This beautiful Federal style side-hall house is located on Maple Street in Chester, Connecticut, and (at least a part of it) was built by 1755 by Isaac Buck, who deeded half of the property to his son, Justus, during his lifetime. In the early 1800s, the property was purchased by Joshua L’Hommedieu (1787-1880), a manufacturer, who had the property redeveloped or redesigned in the Federal style giving it the appearance we see today. The house has its gable end oriented to the street with an elliptical fan and dentil block detailing.
The finest extant Queen Anne Victorian-era house in the town of Deep River, Connecticut, is located on Main Street and since the 1930s, has been home to the town’s public library! How’s that for adaptive reuse?! This residence was built in 1881 for Richard Pratt Spencer (1820-1910), a local prominent businessman who lived to be 90 years old. Spencer lived here with his second wife, Juliana Selden, who was 32 years his junior, and three children until his death in 1910. When Spencer’s widow died in 1932, the heirs sold the property to the Saybrook Library Association (before the town renamed Deep River in 1947), which then, in turn, sold the building to the town for a small price in order to convert it into a library. Opened to the public in 1931, the Deep River Public Library has been preserved inside and out with historic fireplaces, woodwork, and features. The only notable change occured in 1995 when a children’s room addition was built to resemble an old porch. The library even retains the original pebbledash finish in the gables, a rare detail not commonly found in typical old houses of the period.
The Southworth House, also known as the Old Stone House, in Deep River, Connecticut, is a significant example of a stone, Greek Revival style house built for an important local family. The Southworth House was constructed in 1842 for Deacon Ezra Southworth (1803-1859) from stone harvested from one of the Southworth family’s quarries. Ezra was the son of local shipbuilder, Job Southworth who began building ships at the Deep River landing in the 1790s. Ezra Southworth branched off into manufacturing, becoming a partner and patent holder producing ink wells. His son, Ezra Job Birney Southworth (1844-1919), went into business with his father-in-law in shipping and served as a member of the State Legislature twice. In 1882, Ezra Jr. added the wooden ell onto the rear of the Stone House along with the wrap-around veranda and likely the rear barn as well. Ada Gilbert Southworth Munson was Ezra J. B. Southworth’s only child to live to adulthood and inherited the family home. She was a founding member of the Deep River Historical Society and bequeathed her family home to the Society in 1946, who have maintained the significant home here ever since.
The Lindens neighborhood, located just east of the civic and commercial core of Brookline Village, was long an apple and cherry orchard known as Holden Farm. Beginning in 1843, the area became the earliest planned development in the town and was laid out as a “garden suburb” for those wishing to escape the growing congestion of Boston. As originally conceived in 1843, it reflected the latest ideals of planned residential development for a semi-rural setting on land owned by Thomas Aspinwall Davis. The streets, parks, and house lots here were laid out by civil engineer, Alexander Wadsworth, who two years earlier, laid out plans for Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, the first “Rural Cemetery” in America. Early homes were built on speculation by John F. Edwards, an architect-builder, for Davis, who was strict about high-quality designs in the Greek and Gothic revival styles in his newly laid out neighborhood. This house, at 53 Linden Street, was built in 1844 by Edwards, and sold soon-after to John G. Faxon (1793-1861), a lumber merchant who made his fortune in Lubec, Maine until he moved to Brookline. Faxon sold the house in 1851 to Thomas Howe, who likely added the Italianate style tripartite windows with the lower having scroll brackets.
Another stately old home on Glezen Lane in Wayland is this brick, Federal style country mansion located across from the town Training Field. This residence is said to have been built by a Nathaniel Gleason (Glezen) and later inherited by a family member, Abel Glezen (1803-1890) who farmed the 55 acres of land and was a local politician. In 1900, as Wayland shifted from rural community to a desirable Boston suburb for summer residences, the Gleason House was purchased by Henry W. Patterson, who was in his late 20s when he bought this country house. Henry inherited his father’s estate and married Jane Harrington Adams from Massachusetts. The couple spent only a couple years here until Henry died in 1907 at just 35 years old. Jane, his widow, remained here until her death in 1950. The estate was subsequently subdivided and remains one of the finest homes in the community.
