National Register of Historic Places

Simeon Belden House, Wethersfield, Connecticut

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The house at 249 Main Street in Wethersfield, on July 29, 1940. Photographed by Stanley P. Mixon, courtesy of the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey Collection.

The house in 2024:

Main Street in Wethersfield includes many excellent examples of colonial architecture, but one of the finest is this house at 249 Main Street, near the corner of Church Street. It was built in 1767 as the home of Simeon and Martha Belding, and it has many characteristics that were found in higher-end homes in the Connecticut River Valley during this era. Among these are the large gambrel roof, and also the two chimneys, which were in contrast to the single central chimney that most other houses had. The central chimneys had the drawback of not allowing for a large entry hall and staircase inside the main entrance, so the twin chimney design was a more fashionable alternative for those who could afford it.

However, the most distinctive architectural feature of this house is the decorative doorway around the front door. Such doorways were popular in the river valley during the mid-18th century, and they typically included fluted pilasters on the sides of the door and an entablature above it. There were several different variations, but the most elaborate of the doorways also included a scroll pediment atop the door. At one point there were at least four homes with scroll pediment doorways, but the Belding House is the only one that survives. It is also one of only a small number of homes anywhere in the valley that still has its original doorway.

Aside from its architectural significance, this house is also notable for its role in the seed business. In the early 19th century, Simeon and Martha’s son James Lockwood Belden founded the Wethersfield Seed Gardens, which produced seeds for a variety of vegetables and herbs while living here in this house. He later sold the business to Franklin and William Comstock, and in 1845 it was incorporated as Comstock, Ferre & Co. The company would go on to become a major seed supplier for many years, and it still exists today as the Heirloom Market at Comstock Ferre, which is located next to the house.

The top photo was taken in 1940 as part of an effort to document the house for the Historic American Buildings Survey. By that point the house had undergone some restoration work in the early 20th century, including replacing the pedestals of the doorway and installing new doors, which are shown in both photos. Not much has changed in this view since then, and the house still stands as an important architectural landmark in Wethersfield.

Ebenezer Talcott House, Wethersfield, Connecticut

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The house at 366 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library.

The house in 2024:

This house was built around 1750, and it was originally the home of Ebenezer Talcott. Its design is typical for the period, including a front facade with four windows and a door on the first floor, and five windows on the second floor. On the southern side of the house is a so-called “coffin door,” and in the middle of the house is a large central chimney that would have provided heat to all of the rooms. This particular house also has a saltbox-style roof, with a long back roof that slopes down to the first floor.

By the time the top photo was taken around the late 1930s or early 1940s, the house had seen some changes to its original appearance. The front doorway, with its sidelights and entablature, was likely added at some point in the first half of the 19th century. The 6-over-6windows on the first floor may have been added around the same time, although the second floor still had 12-over-8 windows, which may have been original. Other changes included the installation of exterior shutters, which were likely also a 19th century modification.

Today, this view of the house has seen few changes in the past 80-85 years. The historically inaccurate shutters are gone, and the front door has been replaced by a colonial-style plank door with strap hinges. The “coffin door” is likewise a plank door now, although it is hidden from view by the tree in the foreground. Overall, the exterior of the house has retained much of its historical integrity, and it is one of the many colonial-era homes that line Main Street in Wethersfield. Along with the other houses in the area, it is now part of the Wethersfield Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Nathaniel Stillman Jr. House, Wethersfield, Connecticut

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The house at 468 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library.

The house in 2024:

This house was built around 1743 as the home of Nathaniel Stillman Jr. This date coincides with his marriage to Mehitabel Deming, and the upcoming marriage may have been the reason for its construction. The design of the house is typical of mid-18th century homes here in the Connecticut River Valley, with a central chimney, a symmetrical front facade with nine windows and a door, and a door on the south side of the house that is often referred to nowadays as a “coffin door.” This term comes from its supposed use in removing coffins from the south parlor, since the large ground-floor footprint of the central chimney makes it difficult to move large objects through the front door.

The top photo was taken around the late 1930s or early 1940s, as part of an effort to document historic homes across Connecticut. By this point the appearance of the house had been altered with the addition of a front porch, which was probably put on the house sometime around the late 19th century. Other changes included the installation of 6-over-6 windows, which replaced the original ones that would have likely had 12 panes on each sash. The doors had also been changed by this point, including a front doorway with windows on either side of the door. This was probably added at some point around the early or mid 19th century, and is often found on Greek Revival style homes of that period.

Today, the house looks very different compared to its appearance in the top photo, but it more closely resembles its original 18th century appearance. At some point the house underwent restoration work, which included removing the front porch, installing 12-over-12 windows, installing plank doors, and constructing a period-appropriate front doorway. The house also now has a window directly to the right of the “coffin door,” in an area where there was no window in the top photo. It is possible that this window had once existed, but by the 1930s had been removed or covered up. Overall, the house survives as an excellent example of a mid-18th century center chimney colonial, and it is one of the many homes that comprise the Wethersfield Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Ralph Waldo Emerson House, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 28 Cambridge Turnpike, near the corner of Lexington Road in Concord, around 1900-1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The house on April 19, 2025:

 

 

This house was built in 1828 by John T. Coolidge for his son, Charles Coolidge. However, it is most famous for having been the longtime home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who purchased the house from the Coolidge family in 1835. He was in his early 30s at the time, and he lived here for the rest of his life, until his death in 1882.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston in 1803, but he had Concord roots. His grandfather, William Emerson, had been the pastor of the church in Concord, and lived in the Old Manse until his death in 1776 while serving in the Continental Army. William’s eldest son, William, also became a pastor, serving at the First Church in Boston, and William Emerson Jr.’s son, Ralph Waldo Emerson, likewise continued the family legacy and entered the ministry. He was ordained as pastor of the Second Church in Boston, but he began to struggle with doubts about his faith, especially after his wife Ellen’s death in 1831. He resigned his position at the church a year later, and then spent the next year overseas in Europe.

