11. “Lord Timothy Dexter”
A wooden George Washington was prominently displayed in front of Dexter’s door. To his right was John Adams, and to his left, stood Thomas Jefferson. Other columns throughout the grounds were topped with assorted generals, philosophers, politicians, statesmen, Indian chiefs, and the occasional goddess. A statue of Dexter was included in the mix, with an inscription in which he labeled himself “Lord Timothy Dexter“. It added: “I am the first in the East, the first in the West, and the greatest philosopher in the Western world“. Not bad, for a man whose education stopped at age eight, and who had never read a philosophy book. Whatever his faults, the eccentric entrepreneur was not plagued with low self esteem.
