The Smith-Curtiss House, which is possibly the oldest extant building in Derby, Connecticut, has sat vacant and decaying for years and is owned by the State of Connecticut. Believed to have been built sometime between 1714 and 1740, this historic saltbox farmhouse at 411 Hawthorne Avenue is slowly decaying due to lack of maintenance and funding. Early ownership is difficult to determine, but by the 19th century, the property was owned by Ms. Alice E. Curtiss. The old estate was sold by Ms. Curtiss in 1913 to Frances Osborne Kellogg, a businesswoman, philanthropist and environmentalist, as part of her 350-acre dairy farm and land-conservation holdings. The Smith-Curtiss House was used as a residence for the herdsmen who ran the farm nearby. Before her death in 1956, Frances deeded the property to the state as a public park, and allowed her head herdsman life-occupancy of this house for the remainder of his life. The State of Connecticut assumed possession of this house in 1981. The building has suffered from deferred maintenance since this period, with the State attempting to lease the building to tenants. I hope that local and statewide preservation groups can mobilize to secure grants and funding to restore this important property.
Buildings of New England 
Re: Smith-Curtiss Seems like one of too many sad situations. Hope that statewide preservation groups might find grants to restore the structure is probably wishful thinking in light of current economic conditions everywhere. Still, the building shows some handsome features. Perhaps the State’s consideration should be given to finding some entrepreneur interested and willing to dismantle and salvage the parts (even the stone wall) for sale and use in other projects before even the individual parts yield to unusability. Thank you again for sharing your good work
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Anything is better than seeing it decay. The state is setting such a bad example. They should either sell the property with a preservation easement or restore it and rent it to tenant(s). There are preservation grants and funds for restoration, so it appears that this is intentional or just terrible mismanagement of their resources. Same thing is happening at the Seaside Sanatorium in Waterford…
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