Colonial Homes

Warren Homestead // 1727

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The old Jonah Warren Homestead of Westborough, Massachusetts, was built in 1727 on the Old Connecticut Path, a former Native American trail, and is among the earliest and best-preserved examples of 18th-century domestic architecture in Westborough. The Colonial-era house was built for Jonah Warren (1700-1780) and his wife Elizabeth Seaverns (1700-1775), who moved from Watertown to Westborough in 1720, the couple would have 13 children. The home remained in the family for generations. Jonah was a tanner by trade, but also sold wooden shingles, cut from nearby cedar swamps. In 1778, the couple’s son, Aaron, owned the house, as he returned home to take care of his aging father. The property was later owned by Aaron’s son, David Warren, and later passed to his only child, a daughter, Mary Waterman Warren (1799-1858), who married Josiah Fay (1797-1869) in 1838. The home was inherited by Hercules Warren Fay, a Harvard-educated reverend and author. The homestead remained in the family until the last of Hercules’ children died in 1957. The Warren Homestead remains as one of the finest and best-preserved Colonial-era residences in Central Massachusetts.

Parker-Maynard Homestead // 1777

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Hidden away on a quiet country road in Westborough, Massachusetts, the Parker-Maynard Homestead sits as one of the best-preserved and significant properties in town. Revolutionary War veteran Isaac Parker (1750-1798), after the war, acquired land in town and built a farmhouse here around 1777. Upon the time of his death in 1798, his property listed in his will included: a homestead farm, grist mill, saw mill, a small dwelling house, a horse stable, and a pew at the town meetinghouse. The property was acquired by brothers Ebenezer and Ephraim Maynard, who lived in the house together with their respective families. The Maynard brothers worked as wheelwrights and had their shop on the property for years. Ephraim Maynard’s eldest son, Horace Maynard (1814-1882) was born here and after graduating from Amherst College, moved to Tennessee to teach law at East Tennessee University before getting into politics. Horace served in Congress between 1858-1873 as a representative from Knoxville. He spent much of his first two terms in Congress fighting to preserve the Union, and during the Civil War, he consistently urged President Abraham Lincoln to send Union forces to free East Tennessee from its Confederate occupiers. After the war, he was appointed minister to Constantinople by President Grant in 1875. In 1880 he returned to the United States and was appointed Postmaster General by President Rutherford B. Hayes. Horace owned the family homestead following the death of his father and uncle, and often returned to Westborough to see family and get away from politics.

Rev. Ebenezer Parkman House // 1750

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Reverend Ebenezer Parkman (1703-1782) was a graduate of Harvard University and served as the first minister in Westborough, Massachusetts, from 1724 until his death. The town’s first meetinghouse was located on Powder Hill; however, in 1748, the community decided to build a new meetinghouse closer to the town center. In 1750, the town built Reverend Parkman a second parsonage, this large Georgian house, closer to the meetinghouse which would accommodate his growing family. It is said that when built, some members of the church felt the home was too grand and luxurious for the minister and particularly made reference to the numerous windows as glass was an expensive commodity at the time. From his residence and serving as the town’s minister for 58 years, Parkman watched his town grow from an English settlement on the fringe of civilization to a prosperous village in the independent United States. Parkman’s insights into the life of these times are recorded in his daily journal, now housed at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester. It has also been digitized, providing a glimpse into daily life at the time. The house was originally located nearby but relocated in 1867 to its present location on High Street, where it remains in a great state of preservation. 

Dr. Andrew Harris House // c.1820

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This house is located across from the iconic Prudence Crandall House in Canterbury, Connecticut, and is another excellent example of a high-style Federal home in the town’s main village. Built in circa 1820, this residence was the home of Dr. Andrew Harris (1787-1840), one of two physicians in Canterbury in the early 19th century. After Dr. Harris’ death, the property was owned by Hiram and Nancy Waldo, who altered the house with the addition of a Victorian observatory at the rear, two-over-two sash windows, and an entry porch with paired door entrance.

David Nevins House // c.1746

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This house across from the Town Green in Canterbury, Connecticut, is believed to have been built by David Nevins, Sr. (1729-1758), a merchant who settled in Canterbury from Nova Scotia, Canada. Nevins tragically died in 1758 when overseeing the reconstruction of a bridge spanning the nearby Quinebaug River. It is said that while standing on a cross-beam, giving directions to the workmen, David Nevins lost his balance and fell into the river and was swept away and drowned. The property remained in the Nevins Family until 1842, upon which, it served as a parsonage for the Congregational Church, just across the street. The clapboard exterior, small-pane sash, center-chimney plan, and five-bay facade of this house give it architectural significance as a representative example of 18th-century Connecticut architecture. The stately Georgian doorway with swan’s neck pediment was installed by a local house restorer based upon physical evidence uncovered during the house’s restoration (and removal of Victorian-era porch) and while may be conjectural, it enhances the already beautiful old home.

