"Letters from Juliet" (to Arthur Wilder)
By Jennie Shurtleff
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Arthur Wilder was a well-known figure in Woodstock. He was an avid outdoorsman, a popular artist, and the manager of the Woodstock Inn — one of the largest businesses in town.
Over the years, there have been many articles written about Arthur, most of which focus on his art or his connection with the Inn. However, in the Woodstock History Center’s archive is a manuscript that provides more personal insights into him and the young woman who was to become his wife. It is entitled Letters from Juliet: The Correspondence of Juliet McBurney Hill. This manuscript, which was edited by Lyle C. Pearsons, is a compilation of Juliet’s letters that detail her long-distance courtship with Arthur.
Arthur Wilder (on far left) leading a snowshoe hike of Woodstock Inn visitors. © Woodstock History Center
Arthur first met Juliet in the fall of 1885 when he was teaching drawing and painting at the Saratoga Atheneum in New York. At the time, Juliet was the librarian at the Atheneum. According to Pearson’s manuscript, when Arthur finished his classes each day, he “would stop in the Reading Room to talk to Juliet, and sometimes would drop in to read the newspapers and visit with her in the late afternoon. One day, he was wandering about the grounds of the Saratoga Race Track and spotted Juliet in tears; her fiance, Frank Bennett, had become intoxicated and refused to take her home. Arthur calmed her and then escorted her home, by carriage. Soon after, they became good friends.”
The next year, in 1886, Arthur was suffering from the debilitating after effects of a severe case of influenza, and he moved south for his health. He settled in Virginia where his father was overseeing the construction of a railroad. However, despite the distance between Virginia and Saratoga, New York, it appears Juliet was never far from his mind.
The first letter from Juliet in the collection is dated December 2, 1886. It starts out with the salutation, “Dear Mr. Wilder.” In the letter, she shares with Arthur what has been going on in her life. She notes that a number of people have asked about Arthur, wishing that he would return to Saratoga. She add that Professor Sheppard “wishes you was back here, and in fact I do too, for who else shall I have this year to help me make my Christmas candy, of course my wish is a selfish one, but you know it was so easy for me to have you do all the hard work of it, while I pretended I did it all. I should like so much to have you spend Christmas evening with us again this year, but I suppose it is out of the question. Frank Bennett is not coming up this year, so it will be much quieter than it was last year, with you both here.”
A few weeks later, she writes Arthur another letter. This time it is to thank him for the Christmas present he sent her, which she says, “I shall prize it as one of my choicest Christmas treasures and not only for the pleasure I take in looking at it, but also for the memory it brings of an absent friend.” By July 29, 1887, the salutation of Juliet’s letter changed from “Dear Mr. Wilder” to “Dear Friend, Arthur.” And, a few weeks after that, she began addressing Arthur Wilder as just “Dear Arthur.” By January 21, 1888, the salutation had become more intimate. At this point, she began addressing her letters to “My Dear Arthur.”
Similarly, the closings of Juliet’s letters evolved over time showing her growing affection for him. While her early letters are closed with some variation of “As ever your true friend, Julie Hill,” her later letters are signed “As ever your loving Juliet” or “Lovingly, Juliet.”
Through Juliet’s letters, we get glimpses of Arthur through her eyes. She frequently refers to his kindness toward her, an example of which is in her letter of October 31, 1888, when she states: “I can hardly tell you what a comfort your letter was which came to me this noon. So full it was of loving care and sympathy, and so like you always. I was sorry I had annoyed you with my troubles when I saw how much you take to heart anything that troubles me… I am selfish enough to take pleasure in your sympathy and feel comfort by knowing that you wish to help share my anxieties, as I am sure you know that I also do yours…”
While the letters give us a glimpse into Arthur, who at all times comes across as kind, mature, and fully committed to Juliet, the letters also reveal a great deal about their writer. Juliet was clearly a devoted employee who sought to support the Atheneum, both in its growth and in making it an inviting place for visitors; she was a dedicated friend who cherished her relationships with those around her, and a kind soul whose sympathetic nature often led her to reach out and help those less fortunate, be it the “miserable white kitten” that was in need of a place to stay or one of her “pet boys” who came to the reading room to escape their abusive home life.
Unfortunately, we don’t have Arthur’s letter proposing to Juliet, but her correspondence starting in November of 1888 begins to regularly refer to their plans for a life together.
On November 14, 1889, Juliet and Arthur were married, and shortly thereafter they made their home in Woodstock, Vermont. Arthur purchased on behalf of the Woodstock Hotel Company the Italianate-style Eagle Hotel, which stood on the site of the present Woodstock Inn’s parking lot. He and his bride, lived in the hotel until it was razed in order to build the Victorian-styled Woodstock Inn, which was built in 1892. While waiting for the new Woodstock Inn to be completed, the Wilders stayed on High Street and later at the Dana House (the present museum owned and operated by the Woodstock History Center). In 1897, Arthur accepted the position of manager of the Woodstock Inn, and he held this position until his retirement in 1935.
The old Italianate-style Eagle Hotel that Arthur Wilder purchased is shown on the left. The new Victorian-style Woodstock Inn that he later managed is shown on the right.
In 1896, the couple moved into a home of their own, located at 10 Mountain Avenue. Arthur had his studio for painting located in the front parlor. Juliet, always an enthusiastic supporter of her husband’s art, made sure that he had two hours a day in which he could paint. And paint he did, up until the day he finally passed away. According to Lyle Pearson’s manuscript, Arthur was “working on a landscape of an approaching summer storm when he said he felt a little tired. He went upstairs for a nap from which he never awoke.”
The Woodstock History Center is fortunate to have a number of Arthur Wilder’s paintings in its collection, including two that were recently donated to the museum by Mimi Baird, a still life that was donated by the Hood Museum, and two landscapes that the History Center was able to purchase at auction.
From this collection of Wilder paintings, there are currently six on display in the History Center’s miniature Art Share Gallery that is outside the entrance to the museum. Featured Wilder paintings include a couple of Woodstock Village, one of West Woodstock, and several landscapes whose location has not been identified.
Inside the Gallery (at the bottom of the case) are miniature copies of each featured painting. Guests are invited to select an image to take with them as a keepsake or to use as a postcard.
While these quiet, peaceful scenes reflect the beauty of the local landscape, they also appear to reflect the inner peace of the gentle, kind soul who captured Miss Juliet McBurney Hill’s heart.
While serving as manager of the Woodstock Inn, Arthur Wilder continued to paint, often giving or selling his works to guests. It was while working at the Woodstock Inn that Wilder was introduced to Desmond Fitzgerald, a noted art collector from Boston, who encouraged Wilder to do impressionistic paintings of the bucolic scenes that surrounded him. These paintings have largely become the works for which Wilder is now known.