georgian house

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.

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.

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.

John Sprague House // 1785

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Judge John Sprague (1740-1800) was a Harvard graduate and settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts as one of only three lawyers in Worcester County following the departure of his Tory colleagues during the Revolution. From this, a young Sprague climbed the professional ladder quickly and represented Lancaster in the General Court beginning in 1782 and occasionally sat in the Senate. He was first appointed judge in 1784 and in 1798 became chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Worcester County. After being appointed a judge in 1784, Sprague purchased a house lot on Main Street in Lancaster and hired local housewrights Eli Stearns and Jonathan Whitney, to design and build this stately home. Judge Sprague moved from his 1771 house a short distance away, to this more substantial late-Georgian home with projecting entry with pilasters and pediment. After his death in 1800, the property was inherited by his daughter, Ann Sprague Vose and her husband, a merchant, Peter Thatcher Vose. 

Daniel Smith House // c.1750

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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!

Captain Joseph Tillinghast House // c.1770

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This Georgian house at 403 South Main Street in Providence’s East Side was built by Captain Joseph Tillinghast (1734-1816) a wealthy merchant and participant in the Gaspee Affair, a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. The Gaspee Affair occured in 1772, when a group of men from Providence attacked and burned the British customs schooner, HMS Gaspee. The incident was fueled by colonial resentment towards British customs enforcement, and took place not too long after the Boston Massacre. Joseph built this house for his family on land he inherited from his family, who claimed the land in 1645. Tillinghast was also the owner of a line of packet boats (light shipping of domestic freight and mail) operating between Providence and Newport. After Joseph died in 1816, the property was occupied by members of the Tillinghast family until 1847. By the mid-20th century, urban renewal and the proximity to the new highways caused the surrounding area to suffer, with this historic home threatened. Throughout 2008, the building’s condition continued to rapidly deteriorate, and local preservationists advocated for the home’s future. After attention was brought to the residence and its significance, the house was restored with the assistance of the Providence Revolving Fund, including the stabilization of the foundation, roof and chimneys rebuilt, with clapboards and windows repaired.

Shillaber House // c.1768

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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.