Had Stood There for Two Centuries, When the Road was but a Cow Path and the Indians Passed the Door.
One of the old landmarks of Greenwich, that kept us in mind of the Revolutionary War, and the days when our town was the home of Cos Cob and Amogerone, are going, and soon they will have all disappeared. They are being pushed aside by what follows in the wake of wireless telegraph, electric cars, automobiles, and the rush of these closing days of eighteen hundred, which seem to sweep everything before them that interferes with money getting and money making.
It's the penalty of being near a metropolis, and the result of the development of Greenwich, that these old mills, old houses and old bridges, closing linked with the Revolutionary War are being obliterated.
Now and then you will hear some antiquarian breathe a sigh of relief at what seems to show wanting destruction of these things so bold, so picturesque, so historic, but as a rule the throng that passes by cares not for such relics and would rather see them go, and even the old names of our streets annoy many of them.
But there are some who drop, in thought, a tear as they realize what Greenwich is losing.
The old house in Lafayette Place has disappeared, its days of usefulness were over, and it was in the way, and so it had to go. Thus another of the old landmarks of Greenwich is destroyed by the development and growth of our town.
In the days of the Revolutionary War, Lafayette Place was but a cow path, as it were, but it was the road to White Plains and the Hudson. This old house stood there long before the war, and was no doubt one of the best in its day. Its timbers show that, and the foundation indicates that much care was taken in its construction.
All that is left now of the old building is the big chimney, which stands there, conspicuous on account of its size and peculiar shape. It looks as though as if in those early days that the chimney was first erected and the house built around it.
The old dwelling stood on the grounds of Mrs. F. A. Warburton and was torn down to make room for a residence to be erected for Mrs. Warburton's daughter.
Mrs. Warburton hesitated a long time before she decided to have it removed. At first it was her intention to keep it intact as far as possible and add to it, and fill it up with moderate improvements, but this was found to be impracticable. Another idea was to move it and preserve it, but the big chimney and its peculiar construction would not allow this to be done. So this week Mr. Oliver Knapp took it in hand and soon it was a thing of the past, and before another season goes by a handsome residence will occupy the site.
It was a very old landmark, some people say that it was the oldest house in Greenwich, perhaps it was, if not it was among the first built in our town.
Its timbers were very large and joined in places with wooden spikes, and some of these are well preserved. The wall lathes were all hand-made, their unevenness showing that they were hand-made with a hatchet. They are of oak with big, hand wrought iron nails clinging to them as firmly and tenaciously as though loathed to be separated, so long have they been together. The long cypress shingles are worn to paper thinness on the edges where they were exposed to the air, and there are grooves in them made by the rains of a century or more.
In the GRAPHIC of May 13, we gave a picture and a description of the old house which we reprint.
Everybody about the village will recognize this picture. It's the old house on Lafayette Place and it sits perched upon a bank as though it was not "part or parcel" of the houses surrounding it, and neither is it.
It has so much contrast with its neighbors, that it is the most conspicuous building on this short street.
"When was it built?" That is hard to say. Some who pretend to know will tell you that it was put up in 1650. Its appearance indicates that it is at least 200 years old. Look at the old shingles, the hand-wrought nails sticking out here and there, and the big stone chimney, and the general dilapidated appearance of it – although that is not always a sign of age, but in this case it is easy to see that it is very old.
This property was owned way back in 1725 by John Hobby, who sold it to Nathaniel Mead..
It was known at one time as the Dunton Homestead, we lived Royal Dunton and his family..
Its size and shape is different from the houses that were built during the Revolutionary War, it's a very old settler and it was famous years ago..
Mrs. Mary Thompson, whose maiden name was Banks, with whom we talked about the old house, so that her grandmother and her mother and herself were all born there, and the house was very old in those days. But she thinks it is about 250 years old. But it can't be quite an ancient is that, for Greenwich was settled in 1645, but that was probably one of the first houses erected.
Mr. Joseph E. Russell considers it one of the oldest houses in town. When he was a boy it looked as aged as it does now..
When Nathaniel Mead occupied it, which was during the Revolutionary War, Cowboys and the British made raids upon his herd of cattle, and he always kept his musket handy day and night. In the field and by his bedside, it was his constant companion. We can well imagine what a beautiful farm it must have been in those days, the lay of the land must have been ideal.
They tell funny stories of one Thomas Mead, who was known as the fat fiddler, who lived there. He weighed, it is said, 400 pounds. He disliked to walk any distance, and when they wanted him to play, they went back a cart with oxen up to the door and he would get in and off they will go, carrying him to the place where his fiddle and bow were wanted.
He was exceedingly popular with the young people, and his presence was always necessary for a merry evening. It is said, too, that notwithstanding his great weight, and his disinclination to walk he was a graceful dancer and it was light upon his feet when whirling a Colored girl over the floor. Mr. Mead lived in this house many years, and when he died the door sash had to be removed to allow the coffin to pass out.
Some years ago the house was purchased by Augustus Lyon. At one time Arza Banks resided there and worked in a little shop near the house as shoemaker but this small building has disappeared.
It is said that an English officer who had been wounded was taken to the house and died in the south room.
But if you want to judge the house and its age, go in side and see that long, wide room on the first floor, which is almost the same as when around the big fireplace the family and neighbors gathered 150 or more years ago. The ceiling is so low that a man of six feet must stoop to walk about. The quaint doors hang on the same hinges, and the little iron latches appear to have been made at the time the house was erected. There is, perhaps, no house in Greenwich that would impress you with its age, than this one, after you have taken a look at the inside of it.
It is going to pieces rapidly, and can't last but a few years more as it now stands.
It is owned by Mrs. Francis Warburton.
