Two homes on Sherwood Road are set to take their place in the history books.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Patricia White, co-owner of the Augustus Howland House on Sherwood Road in Ledyard, stands on the home's Federalist turning staircase. White and her sisters, who share ownership of the home, are the great-great-granddaughters of Howland.
Patricia White, co-owner of the Augustus Howland House on Sherwood Road in Ledyard, stands on the home's Federalist turning staircase. White and her sisters, who share ownership of the home, are the great-great-granddaughters of Howland.
Both 1395 and 1882 Sherwood Road have recently been recommended for addition to the state and national registers of historic places. The Augustus Howland House in Ledyard and the Job and Deborah Otis House in Scipio may soon follow the nearby Sherwood Equal Rights Historic District onto the registers.
The district was added in February for its strong associations with the abolitionist and suffrage movements, as well as ties to the Quaker faith.
“This community was almost like an intentional community organized around ideals of equality and respect for all people,” said historian Judith Wellman, who researched the district for the New York State Board of Historic Preservation, which made the recommendations. “They supported reform movements with their whole lives.”
While looking into the area's history, Wellman also traced the heritage of the Howland and Otis houses, which lie on the outskirts of the district to the west and east, respectively. But the board could not draw the houses into the district.
“We initially hoped we could draw a boundary around a larger area of the hamlet, but we couldn't stretch that far,” said Nancy Todd with the Board of Historic Preservation. “There was a number of modern intrusions or extensive alterations.”
However, Wellman's research spurred the homeowners' enthusiasm to also submit their properties for consideration in the register.
The district project was started when the Howland Stone Store Museum in the hamlet of Sherwood received a grant from the Preservation League of New York State to research the significance of the equal rights movement in the area. Museum board president Patricia White also co-owns the Augustus Howland House with her sisters, Faith Rick and Susan Crumrine.
White, maiden name Howland, grew up in the early 19th century farmhouse, also known as Locust Grove.
“It was a fun house because there's lots of space for you to go be by yourself if you wanted,” she said. “There was always a place to play.”
Augustus, White's great, great grandfather, came to central New York from New Bedford, Mass., where his family was active in the abolitionist movement. His father, George, was the first employer of a newly freed Frederick Douglass at Howland's whaling operation.
Through Wellman's research and several diaries White owns, they discovered that Augustus Howland purchased the property in 1832. The home, believed to have been built in the late 1810s or early 1820s, was previously owned by Thomas Lapham. Records suggest the house was halved for related families, as a Eunice Lampham - possibly Thomas' stepmother or sister - was listed as another head of household at the property. This theory is supported by the different patterns in the wooden door frames on the east and west sides of the house.
The cerulean and white house's Italianate look - most manifest in its symmetry and abundance of wooden corbels upholding the roof - was believed to have been accentuated when Howland hired an architect sometime in the 1850s to add an attic and expanded entryway to the house. A 60-foot beam backbone has supported the main body of the home since its construction.
Inside, a Federalist turning staircase looms over entrants and a black Italian marble fireplace beckons from the western living room. The Howland property also harbors a converted icehouse, a well, two barns and a washhouse with a low roof, where White and her sisters often played.
“I've always been interested in sharing history, it's something very special,” White said. “To walk where all these other generations have walked.”
Eastward along Sherwood Road is the Job and Deborah Otis House, whose current owner, Susan Weisend, bought the property in 1994. The cocoa-colored, Federal-style house was built as a two-story gable-and-wing in 1815 for Dr. Pearley Kinney.
Job Otis, a druggist also from New Bedford, took ownership of the deed in 1833. His wife, Deborah, was a Quaker minister who practiced in Scipio once the couple moved there.
Together, Job and Deborah even led their own sect of Quakers, known as Otisites, though the circumstances of their origin are not clear. After Job's death, the house was passed down through their son, Samuel D., followed by Samuel G. and Stephen Otis.
The Otis house's blown glass windows, hardwood floors and plaster walls have been respectfully left alone by Weisend since purchasing it.
“I fell in love with it; it's such a unique house,” Susan said. “I appreciate that there aren't many of these in the country.”
