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In 1911, at the age of forty-four, architect Frank Lloyd Wright set about designing and building a dwelling and farm near Spring Green, Wisconsin, on the ancestral acreage of his mother's family. He called it Taliesin, or "shining brow" in Welsh, his family's native tongue, and he evidently believed the undertaking would help put his personal and professional lives on track. It would simultaneously be a refuge for him and his mistress from their scandal-marred life in Chicago, and a home for their children-a studio where he and his drafting team could practice architecture amidst the inspiring scenery of the lower Wisconsin River valley, and, finally, become a working farm whose produce could sustain them and also earn some income. Too, Taliesin was surrounded by Wright's family members-uncles, aunts, cousins-and old friends, essential for kindling a happy life.