Seven Hearths, Kent
Printed in CT Preservation News - March/April 2011
There's Always Something New to Learn
When dealing with historic buildings, it’s always a good idea to pause and look at them—there’s always more to be discovered. The Kent Historical Society (KHS) knew a great deal about the history of Seven Hearths, its museum house, but a new Historic Structure Report has brought to light new information about the house and its occupants. |
Seven Hearths, the museum house of the Kent Historical Society.
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Beebe was involved in a number of commercial enterprises; according to KHS director Marge Smith, the house was “not only [Beebe’s] home, but also a general store, butcher shop and a fur trading post…. The equivalent of today’s Town Hall, Community House, IGA, True Value and perhaps even the post office.”
In the 19th century the building may have served as an academy before being divided to house two tenant farmer families. In 1919 a prominent artist, George Laurence Nelson (1887-1978), bought the house and restored it. Nelson left the house to the Kent Historical Society after his death, and it has been a museum ever since.
Over the years, the KHS completed several small restoration and repair projects, but felt the need for a more coordinated approach. In order to do this, the society commissioned an Historic Structure report, funded in part by an Historic Preservation Technical Assistance Grant from the Connecticut Trust. The goals of the report, being prepared by Hudson Valley Preservation, of Sherman, are to fill in details about the years between Beebe and Nelson and to determine repair and restoration needs.
The most dramatic find is evidence confirming that the house had been a fur-trading post. Opening up a later ceiling in a second-floor room, investigators found nails driven into beams, with chalked labels. One says “mink,” while others, less legible, appear to be other kinds of pelts or names of trappers. While the importance of the fur trade in Canada and the Midwest is well known, in New England it is less familiar. Only one other fur-trading post is thought to survive in the region.
Researching the tenant farmer period, the society located several descendants of occupants and is taping interviews with them. One family stayed on during the early years of Nelson’s ownership, which suggests that the house remained in its two-apartment form for some time.
In addition, excavations overseen by archaeologist Greg Walwer discovered that a sunken garden on the property marks the foundations of a former barn—perhaps a slaughterhouse related to Beebe’s butcher shop. State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni began another dig, of the 18th-century outhouse pit, which he will complete in the spring.
The biggest remaining question is whether the house was indeed the site of the Flanders Academy, whose best known student, Birdsey Grant Northrop (1817-1898), went on to become a prominent educator and brought the observance of Arbor Day to Connecticut. The search for documentary evidence continues.
Although the HSR is not quite complete, the most important facets of the house’s history seem to remain the two on which interpretation already focuses: the Colonial period—to which the fur trade can now be added—and George Laurence Nelson, who was internationally known during his lifetime but has largely been forgotten. For some time, the society has been promoting his work. The new information will enrich the telling of these stories.
“There are so many colonial house museums out there, and we’re rather out of the way, so these two things will help us to set ourselves apart from the others,” says Marge Smith.
In addition to the historical information, the report will include a conditions analysis. According to a draft, the most urgent need is for a new roof. The existing roof has moss growing on it, a sign of excess moisture and impending decay. On the other hand, three connected outbuildings need new foundations and repairs to rotted framing, and the 18th–century privy requires extensive restoration of rotted sills, posts, and floor. Finally, the draft concludes that the only way effectively to reduce energy use is to remove the clapboards and add insulation; the recommendation is to wait until the clapboards need replacing.
Once the HSR is completed, in March, the next stage will be to outline ways of implementing its recommendations—and, of course, raising money to do so. But the report is generating enthusiasm that may help with that. As Marge Smith says, “We’re very excited. We know now where we want to go; we just have to figure out how we’re going to get there.”
For more on Seven Hearths, visit www.kenthistoricalsociety.org
And, remember, the greenest building is the one that’s already built. Next time, you’re in the market for more efficient living, call Hudson Valley Preservation -we’ll help you grow space you never thought you had!
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