The Nathan Lester House Museum and Tool Museum | |
Location | 153 Vinegar Hill Rd., Ledyard, Connecticut |
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Coordinates | 41°25′24″N72°3′8″W / 41.42333°N 72.05222°W |
Area | 156 acres (63 ha) |
Built | 1793 |
NRHP reference No. | 72001328 [1] |
Added to NRHP | June 30, 1972 |
The Nathan Lester House is a historic house museum at 153 Vinegar Hill Road in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard, Connecticut. Built in 1793, it is a well-preserved example of an unpretentious late 18th-century farmhouse, and one of the few houses of that age left in the town. It is located on over 156 acres (63 ha) of land, now owned by the town, which serves as a park and conservation land with trails.
The Nathan Lester House is located in a rural setting east of the village of Gales Ferry, on the east side of Vinegar Hill Road at its junction with Long Cove Road. The 156-acre property is mostly wooded, with a long drive providing access to the farmstead. The main house is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof, clapboard siding, and a large central chimney. The interior follows a typical central chimney plan, with a narrow entry vestibule that has a winding staircase, and parlors to either side of the chimney. The kitchen extends across much of the rear, with a large fireplace and bake oven. Small chambers at the rear corners may have served as pantry space or bedrooms originally; one now connects to ells extending to the rear of the main block. [2]
The house was built in 1793 by Nathan Lester, on land that had been purchased by his grandfather Peter. [2] It is one of small number of 18th century houses in the town. [3] The property historically included a large oak tree of great antiquity, whose trunk had a diameter in excess of 5 feet (1.5 m); it died in 1970. The property remained in the Lester family until 1908; the area surrounding the farmhouse was given to the town by the Graves family owner in 1970. [2]
The House, outbuildings and barn museum are owned by the Ledyard Historic District Commission. The Ledyard Historical Society owns the Farm tools in the barns and Furniture in the house. The park and field is open to the public sun rise to sun set. The house and barn is open Memorial day through Halloween Saturday and Sunday 1pm to 4:30pm.
Ledyard is a Town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located along the Thames River. The town is named after Colonel William Ledyard, a Revolutionary War officer who was killed at the Battle of Groton Heights. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 15,413 at the 2020 census. The Foxwoods Resort Casino, owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, is located in the northeastern section of Ledyard, on the reservation owned by the tribe.
Gales Ferry is a village in the town of Ledyard, Connecticut, United States. It is located along the eastern bank of the Thames River. The village developed as a result of having a ferry to Uncasville located at this site, and from which the village was named. Gales Ferry was listed as a census-designated place for the 2010 Census, with a population of 1,162.
The Willard-Fisk House is a historic farm property at 126 Whitney Street in Holden, Massachusetts. The farmhouse, built about 1772, is one of the oldest houses in Holden, and one of its oldest brick houses. The property also includes a 19th-century barn and several 20th-century farm outbuildings. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, where it is listed at 121 Whitney Street.
The Perkins-Bill House is a historic house at 1040 Long Cove Road in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard, Connecticut. Built circa 1775 by Solomon Perkins, Sr., it is locally significant as a well-preserved gambrel-roofed Cape of the period, and for the role played by Perkins, his son Solomon, Jr., and Benjamin Bill, Jr., the house's next owner, in the American Revolutionary War. All three were defenders of the fort in Groton that was attacked by British forces under the overall command of Benedict Arnold in the 1781 Battle of Groton Heights. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
The Capt. Mark Stoddard Farmstead is a historic house at 24 Vinegar Hill Road in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard, Connecticut. Built about 1770, it is a well-preserved example of a rural Cape style farmhouse, whose preservation includes its remote rural setting. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Applewood Farm is a farmstead in Ledyard, Connecticut, United States. Constructed in 1826 by Russel Gallup, the farmhouse was built with a colonial center chimney design with Federal style details that has been modernized to the early 20th century without significantly changing the floor plan. Named after the apple orchards planted by Russel Gallup, Applewood Farm developed significantly under the ownership of Everett Gallup, the last member of the family to own the property. The property was later owned by Arlene Meyer Cohen and a 40-acre parcel was sold off in November 1984. After the Betz family became the owners it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and operated as a bed and breakfast through the 1990s. In 1987, the property included five contributory structures, the farmhouse, corn crib, barn, silo and chicken coop. The property also has one non-contributing structure, a machinery shed from the 1960s.
