For some years, Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell R. Stephens — a city-bred couple in “retirement” on a hundred acres of Vermont hill country — have managed their own tree plantation for pleasure, fuel and extra ...

The Four Mile Tree mansion sits on a bluff with sweeping views of the James River. Forests of loblobby pine surround the structure, and knuckle-rooted cypresses dot the beach below. The home, built in ...