In 1834, Emerson moved to Concord, where he lived with his grandmother’s second husband Ezra Ripley at the Old Manse. It was there that he wrote some of his early works, including his philosophical essay “Nature,” which laid out many of the tenets of Transcendentalism. Then, in 1835 he married his second wife Lidian and purchased this property as their home. The house had previously been known as “Coolidge Castle” but Emerson renamed it “Bush.”

Over the next few decades, Emerson rose in prominence as one of the leading American philosophers. He was known for his lectures and essays, the most famous of which included “The American Scholar” and “Self-Reliance.” He influenced many other figures in the Transcendentalist movement, including most notably fellow Concord resident Henry David Thoreau. Lidian was also involved in Transcendentalism, particularly on the more practical political and social side of the movement. Among other causes, she was active in reform movements such as abolitionism, women’s rights, and the humane treatment of animals.

From 1841 to 1843, Henry David Thoreau lived here with the Emersons. He was in his mid-20s, about 15 years younger than the Emersons, but he formed a close friendship with both Ralph Waldo and Lidian. This relationship, particularly between Thoreau and Lidian, has led to recent speculation about whether this was a strictly platonic friendship, or whether Thoreau—a lifelong bachelor with no known romantic partners—harbored romantic feelings for Lidian. Either way, the Emersons had a significant influence on Thoreau’s beliefs and writings. A few years after he moved out of the house, he began his famous two-year-long stay in a cabin at Walden Pond, which he built on land that was owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau stayed at the cabin until September 1847, and he then returned to the Emerson house, where he lived until 1848.

The Emersons lived here for the rest of their lives, and they had four children here, three of whom lived to adulthood. Probably the most significant change to the house during their ownership came in July 1872, when a fire started in the attic. It burned the roof, along with much of the second floor, but the rest of the house was saved and it was soon rebuilt. Ralph Waldo Emerson died in 1882 at the age of 78, and Lidian died 10 years later at the age of 90.

The top photo was taken around the turn of the 20th century, when their oldest surviving child Ellen was still living here. She died in 1909, and her siblings subsequently inherited the house. Today, the house is still owned by descendants of the Emerson family, with few changes since the top photo was taken more than a century ago. It is preserved as a museum, and it is seasonally open to the public for tours.

Pellet-Barrett House, Concord, Massachusetts

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The house at 5 Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The house in 2023:

The house in these two photos stands on the north side of Lexington Road, just to the east of Monument Square in the center of Concord. The main portion of the house was built around 1728-1729, but according to its MACRIS inventory form, the rear wing of the house is even older, possibly dating to the 1670s. Assuming that date is accurate, the earliest owner of the house appears to have been Mary Dane Pellet, who lived here with her husband Thomas Pellet. The property remained in the Pellet family until 1706, when their son Daniel Pellet sold it to Josiah Blood. By 1728 the house was owned by Edward Flint, and then by the 1730s by Benjamin Barrett.

The main portion of the house, with the gambrel roof, appears to have been built by either Flint or Barrett. Subsequent 18th century owners included Ezekiel Brown Jr., a merchant who fell into debt in the years leading up to the American Revolution. His creditors had him imprisoned in Boston, during which time he studied medicine and later served as a surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolution. However, after the war his creditors again pursued him, and he landed in jail in the late 1780s and ultimately lost his house.

The next owner was Abel Barrett, who purchased it from Brown’s creditor in 1792. The Barrett family owned it until 1818, and then sold it to Elisha Tolman, a shoemaker and church deacon who lived here until his death in 1858. According to the MACRIS inventory, Tolman likely made shoes in the wing on the west side of the house, in the distance on the left side of this scene. His son Benjamin subsequently acquired the property, and he and his wife Anne continued to own it throughout the rest of the 19th century, although it appears to have been used as a rental property for some of that time.

By the time the top photo was taken at the turn of the 20th century, the house was still owned by the Tolman family. However, the Tolmans sold it in 1908, and then a year later it was purchased by the Old Concord Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Under the leadership of Harriet Lothrop, a noted children’s book author and historic preservationist, the DAR restored the house and used it as its headquarters for many years. During this time, the DAR added a wing on the back of the house in 1929. The organization ultimately sold the house in 1951.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, there have not been very many changes to this scene. Both this house and the neighboring house to the left are still standing, as is the Colonial Inn in the distance on the far left side. The house is now apartments, with four units according to the town assessor’s property card. It stands as one of the many surviving 18th century homes that line Lexington Road, and it is a contributing property in the the Concord Monument Square–Lexington Road Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Lexington Road, Concord, Massachusetts

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The view looking east on Lexington Road in Concord, around 1895-1905. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos show the row of historic homes that line the north side of Lexington Road, just to the east of the town center of Concord. Most of these homes have been featured in more detail in previous posts, including, starting in the foreground on the left side, the c.1752-1753 John Ball House. The next house, which does not yet have its own individual post on this site, is located at 47 Lexington Road, and it is said to have been built around 1650 as the home of Thomas Dale, although it was later enlarged in the 18th century. Beyond it is the c.1817 Captain John Adams House, and farther in the distance is the c.1720 Reuben Brown Saddler’s Shop and the c.1720 Reuben Brown House.

More than a century later, all of the houses from the top photo are still standing. A few of the trees also appear to be the same, including the elm in the foreground and the large sycamore in the distant center of the scene. Because of its level of preservation, and because of the road’s association with the Battle of Concord at the start of the American Revolution, this section of Lexington Road is part of the Concord Monument Square–Lexington Road Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.