| Today many activities are held there, including the annual flower show, home show, demolition derbies and the county fair. Their daughter Norma attended Syracuse University where she majored in Art. She taught two years in Johnstown NY before returning to Keene. She became Chairman of the Keene High School Art Department on 1950.
She was a prolific painter of florals and nature; often inspired by the natural beauty and dozens of varieties of unusual naturalized perennials, pines and ponds that surround the property. Her paintings have become an important part of the history of Cheshire County and are valued pieces of many area collections.
Norma was brave as well as artistic. When a large fire destroyed the expansive barns on the property, Norma helped save many of the racehorses by leading them to safety.
After that, she developed a fear of fire and had the fireplaces in the house closed off. Two fireplaces have been restored and are now in working order.
The remains of one stone fenced barnyard can be seen next to the garage, which was a part of the main barn.
The Safford home has always been a place of natural beauty, with its bountiful flowers in naturalized settings, its pond lilies and many species of birds. In the past, swans have hatched their babies under the willow trees.
Norma retained ownership of the house and remaining ten acres until 1998 when the current Innkeepers purchased it. They are currently restoring it to reflect the style of the Arts and Crafts Period when the house underwent extensive renovations.
|