Sep 18, 2008

Log Gift Shoppe owners call it quitsBy Beth HurdJohnstonSunrise.net

Warwick, RI — Interested in buying a small business? The Log Gift and Curtain Shoppe is up for sale, according to owner Anthony J. Ursillo, who has decided to retire after 35 years in the business.

“Doing business the old fashioned way” is the motto of the store that is located in the historic “Shang Bailey Homestead.”

Built in the 18th century and located at 2737 Hartford Ave., the home was formerly a tavern and a stagecoach stop on the old Hartford toll road between Boston and New York. It had also been used as a private residence.

Frederick A. Bailey, “one of its most colorful occupants, and for whom the homestead is named,” was born in Burrillville in 1842 and served in the Civil War. He received the nickname of “Big Shang” in 1876, because of his then-great height of six-foot-six and earned a living as a “giant” in a circus sideshow of Barnum’s World Fair.

Even more curiously, Bailey actually gained acclaim in impersonating “Chang, the Chinese Giant,” who had performed in New York, then went back to China. Bailey grew a goatee, attached a pigtail, wore a tall hat and stood on platform shoes to impersonate Chang, who was almost a foot taller than Bailey.

Bailey later became well known locally as a roadhouse keeper until he closed his business in 1905. The house was reputed to be an inn, brothel, casino and saloon. He ran a second, less known, roadhouse in Burrillville.

Bailey died in 1913, but before his death he was converted to Evangelism, and ceased to sell rum.

The original owners, Anthony M. and Bea Ursillo, Ursillo’s parents, were not at first aware of the building’s grand past, but after finding out, worked to preserve the building, the history of which has been documented on the shop’s Web site.

“Working diligently with the historical society, they restored the mansion in six months and, in June of 1976, they opened their gift shop in this new location,” reads the history.

The 21-room mansion, with its fieldstone foundation and wide-plank flooring, is a classic example of Victorian-Colonial design. The home was built with five fireplaces.

The Log Gift & Curtain Shoppe was incorporated in 1969, moving to the Hartford Avenue location after the building’s renovation. The 8,500 square feet of space has served many generations of shoppers over the years.

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