High Watch, formerly named Holiday House but locally known as the Harkness House, is an 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) home situated in Watch Hill, a historic district in Westerly, Rhode Island. The most expensive private home in Rhode Island,[2] High Watch has been owned by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift since 2013 and is a subject of publicity and media attention, mostly known for being the venue of Swift's annual Independence Day parties, attended by a range of celebrities.
A Colonial-style mansion, High Watch sits on a 5-acre (2.0 ha) seafront estate that includes a private beach. The estate is situated atop Watch Hill's namesake hillock, which was used as a strategic lookout point during some battles in the history of the United States.
The house was built in 1929–1930 for the Snowden family, owners of an oil company, who named it Holiday House. It was purchased in 1948 by Rebekah Harkness, socialite and Standard Oil heiress, who became notorious amongst the local residents for her lavish lifestyle there. In 1974, businessman Gurdon B. Wattles purchased and renovated the house, renaming it as High Watch due to its location. Swift purchased the house for US$17,750,000 in 2013, and inspired by its history and Harkness, released the song "The Last Great American Dynasty" in 2020.
Several stalking, trespassing, and home invasion incidents have been reported at the house since Swift's purchase. In 2015, High Watch inspired a proposal by the Governor of Rhode Island to impose a luxury tax on expensive secondary homes in the state. In 2017, Swift was sued over her decision to build a seawall on the beach as plaintiffs argued the beach had been dedicated to the public over the years and Swift had no ownership of it; the courts ruled in Swift's favor. L'Officiel has listed High Watch as one of the most expensive celebrity homes in the Americas.
^David, Mark (28 April 2013). "Taylor Swift Spends Big in Rhode Island". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^Tremaine, Julie (2020-07-28). "A Brief History of Taylor Swift's Rhode Island Feud". Vulture. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
HighWatch, formerly named Holiday House but locally known as the Harkness House, is an 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) home situated in Watch Hill, a historic...
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by...
The Apple Watch is a smartwatch produced by Apple. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and...
HighWatch Recovery Center is an alcohol and drug addiction recovery center located in Kent, Connecticut. It was the first recovery center in the World...
many organizations involved in mental health, such as Turning Point and HighWatch Recovery Center, praised Bower for his words; and in September 2022 he...
A tornado watch (SAME code: TOA) is a severe weather watch product of the National Weather Service that is issued by national weather forecasting agencies...
An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy...
A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were...
A freeze watch is a notice issued by the National Weather Service that announces that temperatures of 32 °F (0 °C) and below is possible in the next 48...
Orient (オリエント時計株式会社, Oriento Tokei Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese watch manufacturer founded in 1950. Established as an independent company in 1950,...
The following is a list of episodes for the NBC crime drama series Third Watch. The series premiered on September 23, 1999, and the final episode aired...
with the Apple Watch, the only device that runs watchOS. watchOS exposes an API called WatchKit for developer use. The second version, watchOS 2, included...
Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. (シチズン時計株式会社, Shichizun tokei Kabushiki-gaisha) is an electronics company primarily known for its watches and is the core company...
An excessive heat watch is a notice issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when the heat index is expected to be greater than 105 °F...
Watch Dogs (stylized as WATCH_DOGS) is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft, and developed primarily by its Montreal and Toronto...
A watch glass is a circular concave piece of glass used in chemistry as a surface to evaporate a liquid, to hold solids while being weighed, for heating...
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created...
number. According to COSC, an officially-certified chronometer is a high-precision watch capable of displaying the seconds and housing a movement that has...
Institute for Standardization) a watch must resist exposure to a direct current magnetic field of 4800 A/m. The watch must keep its accuracy to ±30 seconds/day...
End of Watch is a 2012 American action thriller film written and directed by David Ayer. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as Brian Taylor and...
the particularly dangerous situation (PDS) wording on a high-end severe weather warning or watch, this means that conditions for fire growth and behavior...
company specialises in the distribution and retail of high-end timepieces and offers a range of watch brands, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chopard...
dissatisfaction amongst staff on CO, and the high cost of paying staff for long shifts. Various forms of suicide watch exist. These generally involve the subject...
Hamilton Watch Company is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches based in Bienne, Switzerland. Founded in 1892 as an American firm, the Hamilton Watch Company...
UN Watch is a Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated mission is "to monitor the performance of the United Nations by the yardstick...