John Carter House // c.1765

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One of the many stunning and well-preserved Colonial homes in Canterbury, Connecticut is this residence, the John Carter House on S. Canterbury Road. Records show that the house was built around 1765 for John Carter and his wife, Mary Smith. This house is a good example of the domestic architecture of 18th-century Connecticut and while there have been some changes over time, it continues to exhibit all the major hallmarks of the colonial type, such as a center-chimney plan, clapboard exterior, and five-bay facade. The house originally had a saltbox roof sloping to the rear, but was removed sometime in the 19th or 20th centuries, likely when the projecting Colonial Revival-era porch was added at the entrance. What a spectacular home!

Samuel Pellett House // c.1752

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The Samuel Pellett House in Canterbury, Connecticut, dates to the mid-18th century and is an excellent example of a Colonial-era home in this part of the state. Research in the land records suggests that this house may date from the time of Samuel Pellett’s second marriage in 1752 to Hannah Underwood. The couple planted two sycamore trees in front of the house to signify husband and wife but one was lost in the 1938 hurricane while the other survives to this day. According to historians, Sarah Harris Fayerweather, the first Black student at Prudence Crandall’s school nearby, worked as a servant in this house, then owned by Jedediah Shepard. The Pellett House is an excellent example of a Colonial Georgian home in Connecticut, with clapboard siding, center chimney, five-bay facade and small pane sash windows. 

Edward Waldo House // c.1715

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The Edward Waldo House in Scotland, Connecticut, is a vernacular Georgian house with saltbox roof and wings which from its erection about 1715 until 1971 was owned by members of the Waldo family. Edward Waldo (1684-1767) purchased land here along the Shetucket River in 1702 and by 1715, erected this house. The saltbox house which Edward Waldo built was one of the first houses in the town of Scotland and would remain in successive generations of the family for centuries. The house was the birthplace of Samuel Lovett Waldo (1783-1861), a portraitist who was a founder of the National Academy of Design as well as Daniel Waldo, chaplain of Congress, 1856-1858, and was one of seven Revolutionary War veterans who, having survived into the age of photography, were featured in the 1864 book The Last Men of the Revolution. The last Waldo owner, Miss Ruth Waldo died in1975. She insured the preservation of her family homestead by bequeathing the house, its contents, and about 15 acres of land to the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society of Connecticut Inc. and the surrounding acreage to the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, creating an enduring legacy for centuries to come. The house, set amongst a quiet country road, is evocative of early days in Scotland, Connecticut, and is one of the finest-preserved Colonial homes in this part of the state. 

Huntington Homestead // c.1715

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The Huntington Homestead in Scotland, Connecticut, was the birthplace and boyhood home of Samuel Huntington (1731–1796), a Founding Father, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a distinguished statesman during the Revolutionary War and early Republic. The remarkably well-preserved site includes an eighteenth century house on its original foundation surrounded by acres of farmland and is now protected as a museum. The house was built sometime between the transfer of land in 1715 from Deacon Joseph Huntington to his son Nathaniel, and Nathaniel’s marriage in 1723 to Mehetabel Thurston. As originally constructed, the house consisted of a two-story structure with an end chimney on the west end and one large room on each floor. By the time of Nathanielís death in 1767, the house had been doubled in size with the addition of two rooms west of the chimney, giving the house its current five-bay form. The Georgian style Colonial-era home features a symmetrical facade, twelve-over-twelve windows, and a saltbox roof and is one of the finest Colonial-era homes in this part of the state.

Captain John Felt House // 1757

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The Captain John Felt House on Federal Street in Salem, Massachusetts, is a surviving Georgian residence with ties to the American Revolution. In May 1757, John Felt purchased a lot on present-day Federal Street from Benjamin Lynde for 52 pounds, and began building his family home here. John Felt, a Salem native, worked as a “shoreman,” but was primarily an owner of vessels involved in the coasting trade, also owning a large warehouse to store the goods from the West Indies brought in by his ships. Felt’s title of “Captain” came from his involvement in the Essex county militia. Captain Felt was a key figure in Leslie’s Retreat, also called the Salem Gunpowder Raid, which took place on February 26, 1775, in Salem. British Colonel Alexander Leslie led a raid to seize suspected cannons from a makeshift Colonial armory in Salem. Instead of finding artillery, Leslie encountered an inflamed citizenry and militia members ready to stop his search. These colonists flooded Salem’s streets, preventing Leslie’s passage and forcing him to negotiate. Ultimately, the Salemites convinced the British Regulars to stand down and return to Boston. No shots were fired, and no one was seriously injured—but tensions were high and a skirmish was evident until Captain Felt stated, “If you do fire, you will all be dead men.” Had a soldier or a colonist gone rogue and fired their weapon, the American Revolution might have begun in Salem, and not Concord just weeks later. After the Revolution, Captain Felt sold his house and moved to present-day Danvers. After centuries of successive ownership by merchants, today, the Felt House is used (at least in part) as professional law offices.

