
The above lines are addressed to the house and suggest the McClymonds’ diversion: traveling, nationwide and abroad, and spending summers at the shore.
The great hall has other distinguishing features. The roughly textured green and red walls of the front and latter part have fleur-de-lis and shields, respectively. These are stenciled in gold leaf. The shields bear arrangements of five acorns, relating to the name “Five Oaks,” which was originally chosen for the house because of five oak trees standing on the property. Stenciling in the squares of the beamed ceiling at the front gives the appearance of mosaic.
The wood trim of the dining room is mahogany, as it is generally recognized for its reddish-brown color. It is called San Domingo mahogany for its place of origin. The mantel is Numidian marble. It is the largest of those surrounding the ten fireplaces in the house. The walls have an intriguing stenciled design, suggestive of Egypt. Over roughly-textured plaster, silver foil was applied, and the pattern was then stenciled in green.
An extraordinary room is the billiard room off the first stair landing. Its wood trim is unfinished black walnut, and its walls are covered with Moroccan leather, baring designs made with brass nail heads. Outstanding among these designs is an “S” undoubtedly signifying the architect. The room’s ceiling is unique for it is made of framed glass panels that could have been lifted at one time by a system of ropes and pulleys in the shaft above. The shaft, the length and width of the room, reaches to a skylight, allowing the room to be bathed in sunshine at certain time of the day. A stunning Tiffany chandelier with a large center bowl and four side bulbs of vaseline glass, lights the room other time. This chandelier, along with other slighting the various rooms, was furnished by Tiffany.
The music room, also called the Wedgwood room, has a mystery all its own. Today, readily visible, its walls are a Wedgwood blue; but a dropped beam above the fireplace obscures the broken pediment of the upper mantel, as well as the wall behind it. That walls is deep maroon with decoration of gold scallop shells in relief. Was the enter room originally painted the deep maroon?
The painted woodwork is antique ivory and has had only touching up over the years. This room has two window seats, a common feature in the house, sometimes covering a radiator and other times serving as a chest for storage.
A guest shown into the reception room would have found a wide window seat on which to relax. Undoubtedly his attention would have been absorbed by the beauty of the room as he waited for his host or hostess. Some of the most delicate carvings in the house are found here in Honduran mahogany. To the right of the entrance above a corner cupboard is a carved figure, identified with the word “Pax” meaning “Peace”. It , too, has a mystery, for an exposed foot has only four toes! Two large plate glass mirrors, one in a door and the other in a panel, are centered on either side of the room. All mirrors of the house are beveled or plate glass.
The second floor center hall or balcony is a construction masterwork, for in its outer boundary there is no visible support. The joists that hold up the floor are anchored in the forward part of the house. Surrounding the balcony are carved heads, suggesting characters from literature, but there is no identification. Beneath them on the ends of the beams are cherub heads.
The larger rooms of the second floor are finished in maple; the smaller have painted woodwork. One of the latter was the bedroom of Edna McClymonds. It has a lovely hand-painted ceiling that can never be duplicated. Also, in the frieze are shown Ruskin’s Seven Lamps of Architecture, namely, Sacrifice, Truth, Power, Beauty, Life, memory, and Obedience. Originally the rooms of the front and south side could have been moved through without re-entering the hall. Passage would have been through closets and bathrooms, as well as bedrooms.
It is remarkable that the house cost only $200,000 when built. It could in no way be duplicated today even it cost were not of consequence. Artisans would not be available to carve wood and stone as those of 100 years ago. Much of the quality of workmanship is sacrificed today for speed. Moreover, Five Oaks has three imported wood in its interior finishing, the names suggest Central and South American origin, perhaps the fain forests. Recalling what we have heard about those forests, we wonder whether such woods are available today.