Georgian

Baker-Merchant House // c.1750

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One of the most historic and architecturally unique houses in Warren, Rhode Island, is this pre-Revolutionary cottage on Main Street, that was modernized in the mid-19th century for later owners. Historians state that the house was built by Jesse Baker (1708-1751), who must have died shortly after its completion. At the time of the British burning of Warren during the Revolution in May 1778, Jesse’s widow resided here and saved the modest cottage from the hot embers of the adjacent burning Baptist Church, parsonage and arsenal by wetting every blanket and sheet in the house and spreading them over the roof of the home. The once modest, gambrel-roofed Georgian cottage, was purchased in 1868 by Dr. Joseph Merchant, a physician and surgeon, who “Victorianized” the house to the eclectic beauty we see today. Dr. Merchant added the projecting two-story corner tower, two-story front entry vestibule with Rundbogenstil tripartite window which reads like a Palladian window, projecting eaves with brackets, and stickwork in the north gambrel roof. The home was later inherited by Dr. Merchant’s daughter, Mary, and her husband, Howard K. DeWolf. 

Hoar-Hall House // c.1770

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This stately two-story, five-bay Colonial house at 172 Water Street in Warren, Rhode Island, is significant as a well-preserved Georgian style residence that has connections to a prominent local family. It is unclear who originally owned the residence, but by the mid-19th century, the property was owned by John C. Hoar, a blockmaker for the maritime trade. Passed through members of the Hoar family into the mid-19″ century, owned by John Champlain Hall (1818-1912), the son of John C. Hoar, who actually changed his last name from Hoar to Hall in 1867, but it is unclear why. John C. Hall worked as a carpenter and builder in town, building homes and commercial buildings for area residents, including his own shop nearby.

Maxwell House // c.1755

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The Maxwell House in Warren, Rhode Island, is a striking example of mid-18th-century colonial architecture and one of the oldest brick dwellings in the waterfront town. Built before 1755, the house is one of the finest brick Georgian-era residences in New England with its characteristic Flemish bond brickwork, fieldstone foundation, wood-frame gable ends, and massive central chimney that anchors its historic pre-Revolutionary form. Originally constructed for the Reverend Samuel Maxwell (1688-1778) and later home to members of the Maxwell family, prominent shipowners, merchants, and slave-owners in town. The Maxwell family’s wealth was tied to the maritime economy of the era, which tells the story of many Rhode Island merchants of the time, who participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade that enriched local elites and shaped the region’s economic growth, a history that communities are increasingly confronting alongside preservation efforts to this day. Today, the Maxwell House serves as a house museum preserved by the Massasoit Historical Association, who (hopefully) share the full story of the house, from its architecture to funding to construct it.

Hill-Collins House // 1761

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Located at the corner of Water and Baker streets in Warren, Rhode Island, this Georgian Colonial-era home oozes charm! Built by shipwright William Hill, as a three bay, two storied residence in 1761, this Colonial “half-house” was later owned by mariner William Collins who managed a wharf nearby. The home was later inherited by his son, Capt. Haile Collins (1798-1863). The two-story house with three-bay-façade and side-hall entry is a great example of a Georgian residence with raised stone foundation with entry accessed by double-run brownstone steps, massive central chimney, and the pedimented entry with transom and pilastered enframement. The home was eventually covered with asphalt shingle siding and was threatened with demolition in the 1980s until it was purchased and restored by Lombard John Pozzi, a prominent local force in architecture and historic preservation, who restored many old houses in the region.

Rufus Barton House // c.1783

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This charming house on Broad Street in Warren, Rhode Island, was built by 1783 for Rufus Barton and his wife, Prudence Cole. Rufus Barton and his family moved to New York and sold the property to Nathan Burr for $775 in 1797, who . Nathan Miller Burr sold the home to William Eastabrook two years later. Captain Eastabrook/Easterbrook had just returned from an illegal slave voyage on the “Betsey” to Africa that resulted in the enslavement of 79 Africans who were sold into slavery in Havana. He would go on to captain at least two more illegal voyages on the “Little Ann” (1806) and the “Hannah” (1807) from Bristol. These three voyages accounted for the death or enslavement of 229 people. The home has been lovingly restored by later owners, who removed the vinyl siding and replaced the cheap, vinyl windows with historically appropriate windows.