Both Weisend and Howland now stand to benefit from their homes' potential placement on the state and national registers. That status not only helps guard their properties against encroachment by future construction projects, it also qualifies them for public preservation grants and services. Ultimately, it will protect their passage into the distant future.
“I felt a kind of excitement,” White said, “to record that it existed; it's a way to preserve the memory of the place.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
The district was added in February for its strong associations with the abolitionist and suffrage movements, as well as ties to the Quaker faith.
“This community was almost like an intentional community organized around ideals of equality and respect for all people,” said historian Judith Wellman, who researched the district for the New York State Board of Historic Preservation, which made the recommendations. “They supported reform movements with their whole lives.”
While looking into the area's history, Wellman also traced the heritage of the Howland and Otis houses, which lie on the outskirts of the district to the west and east, respectively. But the board could not draw the houses into the district.
“We initially hoped we could draw a boundary around a larger area of the hamlet, but we couldn't stretch that far,” said Nancy Todd with the Board of Historic Preservation. “There was a number of modern intrusions or extensive alterations.”
However, Wellman's research spurred the homeowners' enthusiasm to also submit their properties for consideration in the register.
The district project was started when the Howland Stone Store Museum in the hamlet of Sherwood received a grant from the Preservation League of New York State to research the significance of the equal rights movement in the area. Museum board president Patricia White also co-owns the Augustus Howland House with her sisters, Faith Rick and Susan Crumrine.
White, maiden name Howland, grew up in the early 19th century farmhouse, also known as Locust Grove.
“It was a fun house because there's lots of space for you to go be by yourself if you wanted,” she said. “There was always a place to play.”
Augustus, White's great, great grandfather, came to central New York from New Bedford, Mass., where his family was active in the abolitionist movement. His father, George, was the first employer of a newly freed Frederick Douglass at Howland's whaling operation.
Through Wellman's research and several diaries White owns, they discovered that Augustus Howland purchased the property in 1832. The home, believed to have been built in the late 1810s or early 1820s, was previously owned by Thomas Lapham. Records suggest the house was halved for related families, as a Eunice Lampham - possibly Thomas' stepmother or sister - was listed as another head of household at the property. This theory is supported by the different patterns in the wooden door frames on the east and west sides of the house.
The cerulean and white house's Italianate look - most manifest in its symmetry and abundance of wooden corbels upholding the roof - was believed to have been accentuated when Howland hired an architect sometime in the 1850s to add an attic and expanded entryway to the house. A 60-foot beam backbone has supported the main body of the home since its construction.
Inside, a Federalist turning staircase looms over entrants and a black Italian marble fireplace beckons from the western living room. The Howland property also harbors a converted icehouse, a well, two barns and a washhouse with a low roof, where White and her sisters often played.
“I've always been interested in sharing history, it's something very special,” White said. “To walk where all these other generations have walked.”
Eastward along Sherwood Road is the Job and Deborah Otis House, whose current owner, Susan Weisend, bought the property in 1994. The cocoa-colored, Federal-style house was built as a two-story gable-and-wing in 1815 for Dr. Pearley Kinney.
Job Otis, a druggist also from New Bedford, took ownership of the deed in 1833. His wife, Deborah, was a Quaker minister who practiced in Scipio once the couple moved there.
Together, Job and Deborah even led their own sect of Quakers, known as Otisites, though the circumstances of their origin are not clear. After Job's death, the house was passed down through their son, Samuel D., followed by Samuel G. and Stephen Otis.
The Otis house's blown glass windows, hardwood floors and plaster walls have been respectfully left alone by Weisend since purchasing it.
“I fell in love with it; it's such a unique house,” Susan said. “I appreciate that there aren't many of these in the country.”
Both Weisend and Howland now stand to benefit from their homes' potential placement on the state and national registers. That status not only helps guard their properties against encroachment by future construction projects, it also qualifies them for public preservation grants and services. Ultimately, it will protect their passage into the distant future.
“I felt a kind of excitement,” White said, “to record that it existed; it's a way to preserve the memory of the place.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.