Little Cottage: Country Home of Countess Gizycki

Making It Home
Little Cottage: Country Home of Countess Gizycki

c. 1916.

Bessie Ethel Swift Fernald (1883-1920) and Charles A. Fernald (1872-1956). Image source: U.S. Passport Applications.

Bessie Ethel Swift Fernald (1883-1920) and Charles A. Fernald (1872-1956). Image source: U.S. Passport Applications.

Countess Gizyski with her daughter, c. 1910. Felicia Eleanor Josephine Medill “Cissy” Patterson, Countess Gizyski (1884-1948). Felicia Leonora Gizyski (1905-1999).

Countess Gizyski with her daughter, c. 1910. Felicia Eleanor Josephine Medill “Cissy” Patterson, Countess Gizyski (1884-1948). Felicia Leonora Gizyski (1905-1999).

2018. Photography by Georgia Hale.

2018. Photography by Georgia Hale.

Address: 90 N. Ahwahnee Road, Lake ForestYear built: 1907Architect: Howard Van Doren ShawOriginal owner: Bessie Swift Fernald
This white-shingled house was a wedding gift from Louis F. Swift to his daughter, Bessie Ethel, and her new husband, Charles Fernald. The couple soon separated (divorced in 1912), and the house was available for Countess Gizyski, Eleanor Medill Patterson or “Cissy,” to rent from about 1909-1913. Felicia, Cissy’s daughter, named the 7500 square foot house “Little Cottage.”
The streetscape of what was once a summer place has changed little over the years. Still evident is Howard Van Doren Shaw’s English traditional hipped-roof design and Georgian detailing. The south-facing porches remain, though now enclosed. The gracious house was once very visible from the Onwentsia Club.