Governor Josias Lyndon House // c.1767

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One of the more significant old homes in Warren, Rhode Island, the Gov. Josias Lyndon House on the aptly named Lyndon Street, dates to 1767 or earlier, and has connections with a colonial governor. It is not clear who originally owned this property, but the residence is best-known for its most famous resident, Governor Josias Lyndon (1704-1778), who lived here during the final years of his life with his wife and enslaved Africans. Lyndon worked as Clerk of the Assembly for the colony and in 1768, he was appointed Rhode Island’s last Colonial Governor, serving until 1769. His election is believed to have been a compromise between Samuel Ward and Stephen Hopkins, both of whom had already served multiple terms as governor. After his one term, Lyndon declined reelection and served as chief clerk for the General Assembly of the Superior Court of the County of Newport. At the time of the British occupation of Aquidneck Island (Newport), Gov. Lyndon moved to this home in Warren, where he remained until his death from smallpox in 1778. An often undertold fact about Josias Lyndon is that he enslaved a man named Caesar Lyndon. Caesar was highly literate and was entrusted to carry out Lyndon’s business, acting as both a purchasing agent and secretary. Caesar also held his own small lending business with enslaved as well as free Blacks and whites borrowing money from him. Josias allowed Caesar to marry, which he did to Sarah Searing. It is not clear if/when Caesar was granted his freedom, or if he accompanied Josias to Warren or remained in Newport.

Easterbrooks House // 1757

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One of the pre-Revolutionary homes in the picturesque town of Warren, Rhode Island, the Easterbrooks House on Church Street is definitely one of the smallest, but oozes charm. This one-and-a-half-story gambrel roofed cottage stands across from the Town Common and adjacent to what may be the tallest building in town, the First Methodist Church of Warren. The home was built by 1757, likely by William Easterbrooks (1731-1772), and by the time of the Revolution, was occupied by Ms. Nellie Easterbrooks (1761-1853). Nellie and her mother rented a room in their home to Warren schoolmaster, John Holland, who earned the nickname “Traitor Holland”, after he had secretly been sharing news to General Pigot, the British General in charge of forces in Rhode Island. Long thought to have supported the local Patriots, it was learned that he was a loyalist, after the British and Hessian soldiers raided Warren and were leaving the town in 1778. It is said that troops stopped at this house and John Holland accompanied them, cheering alongside and leaving with them. He was never seen in Warren again. Soon after this, a young Nellie Easterbrooks, then in her teens, sought revenge against the British who pillaged and assaulted her friends and family. As the troops were leaving, she is said to have gathered a group of other angry Patriot ladies of town and captured a drunken drummer marching through town. Then they dragged their bewildered captive into a nearby hotel and locked him into a closet there. Nellie would later marry Nathaniel Hicks West (1751-1836), a Revolutionary War veteran, and received a widows pension until her death in 1853. The Easterbrooks House is a rare, intact surviving Georgian home that tells a rich history of Colonial New England and the stories during the American Revolution.

General Nathan Miller – Commander Joel Abbot House // 1789

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The Miller-Abbott House at 33 Miller Street in Warren, Rhode Island, is significant architecturally as well as for its owners, who included a Patriot in the American Revolution and naval officer. The first owner, Nathan Miller (1743-1790) was a prominent local shipbuilder in Warren, Brigadier General of the Rhode Island Militia during the Revolutionary War, and delegate for Rhode Island to the Confederation Congress in 1788. This home was built in 1789, a year prior to his death in 1790; after-which, the general’s daughter, Abigail, and her husband, Charles Wheaton inherited the property and lived here with Nathan’s widow, Rebekah. In 1803, the house was expanded, likely when the right two bays were added to the home. Their daughter Laura married Joel Abbot in 1825 and resided here afterwards. Joel Abbot (1793–1855) was a Naval officer in the War of 1812, and after later important promotions, in 1852, he was made Commander by Commodore Perry. Soon after, Commodore Perry asked Abbot to accompany him on his famous Japan expedition, where U.S. ships sought to explore, surveying, and the establish diplomatic relations and negotiate trade agreements with the various nations in Japan, the first time in history. General Abbot died in Hong Kong in 1855 and his body was returned to Warren for burial. The Miller-Abbot House remains well-preserved despite replacement windows and retains its large side and rear yards in the dense downtown.

Bowen-Haile Farmhouse // c.1680

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Possibly the oldest building in Warren, Rhode Island, this historic farmhouse on Market Street, near the state line, has framing that possibly dates to the 1680s! After Sachem Massasoit and his oldest son, Wamsutta, sold land to Plymouth Colony settlers what is present-day Warren, Barrington, Swansea and Rehoboth, Massachusetts, the town of Swansea was established in 1667. Obadiah Bowen (1627-1710) was an original proprietor of Swansea and was listed as number 23 in the order to draw lots for the meadows on the northside of town. By 1679, he received a ten-acre house lot of uplands and salt meadow, reaching from the Palmer River inland and across Market Street to the Birch Swamp.  He built a farmhouse on the rocky highland where he farmed the property until his death. His son, Thomas Bowen (1664-1743), later purchased the farm and added to it another 70 acres making the property a total of 170 acres. The old Bowen property was sold to Richard Haile in 1708 and remained in the Haile family until the late 19th century. After successive ownership in the Haile Family, the property became known as the “Judge Haile farm,” after owner, Levi Haile (1797-1854), a justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, he served on the court that tried Thomas Dorr, the leader of the Dorr Rebellion, a struggle to extend voting rights in Rhode Island to non-property owners. Levi Haile made improvements on his house and farmed the land, as did his two sons. The property sold out of the Haile family in the late 19th century and remained a farm until the 1980s, when part of the property was subdivided for development and part donated to the Warren Land Trust, who maintains the property as the Haile Farm Preserve. While the farmland is protected, the old farmhouse is not protected as a town landmark nor through the community’s demolition delay bylaw.

