A Mansion in the Bay
Perched on a massive boulder known as “The Dumplings” in Narragansett Bay, Clingstone looks as if a stiff wind might carry it away. Built in 1905 by J.S. Lovering Wharton after the government took his mainland home to expand Fort Wetherill, it quickly became a curiosity.
Designed with shipbuilding materials—granite, white-oak timbers, and shingles both inside and out—the three-story summer house defied skeptics who predicted it would not survive its first nor’easter. One 1904 article claimed Wharton wouldn’t last a single season there. But the house endured.
Summer Retreat and Storms
The Whartons loved Clingstone and returned each summer. Their sons built model boats in winter and brought them to the bay for summer sailing. The house even weathered the 1938 hurricane with minor damage, though its breakwater and exercise equipment were lost.
After Wharton’s death in 1931, his wife Amelia continued visiting until her own passing in 1957. Restoration was attempted after the hurricane, but legal complications and growing disinterest from the family led to its abandonment.
Bombs, Decay, and a $3,600 Deal
Vandalism followed. In 1957, two 14-year-olds detonated a pipe bomb inside, causing a blast heard over a mile away. By the early 1960s, the once-sturdy house was riddled with broken windows, a leaking roof, and unexplained marbles embedded in the shingles.
Architect Henry Wood, who had sailed past the house as a child, noticed a “For Sale” sign during a picnic with his wife. The three Wharton heirs, unwilling to agree on a buyer for 20 years, finally sold the house in 1962 for $3,600—the exact amount owed in back taxes. Wood later said the only reason they sold it to him was because he was a distant cousin.
Rebuilding by Hand and Friendship
Wood called Clingstone an “albatross” in early years, requiring more money and time than he had. But he persisted. He organized annual Memorial Day work weekends, inviting friends to help with repairs. He sourced materials through donations and developed a knack for sharing the house’s rugged charm.
Once, he even persuaded a commuter flight pilot to divert over the bay so passengers could glimpse the house. Wood passed away in 2017. His three sons now maintain Clingstone, continuing the work their father began. They host more work weekends, occasionally rent it to friends, and keep the house standing on its rock in the bay.
A house perched on a boulder in Narragansett Bay sounds like a fantasy—or a mistake.
But Clingstone has stood on that rock since 1905, defying storms, decay, and even explosives.
Built as a summer home, it was never meant to last, yet it still towers over the water…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/6ouigzlzuD
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) June 23, 2025