This First Period Home on in Wayland, Massachusetts, can be found at 184 Glezen Lane and is one of the community’s oldest residences. The Griffin-Malloy Homestead dates to about 1720 and is a large, single-family farmhouse that is just over 300 years old! Records state that the house was built by early settler, Samuel Griffin and possibly expanded later by his son, Deacon Jonathan Griffin. After generations of Griffin Family ownership, the old farmhouse was purchased in 1877 by Timothy Malloy (1839-1909) an Irish immigrant who settled in Wayland and operated a farm here. The house as of the 20th century, retained much of its original wood paneled walls and fireplaces, and has been lovingly preserved by generations of great stewards.
This large First Period house in Wayland dates to the early 18th century and was originally located in Kingston, Massachusetts, and moved to its present location in the 40s. The historic home was built by 1713 for Jonathan Bryant (1677-1731). After 250 years in Kingston, the house was threatened with demolition, and was ultimately saved by Wayland resident, Allan Finlay. Allan was a member of the town’s Planning and School boards, and was active in overseeing the Modern expansion of Wayland’s schools in the 1950s and 60s. In 1941, Finlay had this house disassembled and rebuilt on land on Old Sudbury Road for his family. The house, with its expansive setback, overlooks preserved wetlands.
Benjamin Adams (1750-1843) was born in Milton, but relocated to East Sudbury (later renamed Wayland) and purchased property here from a Bezaleel Moore, a tanner and farmer. Soon after moving to town, in 1775, he mustered with the minutemen under the command of Capt. Nathaniel Cudworth. After the conclusion of the war, Benjamin married Elizabeth “Betsy” Adams and they expanded the old farmhouse (today at 34 Lincoln Road) and raised their children here. The property remained in the family until 1873 when it was purchased and operated as a dairy farm. In the 1920s, the farmhouse was expanded with Colonial Revival additions and a renovation for use as a summer residence and gentleman’s farm. It is believed that some of the interior wood paneling inside the house was added at this time and was salvaged from the Pequod Inn, which was razed around that time.
This house in Wayland Center was built for Dr. Ebenezer Ames (1788-1861) who had a medical practice treating patients in East Sudbury (later named Wayland) and other surrounding communities. Dr. Ames is believed to have built this house in about 1823, which is a five-bay, two-story Federal style house under a hipped roof. Dr. Ames moved to another home in the village by 1830 and this old residence was purchased by Judge Edward Mellen (1802-1875) who lived in the house from 1831 until his death in 1875. Judge Mellen was appointed Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas in 1855, and practiced law in Wayland from a small office that still stands in the center of the village. Mellen’s widow Sophia Mellen remained here after her husband’s death in 1875 until her death in 1893. The front porch was likely added in the early 20th century, but does not at all detract from the architectural significance of the 200 year old residence.
Built around 1865, this stately residence in Wayland, Massachusetts, was originally owned by sea captain, Edward Pousland who came to Wayland with his family around 1859. Interestingly, Mr. Pousland continued working as a sea captain, travelling to Salem and Beverly, where he would be at sea for months at a time. Likely due to his profession, the house features a ‘widow’s walk’, a common feature of houses by the sea where folklore holds that the wives of ships’ captains looked out for the return of their husbands. Edward, his wife Hannah W. (Langmaid) Pousland lived in this house at least until Edward’s death. After successive ownership, the property was purchased by Jonathan Maynard Parmenter (1831-1921), who gifted the house to the First Parish Church across the street, for use as a parsonage a use that continued until 1984 when the church sold the house back into private ownership. The house, designed in the Italianate style, was “modernized” in the early 20th century with Colonial Revival alterations, which added the portico and likely removed the brackets at the eaves.
Buildings of New England 