Ye Olde Manse of Willington // c.1728

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Known locally as the ‘Ye Olde Manse‘, this stunning Georgian cape house is located at the eastern edge of the town green in Willington, Connecticut. Thought to be the oldest extant house in the small, rural community, the gambrel-roofed homestead was possibly built by John Watson of Hartford, who was thought to have been an original proprietor of Willington, but was instead an assignee of George Clark who was. In the 19th century, the homestead operated as the congregational church parsonage. Today, the Georgian cape house with gambrel and saltbox roof is a single family home and has been lovingly preserved by centuries of stewards of this old manse.

Lillibridge Farmhouse // c.1770

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Located in northern Willington, CT, this farmhouse on a quiet, country road, dates to before the Revolutionary War! David Lillibridge (1744-1831) of Exeter, Rhode Island, served from 15 to 17 in the French and Indian War, and manned Fort Stanwix. In 1767, when he was a lieutenant in his local militia, he converted, and entered the Baptist ministry. In 1777, he purchased a farm from Moses Holmes, but it is unclear if this residence was existing or if he built this large farmhouse. In Willington, David Lillibridge became a farmer-preacher, establishing a Baptist ministry here. The home remained in the Lillibridge family at least until the 1870s, when it was owned by Burnham Lillibridge. The Georgian saltbox residence is set back from the street and sits upon the bucolic rolling fields of the property.

Griffin-Malloy House // 1720

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This First Period Home on in Wayland, Massachusetts, can be found at 184 Glezen Lane and is one of the community’s oldest residences. The Griffin-Malloy Homestead dates to about 1720 and is a large, single-family farmhouse that is just over 300 years old! Records state that the house was built by early settler, Samuel Griffin and possibly expanded later by his son, Deacon Jonathan Griffin. After generations of Griffin Family ownership, the old farmhouse was purchased in 1877 by Timothy Malloy (1839-1909) an Irish immigrant who settled in Wayland and operated a farm here. The house as of the 20th century, retained much of its original wood paneled walls and fireplaces, and has been lovingly preserved by generations of great stewards. 

Grout-Heard House // c.1743

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The Grout-Heard House on Cochituate Road in Wayland, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest extant residences in the community and architecturally significant as it shows the evolution of architectural tastes throughout the centuries. The house was built around 1743 for Jonathan Grout (1701-1748), a grandson of an original settler in the area, by the time of his marriage to Hannah Heard in 1743. Early records suggest that the house was originally just one bay deep and two-stories tall with a central entry. The property was sold in 1744 to Richard Heard, Jonathan’s brother in-law. In 1787, Silas Grout (1755-1820), a blacksmith, purchased the house and likely added rooms on the rear of the house. In 1822, Silas’ descendants added the side ell and the residence became a double-house in the mid-19th century. The house was moved from the site to make room for the 1870s Town Hall, and the rounded two-story side bay was added. After the Town Hall was razed in the 1950s, the Grout-Heard house was moved back to its original site in 1962. Since that date the Grout-Heard House has been the offices, research center, artifact repository and house museum of the Wayland Historical Society, who added a two-story Modern addition at the rear.

Smith-Curtiss House // c.1714

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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.

Whitcomb Inn and Farm // c.1708

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The Whitcomb Inn and Farm in Bolton, Massachusetts, is believed to be the oldest extant building in the rural community and is believed to have been built around 1708. The oldest portion of the farmhouse, the three-bay, two-story, side-hall house, was likely built when David Whitcomb (1668-1730) acquired the land from his father. David married Mary Hayward in 1700 and the couple had many children, necessitating additions to the old farmhouse, including the rear saltbox with a “Beverly jog” (a section of the rear addition projecting beyond the side of the original structure) that was built in the 1710s. The building underwent stylistic changes in the 19th century, most of which were removed during a major restoration in 1937–38 by Philip Phillips, a Harvard professor in Archaeology, who drew the plans for the restoration of the old house and 1850s barn. Professor Phillips was also a conservationist, and donated some of his land, which directly abuts the highway (built in 1962) was donated to the town and is now known as Split-Rock Trail. The Old Whitcomb Inn and Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, ensuring that any future highway expansion or re-routing would require preservation of this significant home.