After failing on several attempts to find a nice campground in the area that we would come back to, we stumbled upon Countryside. Jim and Linda have worked for years to make this place a gem. Every site has simple but personal touches that show that someone cared to make your stay just a little bit nicer. You can’t beat the quiet, spacious grounds under the trees. Several ponds and a nice waterfall add to the ambiance. All sites are full-hookup. Many are seasonals but everything here is well taken care of. No traffic, no highway noise, and no late-nite parties!
Bathrooms are a bit dated on the outside but very clean and welll done on the inside. Good Verizon and AT&T service.
If you have an interest in history and/or the intertwining of historical figures, about half an hour away in Coventry is the Nathanael Greene House. Greene, a General in the Continental Army, was born into a well-to-do Quaker family in nearby Potowomut, Rhode Island. In 1770 he moved to Coventry to take care of the family business (a foundry) and built the above house. One of his first civic concerns was the establishment of public education of Coventry’s children. In 1774 he married Catherine Littlefield, his distant cousin who was twelve years younger.
Greene helped form a Rhode Island militia and was promoted to Major General. He quickly became Washington’s most trusted general. He served as Quartermaster General at Valley Forge. By 1780, however, he was in command of the Southern Campaign. Though he never won a decisive battle, he is best known for strategic choices that led to surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.
Like many commanders during the war, Greene put up substantial amounts of his own money and promisory notes to clothe and feed his men. And like most, he expected to be repaid after the war. This was not to be and he gave up his interest in Spell Hall and moved Catherine and their children to Savannah to a plantation given to him for his service to Georgia. He died in 1786, however, leaving Catherine at widow at age 30 with a houseful of small children. Catherine personally appealed to Congress for repayment of Nathanael’s expenditures during the war. Washington approved the money.
Greene, Washington and Lafayette didn’t just serve together in the war; they were close friends. The Greene’s first two children were name George Washington and Martha Washington. The first public monument dedicated by the city of Savannah was placed in Johnson Square in honor of Nathanael Green. Lafayette was there to honor his friend. Catherine eventually remarried to Phineas Miller, the children’s tutor. The elder George and Martha Washington served as witnesses.
Catherine and Phineas gave a home to a young tutor of a neighbor’s children named Eli Whitney. They helped Whitney develop and eventually patent the cotton gin.