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!
The Daniel Smith House at 362 Benefit Street in Providence, Rhode Island, stands out in the neighborhood as an uncommon gambrel-roofed Georgian-era residence, but it was not built here! The home was built by about 1750 for Daniel Smith, and may possibly date to around 1725 a year after he was deeded land from his father and the same year he married his wife, Dorcas Harris. If the home does indeed date to around 1725, it would likely be the oldest extant house in Providence! The home was originally located across town on Chalkstone Avenue, and moved to the present site on Benefit Street in 1982 to save it from institutional expansion by Roger Williams Hospital. The hospital set a date to demolish the farmhouse, then covered in asbestos siding, and offered the building for free to someone who could move it off the site. After tense weeks and a nearing deadline, Angela Brown Fischer, a real estate executive, agreed to pay the costs to move the building across town to a site on Benefit Street, where it remains today. The home was put back together and restored by Newport-based architect, Richard Long, who worked as principal architect for the Restoration Foundation of Newport before opening a private architectural practice. What a great preservation success story!
In 1829, Riley Brown, a housewright, purchased a house lot at the corner of Thayer and Transit streets in Providence, and by 1836, built this charming gambrel-roofed cottage, which is one of the most charming in the city. Riley Brown lived in the house next-door at 6 Thayer Street (1829) and on available land, built this 1-1/2-story dwelling on a full-height raised basement on speculation. It is possible that the house could have dated to the 18th century, and was possibly moved to the site from a nearby location, given the distinct gambrel roof and Georgian qualities. The residence here was sold in 1836 to John Crocker, who resided here with his family until his death in 1865. The Brown-Crocker House stands out for its unusually high basement of brick and stone, with a stair ascending up to the central entry and the gentle saltbox roof off the rear. Two shed dormers were likely added in the 20th century to make the house’s second floor more liveable.
The Shillaber House on Washington Street in Portsmouth, is one of the most photogenic residences in the charming port city. The Georgian-style residence was likely built in the late-1760s, after Joseph Shillaber (1725-1791), a potter, purchased land here in 1766. The residence is of a typical form for 1760s Portsmouth, with a gambrel roof with pedimented dormers and a slightly off-center entry with Georgian style pilasters and pediment. In the later half of the 19th century, the house was “Victorianized” with a bracketed door hood and bay windows at the facade, but the house would be restored by later owners to a version close to its original conditions. The exposed clapboard siding adds to the home’s unique charm.
The Cobb-Bartlett House at 240 Main Street in Kingston, Massachusetts, was built around 1754 for Gershom Cobb (1717-1799) where he raised his family. The gambrel-roofed Georgian house was built before the revolution, and may have originally been a half-cape and expanded to a full-cape in the late 18th or early 19th century. The property was sold by Cobb in 1768 to Captain Joseph Bartlett, and the property remained in the family for generations after his death in 1788. The house is a well-preserved example of a Cape style house with large, central chimney and clad with cedar shingle siding and roof.
One of the most unique and enchanting houses in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester is the Lynch House (aka the Sunflower House) at 102 Ocean Street, a landmark example of the Queen Anne architectural style. This residence was designed in 1889 by architect Samuel J. Brown, who worked in the firm of Cummings and Sears before opening his own office in Boston, where he specialized in residential designs. The first owners were Edward C. Lynch, a stair builder, and his wife, Petronella P. Lynch, who was born in Sweden and emigrated to the United States. Architecturally, the Lynch House features a prominent gambrel roof that swells out over the second-floor inset windows, clapboard and shingle siding, sawtooth shingled details over the windows, and the sunflower motif in a panel at the third floor.
Located next to the Harrison Henry Atwood House on Alban Street in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester, this stately home with a broad, gambrel roof oriented to face the street was also built by the architect and neighbor, Harrison H. Atwood. Appointed City Architect of Boston in 1889, Atwood designed schools, firehouses, and other public buildings, and just before this, designed a number of homes, primarily in the Shingle and Queen Anne styles in Ashmont. While he specialized in Victorian styles, Atwood was well-versed in the Colonial Revival style, as evidenced here. Built in 1888, this stunning house was constructed for owner, Harriett “Hattie” Dinsmore Furbush (1862-1950), who was an active member in a local organization, the Ashmont Tourists Club, a women’s social club devoted to talking books, travel, and life. The club often met in the library of Ms. Furbush’s home, which likely migrated out to the gorgeous enclosed porch with its multi-light windows.
In 1731, Captain John Stacey, a merchant and shipowner in Marblehead, had this gambrel-roofed house built on family land. Due to its orientation from the main street, a passageway allowed access to the rear of the property where other buildings were constructed by the family. By 1850, the house was jointly owned by Hawkes and Brown, with Mr. Hawkes operating a store in the first floor corner room. Eventually, by 1912, Brown had bought the whole building and moved his meat market into the store in this building. The property was later purchased and restored by Donald Mackenze Stacey (1916-1998), a contractor and descendant of the home’s original owner, John Stacey. Donald was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and served in World War II, before moving back to Marblehead and worked in the building trade. In town, he restored antique clocks, furniture, and buildings, including the Old Town House and Abbott Hall, the current town hall.
This Georgian-era house sits on Franklin Street in the charming coastal town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. The residence was built in 1721 for Benjamin Gale, who worked as a shoreman at the nearby harbor. The original structure (likely the left half) was likely just three bays wide with a side hall entrance that was later expanded by a later owner in the Federal style with a fanlight transom over the new main entrance. In the 19th century, this residence was the home of Glover Broughton (1797-1869), the grandson of Nicholson Broughton, the first commodore of the American Navy and, as part of the Marblehead Regiment, commanded George Washington’s first naval vessel USS Hannah. Nicholson’s grandson, Glover Broughton, was also an ardent Patriot and at just 15 years old, joined the crew of the privateer America, and was serving on the ship when it was captured and its crew imprisoned at the infamous Dartmoor Prison in Britain, the principal location for American prisoners during the War of 1812. Broughton drew the world’s attention to the inhuman treatment prisoners were subjected to in a rhyming long form poem that detailed the April 6, 1815, massacre that took place at Dartmoor. He also drew a map of the prison from memory to accompany the poem. Once Glover Broughton returned to Marblehead, he became a successful merchant and also served the town of Marblehead in a variety of offices including town clerk and postmaster. In later years, Glover also used his time to help fellow veterans of the War of 1812 by writing letters for them to help them get benefits for their time in service to the United States, as many men at the time could not read or write. It is possible that Broughton had his house “modernized” with the Federal period doorway and gambrel roof addition.
In 1902, Francis Bryden Dana (1865-1917) began construction on his home here in the Cottage Farm neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts. Francis was a member of the wealthy Dana Family and as a young man, attended the Boston Latin School and Harvard College. He became the president of the Dana Hardware Company of Boston. For his Brookline residence, Dana hired the exclusive architect, William Gibbons Rantoul to design the house which blends Arts and Crafts and Colonial Revival styles. The use of stucco siding, shed dormers, and portico with low sloped roof revealing exposed rafters falls squarely within the Arts and Crafts style; while the symmetrical facade, gambrel roof, and projecting octagonal bays are reminiscent of the more traditional New England Colonial Revival style.
Buildings of New England 