Colonial Homes Real Estate

Jones-Corbett Farmhouse // 1723

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Possibly the oldest extant building in the town of Milford, Massachusetts, the Jones-Corbett Farmhouse stands as a well-preserved example of a rural, First Period residence for early settlers to the area. The Jones Family first arrived in present-day Milford in 1703, when Elder John Jones (1669-1753) settled in the area from Hull, and raised his family in the first wood-frame dwelling in the area, which was still occupied by the Nipmuc Tribe. Elder John Jones raised six children from their home (demolished in 1874), including John Jones Jr., who built this house. John Jones built this house by 1723 but after a few years, traded properties with his brother-in-law, Daniel Corbett, and sister, Sarah. The house was likely added onto with the saltbox roof as the family grew in size and prosperity, and a barn was built on the estate to house horses and other livestock. When Daniel Corbett died in 1753, among his listed property included “a negro boy, his bed and hoe”, with his enslaved young man likely residing in this home and working the property. The residence is an important piece of Milford history that tells the full story of early America.

Jonathan Hill House // c.1720

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This modified First Period house on Main Street in Swansea, Massachusetts, dates to about 1720 and is a New England Colonial in all the best ways. The residence was built for Jonathan Hill (1684-1737) who purchased what was once a seventy-acre farm on the site in 1720 from Ebenezer Eddy, a local blacksmith. Jonathan Hill farmed the land nearby until his death in 1737, and in his will, the property passed to his widow, Elizabeth which was mentioned as “my new house built for the bringing up of my children.” The large colonial home is a center-hall form with a central stair surrounded by four rooms on each floor. Subsequent owners for over 300 years have lovingly maintained and preserved this important early house. 

Ebenezer Fisher House // c.1764

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This historic Georgian-era house at 677 South Street in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is one of the town’s most historic and unaltered dwellings. Dating to about 1764, the Georgian Cape farmhouse replaced an earlier house formerly owned by Dr. Cornelius Kollock, the town doctor and later purchased by Ebenezer Fisher. The home is said to have burned and was replaced by the present building around 1764. It is unclear if the original 17th century home was largely rebuilt or if the existing house now was built from the ground up. The home has historically (and even today) been known as the Wampum House, said to have been named after “Wrentham’s last Indian.” This claim highlights a common but harmful misconception that no Indigenous peoples survived colonization and its impacts in New England. However, the name Wampum’s Corner and the Wampum House remain. The house is today owned by the Wrentham Historical Commission, and operates as a historic house museum, though is suffering from some deferred maintenance. It would be important for the community to fully document the home’s history, namesake, and tell a more complete and accurate history of this historic house.

Samuel Hawes House // c.1742

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The Hawes’ in Wrentham, Massachusetts, were a prominent local family that largely settled in the western part of the town, building large farmhouses with properties bounded by rustic stone walls. This residence on Spring Street dates to the mid-18th century and was likely built for Samuel Hawes (1713-1795) around the time of his marriage to Priscilla Ruggles in 1741. After the death of both Samuel and Priscilla in 1795, the couple’s only son, David, bought out his two sisters value in the property and lived here with his family. The property was passed down through members of the Hawes Family until the 20th century, though later owners have still maintained and preserved this significant home for future generations.

Kentuck Farm // c.1740

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Located on West Street in the rural part of Wrentham, Massachusetts, this historic farmhouse is among the finest homes in the community. Early records are sparse, but the dwelling appears to have been built in the first half of the 18th century by Joseph Grant and later expanded and inherited by other members of the Grant Family who owned the property in the mid-19th century and other nearby farms. Through the 19th century, the farm was owned by George Grant and later by his son, Charles Albert Grant. In the 20th century, the farm was owned by Wentworth and Anne Massie, who operated the property as an apple orchard, known as Kentuck Farm. The home has been restored by current owners and retains its large, central chimney, classical door surround, siding and windows.

Guild-Kollock House // c.1714

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The Guild-Kollock house on East Street in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest and best-preserved historic homes in the suburban community. In 1674, John Guild of Dedham, was granted this lot by the proprietors and later willed the property to his son, Deacon John Guild Jr. (1649-1723). John Guild Jr. had the home built between 1682 and 1714, the first recorded document that acknowledges the existence of this dwelling, giving the home a definitive “built by” date. The Colonial farmhouse remained in the Guild family until 1804, when it was purchased by Cornelius Kollock, a Revolutionary War veteran, surveyor, Justice of the Peace, Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, and Representative to the General Court. The significant early Guild-Kollock House was documented inside and out as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1962 and has been lovingly preserved for over 300 years since its construction.

Boyden-Clark House // c.1725

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Wrentham, Massachusetts, was originally known as Wollomonopoag, roughly translating to “place of shells” a name given by the native tribes living here, referencing to area lakes as a food source for the people living here for over 8,000 years before European settlement. The area was settled by colonists in 1635 and became part of Dedham, when it was established in 1636. In 1673, the General Court allowed for the separation of what is now Wrentham, to incorporate as its own town. The community adopted the name Wrentham after the town in Suffolk County, England, a small village of just under 1,000 residents. About 50 years after incorporating, this historic Georgian farmhouse off Cumberland Road, not far from the Rhode Island state line, was built. The Boyden-Clark House is among the few pre-Revolutionary era homes remaining in the suburban community and retains its rural character. The house is said to have been built for Thomas Boyden (1681-1771) and wife, Mary (Clark) Boyden around 1725. The Boyden’s enslaved laborers who worked the farm here for decades. The property was later owned by Stephen Clark who farmed the land and likely added the stone well in the front yard. The house retains its gambrel roof and central chimney, hallmarks of the Colonial era.

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.

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.

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.

Dunk Homestead // c.1672

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The oldest building in Chester, Connecticut, is believed to be this First Period residence on North Main Street, which was originally built sometime after 1672, when land here was deeded to Thomas Dunk (1648-1683). The property was inherited by various members of the Dunk family, including Deacon Jonathan Dunk (1711-1781), who added onto what was originally a one-room, gambrel-roofed house as their families and wealth grew. The old Dunk Homestead is one of the many great landmarks in Chester and has been lovingly preserved for over 350 years!