The Avery Homestead is a two-story Colonial-style home in Ledyard, Connecticut that was built circa 1696. Evidence suggests that the house may have begun as a single-story, one-room house and later expanded to a two-story, two-room house by 1726. The house underwent major additions and renovations by Theophilus Avery and later his grandson, Theophilus Avery. In the mid-1950s, Amos Avery began a decade-long restoration effort to return the house to its 18th-century appearance. The Avery Homestead is historically significant as a well-preserved example of an 18th-century farmhouse with fine craftsmanship. The home is also historically important because more than twelve generations of the Avery family have resided there over the course of three centuries. The Avery Homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The John Glover House is a historic house at 53 Echo Valley Road in Newtown, Connecticut, USA. Built about 1708 by an early town settler, it is a remarkably well-preserved example of 18th-century residential architecture, owned for generations by a locally prominent farming family. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Nathan B. Lattin Farm is a historic farm at 22 Walker Hill Road in Newtown, Connecticut. Founded by early colonial settlers to the area in the 18th century, it remains an example of a rural farm property in an increasingly suburbanized area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Timothy Lester Farmstead, also known as the Garrison House, is a historic farmstead at Crary and Browning Roads in Griswold, Connecticut. Set on 43 acres (17 ha) of land, the farmstead retains the look and feel of an 18th-century farm property, with a c. 1741 farmhouse, and farm outbuildings dating from the 18th to 20th centuries. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1998.
The Shubel Smith House, also known as Stonecroft, is a historic house at 515 Pumpkin Hill Road in Ledyard, Connecticut. It was built in 1807 as the estate of Shubel Smith, a sea captain, and is one of Ledyard's finest surviving farmhouses from that period. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The listing included three contributing buildings on a 6.5-acre (2.6 ha) area, including the Georgian Colonial house and the "Yellow Barn" as well as a smaller outbuilding. Both of the large buildings have modernized interiors, serving as a bed and breakfast called Stonecroft Country Inn.
The Kennedy Hill Farm is a historic farmstead on Kennedy Hill Road in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The property exhibits 150 years of agricultural history, with a well-crafted c. 1800 farmhouse built using regionally distinctive joinery skills. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Crows Nest is a historic farmstead property at 35 Sturgis Drive in Wilmington, Vermont. The 75-acre (30 ha) property includes rolling woods and a hay meadow, and a small cluster of farm outbuildings near the main house, a c. 1803 Cape style building. The property typifies early Vermont farmsteads, and is now protected by a preservation easement. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Hager Farm is a historic farmstead on United States Route 7 in southern Wallingford, Vermont. Its farmhouse, built about 1800, is one of the oldest in the community, and is regionally unusual because of its gambrel roof. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Hosford–Sherman Farm is a historic farm property on Vermont Route 30 in northern Poultney, Vermont. Established in the late 18th century, the farm includes the original farmhouse, now an ell to a 19th-century brick house, and a late 19th-century barn, along with more than 120 acres (49 ha) of farmland. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The David Chapman Farmstead is a historic house at 128 Stoddards Wharf Road in Ledyard, Connecticut. Built about 1744, it is a well-preserved example of a vernacular rural farmhouse of the period, built by a descendant of one of Ledyard's early settlers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Capt. Thomas Fanning Farmstead is a historic farm property at 1004 Shewville Road in Ledyard, Connecticut. With a building history dating to about 1746, it is one of the oldest surviving agricultural properties in the town, including the house, barn, and smaller outbuildings. The property, now reduced to 4 acres (1.6 ha), was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Lamb Homestead is a historic farm property at 47 Lambtown Road in Ledyard, Connecticut. Developed since the early 18th century, it is one of the town's oldest farms, with a long association with the Lamb family, early settlers and important in the development of the Lambtown area of the community. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The Brigham Hill Historic District encompasses a rural 19th-century landscape in central Norwich, Vermont. It includes three late 18th or early 19th century farmsteads, all associated with the Brigham family, whose progenitor, Paul Brigham, was prominent in Vermont politics. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
The Historic Gales Ferry Cemetery is located at 12-24 Hurlbutt Road, Gales Ferry, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by Military Highway, Hurlbutt Road, Winthrop Road and the Gales Ferry Library Park. It is administered by The Gales Ferry Cemetery Association (GFCA); contact address PO Box 144, Gales Ferry, CT 06335. The cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as a contributing property to the Gales Ferry Historic District #2.
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