High Watch, formerly named as Holiday House and also known as the Harkness House locally, is an home situated in Watch Hill, a US historic district in Westerly, Rhode Island. It is a Colonial-style mansion sitting on a seafront estate with a private beach, and is the most expensive private home in Rhode Island, valued at $17.75 million in 2013. Built in 1929-1930 for the Snowden family, High Watch has been owned by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift since 2013, and has been a subject of publicity, media attention, and controversy. Swift was well-known for throwing Independence Day parties at the house from 2013 to 2017, inviting several celebrities. Inspired by the house's history and a former owner, Rebekah Harkness, Swift released a song titled "The Last Great American Dynasty" from her eighth studio album Folklore (2020). Design Holiday House was built in 1929-1930 by "an eminent Philadelphia architect", in a "hulking Colonial style pile". The house sits on over of shoreline, containing 8 bedrooms, 10.5 bathrooms and 8 fireplaces. The reception rooms include a 36-foot-long parlor, a 45-foot-long sun room, and an octagon-shaped formal dining room with built-in china cabinets. The kitchen reportedly contains a warming drawer and wine cooler, with an adjoining sitting room. There are four bedrooms on the second floor with en-suite bathrooms, and an expansive master suite with two bathrooms. The suite contains a sitting room with a wet bar as well as a widow's walk terrace. Lower levels include a recreation room, a service kitchen, a five-car garage, and a heated workshop. The estate also contains a swimming pool and a summer house. History Snowden family Holiday House was built in 1929-1930 for Mrs. George Grant Snowden (Pearl Pinkerton McClelland Snowden) of Philadelphia, whose husband had died in 1918. It stands as a landmark for sailors on the great bluff from which Watch Hill takes its name. Mrs. Snowden had acquired the historic and dramatic site from the estate of Eugene Atwood in 1929. Holiday House included a large servants quarters on what is now the northeast lawn. The servants quarters were demolished during extensive renovations carried out in the 1970s by Gurdon B. Wattles. The Snowdens, beginning with George Grant Snowden's father, James McKean Snowden, who was born in 1831 and lived in Pittsburgh, had made their fortune in oil and gas exploration. George Grant Snowden and his brother, James Hastings Snowden, explored for