Feake–Ferris House

Feake–Ferris House in 2021 after restoration

The Feake–Ferris House (also known as the Ross Ferris House[1]) is a historic structure at 181 Shore Road in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. It was built around 1645 and was expanded over time to its present saltbox shape.[2][3]

History

Feake–Ferris House (right) and modern addition (left)
Recreated period gardens on the side of the home

In 1640, Elizabeth Fones and Lt. Robert Feake purchased Greenwich Point from local Indians.[4] The Feakes likely began construction of a fieldstone cellar, dug into a hill overlooking Greenwich Cove and possibly serving as a makeshift home for their family.[5] Around 1645, they constructed a post and beam house on top of the cellar. The Feakes later divorced, and Elizabeth sold the property to Jeffrey Ferris in 1653.

Around 1660, Ferris added a lean-to to the back of the house, giving it a saltbox shape. In 1689, Ferris' son James constructed the final major addition to the right side of house, leaving it with a two-over-two form and an extended lean-to. Ferris also installed new windows, one of which has survived intact and was discovered during the 2018 restoration.[5] It is one of the earliest surviving two-sash windows in America.[6]

The Ferris family owned the house for several centuries. Jeffrey's great-grandson James was a Revolutionary War veteran in the Battle of White Plains (1776), and he owned the house when it suffered damage from British cannon fire, as evidenced by cannonball marks left on several rafters.[7] James' daughter Hannah inherited the house in the early 1800s.[7]

By the mid-1800s, Ammi Roswell Ferris (1837-1914) owned the house and ran a tollgate at the causeway to Greenwich Point, collecting "a toll from people who were going to gather scallops and clams at Greenwich Point."[8][7] In 1951, Laura M. Boles and Bertha Boles acquired the property, and Laura Boles' executors sold the house in 1968 to Elizabeth F. Slater.[9][10]

In 1971, Slater sold it to the Lueder family who owned the house for nearly 40 years before selling it to the Waters family.[11][12]

Preservation

The dilapidated house was nearly demolished in 2014 and replaced with a newer building before its age was discovered, but its history was uncovered and the demolition process came to a halt. The Greenwich Point Conservancy determined the house's age using dendrochronology and record research, and they restored the house in 2018, working together with the Waters family, who also constructed a large addition adjacent to the original structure.[3] The house remains privately owned, but it is open to the public once a year by an agreement with the Greenwich Point Conservancy.

The house was tested by dendrochronologists at Columbia University's Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. The Greenwich Point Conservancy (GPC) has not yet released the results of the study, but claims that the west side of the house dates to around 1645, the north lean-to addition to 1660, and the east side and expansion of the lean-to to 1689.[3] According to the Conservancy, the outermost rings of one summer beam dated to 1610, but the precise date of the beam is unknown due to the lack of sapwood in the sample—but possibly 1640 or perhaps the 1680s.[13] Historian Missy Wolf researched the land's title history dating back to Feake.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ross Ferris House".
  2. ^ "Restored Feake-Ferris House to be Unveiled at Founder's Day Reception". Greenwich Sentinel. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  3. ^ a b c "The Feake-Ferris House". Greenwich Point Conservancy. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  4. ^ "Founder's Day Features Unveiling of Restored Feake-Ferris House c1645 in Old Greenwich". Greenwich Free Press. 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  5. ^ a b Franco, Christopher P. (Spring 2018). "Rediscovering the Oldest House in Greenwich". Connecticut Explored. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  6. ^ Franco, Christopher P. (Spring 2018). "Rediscovering the Oldest House in Greenwich". Connecticut Explored. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  7. ^ a b c That Red Salt Box House on Shore Road By Carl White - Local History Librarian August 5, 2016 https://www.greenwichlibrary.org/red-salt-box-house-shore-road/
  8. ^ "375th Anniversary Greenwich Connecticut 1640-2015 Neighborhood Tours, Old Greenwich Tour, May 16th" https://slideplayer.com/slide/17396241/
  9. ^ Greenwich Registry of Deeds, Book 478, Page 576
  10. ^ Greenwich Registry of Deeds, Book 776, Page 490-491
  11. ^ Greenwich, CT Registry of Deeds, Book 2247 Page 109
  12. ^ Obituary of Lloyd Lueders 1938-2020 Published in New Canaan Advertiser & Greenwich Time on Jul. 16, 2020. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/greenwichtime/obituary.aspx?n=lloyd-lueders&pid=196501110&fhid=9027
  13. ^ "Spared from the Wrecking Ball, Elizabeth Feake House was 'A Hidden Treasure under Our Noses,'" Greenwich Free Press, June 2, 2016https://greenwichfreepress.com/around-town/spared-from-the-wrecking-ball-elizabeth-feake-house-was-a-hidden-treasure-under-our-noses-65886/
  14. ^ "Spared from the Wrecking Ball, Elizabeth Feake House was "A Hidden Treasure under Our Noses"". Greenwich Free Press. 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2019-10-31.

41°01′03″N 73°33′57″W / 41.01757°N 73.56575°W / 41.01757; -73.56575

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