This old farmhouse in Swansea, MA, was built by 1820 for Preserved Gardner (1795-1873), one of five sons of Peleg Gardner, who owned much of Gardners Point. Preserved lived in the home until his death in 1873, and the home and acres of farmland were willed to his only son to live past childhood, Ira Gardner (1836-1901). Ira donated a large tract of land adjacent to the farmhouse to the town in 1882 for a cemetery, in which his father was buried. Later, the farm was purchased by Thomas D. Covel a bank president of Fall River who operated it as a gentleman’s farm and made the house his summer home. A ‘gentleman farmer‘ utilized their farms for pleasure rather than for sustenance or profit. After WWII, the land was purchased by the town to be used as a park and the property is still owned by the town. The Federal home with its veranda that wraps around the side has been neglected by the town for decades while the parks adjacent are maintained adequately.
UPDATE: The Preserved Gardner House was demolished in 2024 by the Town of Swansea.
The town has weighed various options for the home ranging from demolishing it, to preserving the front facade and converting it to a garage and storage shed (with a small museum on the second floor). I hate that idea personally. This seems like an ideal candidate for the town to allow a private individual or developer to move the home and restore it back to its original grandeur. Thoughts?
Buildings of New England 
The town is horribly neglectful!!! This should be sold and moved to a new piece of land…Preservation!!!!!
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I couldn’t agree more. It’s a huge asset to the town but I don’t know if they see it that way.
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It seems like no matter what the people in Swansea feel, the town is going to do what they want. Soon it will be gone forever.
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I am a direct descendent of the Gardners. Samuel (1761-1841) is my 6th great-grandfather. Col Peleg (1719-1789) is my 7th great-grandfather, and so on. My family still lives in Swansea. Can someone explain why we are not able to take this land back?
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The house was either sold to the town or taken by eminent domain and the owners as such, were paid the value of the property at the time. The town may be open to selling the house if it could be moved?
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it’s been, sadly and maddeningly, demolished.
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What a loss.
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