Coggeshall

Look-Coggeshall House // 1828

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Believe it or not, this beautiful home was once a one-story Cape house! Built in 1828, the home was constructed for Captain Hiram Look, a sea captain, and his new wife Kezziah (Kezia) within a year of their marriage. They had two daughters. Hiram died in 1865, possibly related to the Civil War, which ended that year. After his and his widow’s death, the home was willed to their daughter and her husband, Bernard Coggeshall, who was likely a descendant of the Coggeshall Family of Bristol, RI. The Look daughter died in 1890, and Bernard remarried a year later. Sometime after 2008, this home was enlarged, giving it the second story we see today. If you look closely at photos from before 2008, you can see the matching door surround, window lintels, and window spacing seen today. While the home is completely different, the “updated” version is still appropriate and conveys the home’s history.

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George Coggeshall Farmhouse // 1799

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In the decades after the American Revolution and British burning of Bristol, Rhode Island, the port city rebuilt with grand mansions downtown and farmhouses on vast land holdings beyond. One of such farms was that of George Coggeshall (1752-1812), who built this Federal home in 1798. George Coggeshall was an ancestor of Wilbour Coggeshall, who operated a farm on Poppasquash Point in town (featured recently), now the site of the Coggeshall Farm Museum. After George’s death in 1812, the farm was purchased by Nathaniel Bullock, who would later become Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island. The home is a great example of the early Federal style of architecture. It features a large central chimney, classical pedimented entrance with fluted pilasters, and flared lintels over the first floor windows. Oh, and that stone wall with cute little gate!