I SEEMA BE BUSY

Sorry for not posting in a while, and it might be a bit before I get to the next one. All those trips to southeastern Connecticut have paid off; I will be moving into my new house in three weeks. "New" is perhaps the wrong term here.

The Standish House, located in Preston, Connecticut (about four miles east of Norwich), was built as a two-room home with a dual central fireplace in 1690 by one of the sons of that famous Massachussett's Bay Colonist Myles Standish. Apparently his sons spread out across southern New England to seek their fortunes elsewhere, building small houses known locally as 'Standish Homesteads' throughout eastern Connecticut and across Rhode Island. This is the only one known to still be standing in Connecticut. It appears to have had an expansion around 1720 to achieve its present Cape Cod style shape (squarish footprint with a gable roof), and the small wing additions on the north and south were added at different times in the 20th century. The second story (such as it is) is floored with chestnut, which also underlays the heart pine on the first floor. Most doors are original to the 1720 expansion, and they measure all of 7/8" thick. The original hardware can be seen throughout the house.

Much will need to be done on the property, but I expect to enjoy every bit of the restoration. The timber-framed barn will be first; a new roof, putting in some sort of footers to support the verical timbers, and stripping the asphalt from the outside are good for starters. It also looks to be made of chestnut and heart pine. Probably why it's lived almost three hundred years. Nix that being first; first I will remove the goofy shutters, stupid shrubbery, and will build a picket fence.

I'll have to update my bio, I guess, as I'll be working for Early New England Restorations of Stonington/Pawcatuck. This last stint in Arkansas, which lasted eight years, has been enough. I'm ready for some cold weather.

So, I hear you ask, why did the Standish boys run off just when things were getting hot and heavy in Massachusetts? Were they witches (it WAS 1690, you know; and the height of the Salem Witch Trials was two years away)? I doubt it. New England is rife with stories of people running off to find more likeable accommodations elsewhere.

When I first moved to Connecticut in 1982, I delved deeply into its fascinating history with both hands and brain. I discovered that many towns of a common name are located close to one another, with that name changed slightly in neighboring towns. For instance, Cornwall is a stone's throw from North Cornwall, which is adjacent to Cornwall Hollow and West Cornwall, and all are north of Cornwall Bridge. Why so many Cornwalls? Simple. One town became too cloistered for the population, which splintered and splintered and splintered again because of arguments, economic conditions and other opportunities. But they stayed within shouting distance.

The settlement of New England went the same way. When the Puritans decided the Church of England was just to liberal for them, they skedaddled across the pond to America and settled around Boston and Salem. When those towns became too stuck-up for the more forward thinking people, those liberal thinkers jumped boats and sailed south until they found Narragansett Bay, and so founded the Providence Colony. When Providence seemed too conservative, some other folks sailed down the coast to find a better place, but even that short trip split the group into two. One settled at the mouth of the Quinnipiac River and founded the New Haven Colony and the other sailed up this big river they found coming from the north. These were the most liberal thinkers of all, and the colony they Founded, the Connecticut Colony, was and still is one of the most progressive cities in America today. Though some say the first town was Wethersfield and some say it's Windsor, the city known as Hartford is a s blue as they come.