Federal Style

Conant House // c.1800

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This stunning Federal home in Hollis, NH was built around 1800 for Josiah Conant, likely as a wedding gift to his new wife, Lucy. Conant was a cabinetmaker by trade and his shop was located across the street, and according to local sources, he used his woodworking skills on the inside and out of his home, with intricate details including mantels, wainscoting and exterior cornice. Half of the second floor was originally a dance hall and was later used for a reading or writing school school run by Lucy. The brick-end Federal home features a Palladianesque entry with sidelights and an arched transom with historic windows!

Harris Store // 1834

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In 1833, Jedediah H. Harris, who had run a general store in Strafford village since 1803, commissioned a local contractor to build a new brick and granite store. Harris and his then-partner, Justin Morrill, opened the store in late fall 1834, selling provisions to locals and visitors to the small town. Morrill would later go on to construct a stunning Gothic home nearby and become a leading U.S. Senator. For more than one hundred years the store passed through a succession of owners, until C. William Berghorn Jr. closed it in 1951 to make it his residence. The building has since been converted to the local post office branch, with a residential unit likely above.

Strafford Town House // 1799

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Perched atop a hill at the edge of the town common in Strafford, Vermont, the Strafford Town House epitomizes rural New England charm. The town house was constructed in 1799 by local carpenters as a place to do public business and served for a brief period in the early days as a meeting house for various local congregations. The building is one of the oldest meeting houses in Vermont and was one of the first meeting houses to put the entrance at the tower-end and the pulpit at the other end of the building. The change from a side-entrance orientation reflected a time when New Englanders were clearly deciding to separate their political business from their ecclesiastical affairs.

Charles Perry House // c.1830

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Charles C. Perry (1795-1870) was a wealthy nineteenth-century shipowner and sea captain and a prominent figure within Southport’s community. After his father’s death in 1814, when Charles was just 25, he inherited a large sum of money from his father’s will and followed his footsteps as a career. Miah Perry’s will stipulated that in order to keep the family together, members were to reside at the family home for five years from his death if neither of the daughters married; “but in case they remain unmarried at the expiration of five years…my estate shall not be divided until eight years from my decease unless one of the said daughters should marry…partition may be immediately thereafter made.” Talk about pressure to get married!

It is unclear if any daughters got married before, (Julia, one daughter died in 1821 at 22 years old). That same year, Charles Perry seemingly got his part of the inheritance and acquired the land upon which this house stands. He was then twenty-six years old and unmarried. He appears to have built it later as a blending of the Federal and Greek Revival styles, perfectly complimenting each other.

Augustus Jennings House // c.1830

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Walking around Southport Village in the town of Fairfield, Connecticut, transports you to an early-mid 19th century town with large Federal and Greek Revival homes overlooking Southport Harbor and the Long Island Sound. This home on Westway Road was built around 1830 for Augustus Jennings (1814-1886), the son of Captain Abraham Gould Jennings. Augustus became a carriage maker in Southport before founding Jennings Brothers, a paper manufacturing company; which in 1867, began to produce Japanese paper products. The Jennings House was originally located near the Pequot Library, but was relocated in 1899, which was likely when the central shingled gable at the roof with Palladian window was added.

Burr Mansion // 1794

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Originally built in 1775, the first iteration of the Burr Homestead, home of Thaddeus and Eunice Burr, which actually saw the marriage of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, to Dorothy Quincy. Thaddeus was the cousin of the famous Aaron Burr, Jr., who was the 3rd vice-president of the United States alongside Thomas Jefferson as President. Aaron Burr Jr. is best-known today through his portrayal in the popular play “Hamilton,” where he shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel. The house was rebuilt in 1794 in its former location in Fairfield, Connecticut after a fire by the British in Fairfield destroyed the first. The home was willed to Thaddeus’ son General Gershom Burr, who eventually sold the mansion to Obadiah Jones. Mr. Jones updated the home by, ““taking out the dormer windows and lifting the roof, taking away the porch and building the broad veranda with its lofty massive fluted columns”. The home was eventually gifted to the Town of Fairfield and is presently maintained by the Fairfield Museum and History Center.

DeForest House // c.1800

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At the beginning of the 19th century, Fairfield, Connecticut was slowly recovering from its destruction by the British at the end of the Revolution. By around 1800, a member of the DeForest family appears to have built this home, across from the Town Common, overlooking the recently completed Fairfield County Courthouse. Before the American Civil War, the home was significantly altered, with a central pavilion, new round arch windows, and a full-length front porch, showcasing early Victorian-era desire for detail. The house changed hands several times over the next century, at one point becoming a boy’s school from 1891 to about 1909. In 1930, the house was renovated by architect Walter Bradnee Kirby, who restored the home back to its Colonial past, showing how the pendulum of architectural tastes can change back-and-forth with every passing generation.

Hezekiah Porter House // 1822

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Hezekiah Porter (1783-1851) built this house in 1822 for him and his family, right in Thetford Center, Vermont. Porter was born in 1783 in Hebron, Connecticut, where he presumably learned the clothier trade, before moving to Thetford in 1806. Porter later operated a brickyard, serving as contractor to the Thetford Center Methodist Church, Town Hall and several other brick homes in town dating from the 1820s and 1830s. Porter lived on this large property with his wife and ten children until his death. The property was later occupied by Hezekiah’s son, Amos P. Porter. In 1888, Amos farmed about 200 acres and had 7 cows, 50 Merino sheep and 18 Jersey cattle!

Hosford Stone House // c.1835

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Josiah Hosford of Thetford, Vermont built this stone house for his family in about 1835. Hosford was a stone mason who built a series of stone houses in town, using stone quarried in nearby Lyme, New Hampshire. Josiah Hosford (1802-1883), was the grandson of Aaron Hosford, one of the earliest settlers in the North Thetford area. The distinguished family contributed resided and contributed to the town’s vibrant history, as ministers, teachers, artists, farmers, and tradespeople. A fire at the home in the early 1900s gutted the interior, and the owner at the time, a carpenter, reconstructed the interiors, shingled the side gables, and added on the porches.

Child Farmhouse // c.1835

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Constructed out of stone quarried from nearby Lyme, New Hampshire, the Child Farmhouse is one of a handful of stone houses in East Thetford, Vermont. This house is a particularly fine example of a Cape Cod with Federal detailing, as translated into granite construction. The home features stone lintels over the door and window openings. It was built for Bela Child (1786-1866), likely after the death of his first wife, as a new home for his second. The family operated a massive farm along the Connecticut river.