Bowler House // c.1760

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This beautiful Georgian house in Newport, with its prominent gambrel roof oriented toward the street, was built by 1760 and owned by Metcalf Bowler (1726-1789), a merchant, politician, and magistrate. Bowler was for many years speaker of the house in the Rhode Island colonial assembly, and it was discovered in the 20th century that he was a paid informant (spy) for the British during the Revolutionary War. The house was owned by Metcalf before he would purchase what is now known as the Vernon House, an even more stately Georgian mansion designed by Peter Harrison. This house was sold, and later owned by Charles Wickham, a Captain in the war, and later to the Burdick and Merrill families.

Wright Homestead // 1767

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This large, brick gambrel-roofed Colonial home in West Goshen, Connecticut, was built over decades beginning before the American Revolution and has remained in the same family ever-since! In 1767, Captain Jabez Wright (1737-1813) married Martha Baldwin of Goshen, and began constructing this farmhouse of brick. When the war broke out, he fought in New York, he also served as captain of a company of Connecticut militia, turning out to repel the British forces at New Haven. He would largely complete the home by 1787, and ultimately died in 1813. After successive ownership of generations of the Wright family, the property was owned by Henry G. Wright (1831-1917), a farmer who represented Goshen in the state legislature and held many town positions. The first Methodist sermons in town were also held in the home. Henry Wright died at 86 years old on this property, after being attacked by a bull. When entertaining guests, he showed others a prized bull, and possibly fell into the pen, and was trampled and attacked. The Wright Homestead is unique for its brickwork with bonds and burned headers, resembling many Colonial-era homes in Virginia, but this house can be found on the back roads of Goshen, Connecticut!

Thomas Haines House // 1681

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There aren’t many extant buildings with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of the 1690s, but this First Period house on Centre Street in Danvers is one of them! This is the Thomas Haines House, built in 1681 for Thomas Haines. During the witchcraft hysteria of 1692, Thomas testified in the trials of Elizabeth Howe and John Willard, who were accused of witchcraft. Elizabeth would be executed by hanging on July 19, 1692 and John was hanged on August 19, 1692. Less than a year following the frenzy of the trials, Thomas received a license to keep a public house of entertainment & sell strong drink as an innholder. He remained here until 1703, when he sold his home and land to John Allen, a gunsmith, and removed to Salem, New Jersey. The First Period home with saltbox roof is in great condition and was restored to its historic appearance in the 20th century. The property is privately owned.

Jeremiah Page House // 1754

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In 1754, a 32-year-old brickmaker Jeremiah Page built this large, gambrel-roofed Georgian house in Danvers, Massachusetts, for his young family. Jeremiah and his first wife, Sarah, raised nine children here and dreamed of liberty from England. Following the Tea Act, passed by British Parliament in 1773 that granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies, Page was said to have demanded that “none shall drink tea in my house.” One evening when her husband was out, Sarah Page is said to have invited several women from the neighborhood up to the porch atop the Page House’s gambrel roof to enjoy tea. Larcom quotes Page as telling her friends, “Upon a house is not within it,” thereby finding a loophole around her husband’s directive. This legend was enshrined in the poem “The Gambrel Roof” (1874) by Lucy Larcom, who knew Sarah Page’s granddaughter. Jeremiah Page would fight in the Revolution, serving as a Captain. The Page House remained in the family for two more generations, Sarah Page’s daughter in-law, Mary Page died in 1876 and her will put the property into a trust with the stipulation that once there were no longer any Page descendants to live there, the historic house was to be torn down. After Mary Page’s daughter Anne Lemist Page died in 1913, the trustee planned to demolish it according to her wishes. The Danvers Historical Society sprung into action and sued to oppose the will, fighting to preserve this significant home. They won, and relocated the home a block from Elm Street to its present site on Page Street, where it stands today. The Danvers Historical Society maintain the structure to this day, including the “porch” at the roof where the tea party once took place.

Eleazar Spofford House // 1765

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One of the many pre-Revolutionary homes in Georgetown, Massachusetts, the Spofford House is located on Andover Road, an important route which was occupied by many residences of the Spofford Family. In 1667,  John Spofford and his family became the first permanent (European) residents in what would become Georgetown. Generations later his ancestor, Eleazar Spofford (1739-1828) would build this home in 1765 to be occupied by his new wife married that year, Mary Flint, and their new family. The Georgian farmhouse has been significantly altered since its original date of construction, but retains its general form and character even with later 19th and 20th century additions, porches, and windows. The Spofford’s had six children in this home and would later move to Jaffrey, New Hampshire after the Revolution, but returned and settled in nearby Groveland. Later generations of the Spofford’s would live-in and modify the home until it finally sold out of the family in the 20th century.