Organized and led by Emily Skeehan and Gloria Schmidt
Emily Skeehan has over 15 years of experience working on environmental issues at the local, state, federal and international levels of government, as well as in the private and non-profit sectors. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Middlebury College and an M.S. in Marine Science from College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science where she concentrated on coastal climate adaptation. Emily has lived throughout the East Coast as well as in Spain, Italy, New Zealand, and Japan and now in Portsmouth. She has served on the Portsmouth School Committee since 2022. Emily is personally commitment to advocating for healthier and more equitable economies, communities, and ecosystems by ensuring everyone has access to educational experiences both academically, socially, and holistically.
Gloria was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She has a BA in American History from Cornell University, an MAT (Social Studies) from Brown University, and a Masters in Information and Library Science from the University of Rhode Island.
As a library/media specialist in Portsmouth, R.I. Schools, Gloria developed a passion for sharing local history with her students. In retirement, Gloria has become a local historian who researches and writes about the history of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Her blog, portsmouthhistorynotes.com covers a variety of topics from farming to women’s suffrage. The Glen area of Portsmouth is featured in the blog: https://glenhistory.wordpress.com/.
Gloria is on the board of the Portsmouth Community Theater and has written historically based plays. Gloria has served on the curator’s committee of the Portsmouth Historical Society and has been a docent for twenty-five years. She is a volunteer historian for the Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee/Battle of Rhode Island Association.
Elmhurst/Glen Manor House Then & Now
Sunday May 4, 11am-12:30pm
In the 1880s, Henry A. Taylor started acquiring land which turned into the Glen Farm, totaling 1500 acres. The "Manor House" was designed as a French style chateau by John Russell Pope and constructed in 1923 just north of the actual glen on the Sakonnet River. The home’s location is the same spot Thomas Cooke had a home in the mid 1600’s.The Frederick Law Olmsted firm designed and completed the farm’s landscape. By the 1960s the Manor House had been sold and incorporated into a private school for girls, Elmhurst Academy and later into a public elementary school in '72. We heard from resident historian Gloria Schmidt and environmental advocate, Emily Skeehan. We reflected on the Glen's use in the last 50 years and how the Glen trail has changed. We learned about the Preserve the Glen Coalition, Portsmouth's Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Board, and the Friends of the Glen Manor House to see how we can get involved preserving Portsmouth's unique cultural asset.
Walk Reflections
Gloria and Emily were an incredible tag-team, giving us the fascinating history of The Glen while also sharing the current issues neighbors are working through — whether farming access for oyster farms or public access for walkers. Gloria even gave everyone a pamphlet of the walk so we could come back and do it again.
The biggest surprise: there’s an old basketball court that needs an upgrade, but because of ADA requirements it’s been hard to find someone to support the improvements. One of the walk participants heard this and shared that he is qualified to consult on the project!
