New England Home

Mixer Tavern // 1710

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Photo from real estate listing.

One of the most historic houses in Ashford, Connecticut was listed for sale! The house at 14 Westford Road dates to 1710, when John Mixer purchased the property which at the time totaled 100 acres, and applied for a license to operate a tavern. John Mixer was born in 1668 in Watertown, Massachusetts and married Abigail Fiske in 1695. Mixer worked as a tanner in Watertown before moving to Connecticut, becoming the first settler of Ashford in 1710. Mixer became Ashford’s first Town Clerk, Treasurer, Tavern Keeper, Select Man, and Deacon. Mixer and his family would eventually move to Suffield, Connecticut, but the old tavern remains in impeccable condition, largely due to its later owners and preservation as an inn and restoration in the 1920s.

Butterfield Mansion – Derby Line Village Inn // 1903

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Once described in a local history book as: “The largest, most glamorous home ever built in this [Derby Line] village”, the Butterfield Mansion is one of Northern Vermont’s best early 20th century houses. The house was built between 1901-1903 for Gen. Franklin G. Butterfield (1842-1916) who before this, received the country’s highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action at Salem Heights, Virginia on May 4, 1863 during the American Civil War. He would eventually move to Derby, Vermont, where he established the Butterfield Company, who specialized manufacturing axle cutters. Butterfield hired architects, James T. Ball and Gilbert H. Smith of Boston, who also designed the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in town that same year, to design his Colonial Revival mansion and intact carriage house. Today, the Butterfield Mansion is known as the Derby Line Village Inn.

Levi Starbuck House // 1838

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One of the more unique Greek Revival style houses I have yet seen in New England is the Levi Starbuck House on Orange Street on Nantucket. The house was built in 1838 by housewright William M. Andrews who sold the completed property that year to Levi Starbuck, a wealthy sea captain for $5,000. When he bought the house, Levi Starbuck (1769-1849) was 69-years-old. Levi Starbuck is credited by some as inspiration for the character Starbuck in “Moby Dick.” He would spend the last ten years of his life in this opulent new house on Orange Street. Architecturally, the house is clad with flush siding with projecting paneled pilasters with fret patterns on the top and bottom breaking up the bays of the house.

Mansfield DAR Lodge // c.1830

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Tucked away on a side street in Mansfield, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this charming example of a Craftsman bungalow, a style and form not too common in New England. The style, synonymous with the western United States’ population growth in the early 20th century, never took off the same way here as Yankee homeowners and builders often stayed true to the Colonial Revival style (even today). This building is said to date from the early 1800s and was built as a Federal style cape. It was owned by a Margaret Lane in the late 19th century. By the 1930s, the house was significantly altered with a full-length porch supported by tapered shingled columns atop fieldstone bases and new dormers at the roof with flared eaves. The building has been home to a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). What a charmer!

“Good Cheer Estate” // c.1820

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Originally built as a Federal period farmhouse, this gorgeous estate is the epitome of what happened to Ridgefield… city money! By the end of the 19th century, wealthy New Yorkers were flocking to small towns every summer for clean air, rest, and relaxation. Ridgefield, Connecticut became an obvious option for its close proximity to New York and bucolic setting of farmlands bounded by old stone and rolling hills. As a result, wealthy summer residents purchased older estates and either demolished or renovated the homes there. Aaron Lockwood Northrop was raised in Ridgefield and was educated in its private schools before moving to New York as a young man, being awarded an apprenticeship as a dentist. Dr. Northrop went on to establish a prominent dental practice and would serve as President of the American Dental Association. As a wealthy adult, he acquired a circa 1820 house on this lot and renovated it, doubling its size and giving the residence its current Victorian flair. The summer house was affectionately named “Good Cheer”. Aaron died unexpectedly in 1908 while overseas in Paris, France. His widow, Caroline, resided at Good Cheer until her own death in 1927.

Benjamin Stiles House // 1787

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Built for Revolutionary War veteran and local lawyer Benjamin Stiles, this stunning Georgian mansion is unique for its use of brick in construction, a material not too common for some of Southbury’s earliest homes. Local tradition holds that a French engineer in General Rochambeau’s army provided assistance in designing the building, using the metric system, likely on the march from Newport to Yorktown. Benjamin’s father was one of the original settlers who migrated from present-day Stratford to the un-developed Southbury. The hip-on-hip roof with pedimented dormers is really a stunner, and unique for the town!

E. B. White House // 1795

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The coast of Maine has long been a refuge for those looking for an easier way of life and access to natural splendor. One of the more well-known residents of Maine was author E.B. White, who lived on this farm in Maine for 48 years. The estate sits on 44-acres and was built in 1795 for William Holden by Captain Richard Allen, a local housewright. The property was purchased by E. B. White in 1933 as a summer residence, but it became a full-time home where he and his wife, New Yorker editor Katharine Angell, raised sheep, geese, chickens, pigs, even spiders all with a historic barn and tire swing. Sound familiar? It is from this house that he wrote the iconic children’s book, Charlotte’s Web (and Stuart Little) among others. White was a private person, and despite his internationally famous books, he did not advertise the location of his home while he was alive. In 1977, he convinced an interviewer to report that “he lives in ‘a New England coastal town’, somewhere between Nova Scotia and Cuba“. Katharine died in 1977, and E. B. in 1985. The property was inherited by their son, who summered there for years. The most recent owners, Robert and Mary Gallant of South Carolina, who have summered there for the past 30 years and preserved the house immaculately, selling it a few years ago.