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Stamford Connecticut Historic Homes: Hoyt-Barnum House

By Steven Penny

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 13Mar2012 Word count: 473 Viewed: 50 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

The historic Hoyt-Barnum House in Stamford, Connecticut was built around 1699 and is the last surviving 17th century farmhouse in the area.

The builder, Samuel Hoyt was a descendant of the original founders of Stamford. Like most of the houses in early New England it is wooden frame post and beam construction that was an adaptation of English architecture that was evolving into what was becoming a unique American style.

Using the construction methods of the day after the foundation was first laid down using field stone the chimney was then built up to the level of the first floor. The large chimney stones were held together with clay, straw and animal hair as binder because lime was not available for mortar in early Stamford. The walls were then framed and raised around the fireplace and joined together at the corners with wooden pins.

The Hoyt-Barnum House has recently been refurbished with beautiful 17th and 18th century furniture. The entry way features a painted tulip pattern in yellow and gold. The hanging lantern is an 18th century lighting fixture with a distinctive onion-shaped glass globe originally holding a candle.

In the Parlor, the Queen Anne Maple Armchair has a serpentine crest. The Keeping Room has a muster colored cupboard formerly belonging to General David Waterbury. The William and Mary Gate-leg Table circa 1720-1760 is made of maple and has distinctive D-shaped leaves and double ring and vase turned legs.

The builder of the house was a blacksmith and the fireplace has many of the cooking utensils and tools that were needed to prepare family meals. These include wrought iron gooseneck andirons, a high-legged trivet to hold a pot pan on the hearth and keep it warm.

There's a tin candle mold that held the wick in small holes in the bottom and melted wax or tallow was then poured into the mold from above. A betty lamp was an early useful source of light that was a shallow cup that held oil with a cotton wick. On the hearth is an 18th century hourglass made from blown glass in a wooden frame.

The bedroom has a folding rope bed, that has wooden wrenches used to tighten the ropes at night that was the origin of the expression to "sleep tight." Also in the bedroom are several period pieces including several adult and children's rocking chairs, a baby crib, chests and candlesticks. The buttery is the small room that holds many of the food preparation utensils including butter churns, bowls and molds used for making butter.

The Hoyt-Barnum House is located at 713 Bedford St. Stamford, Connecticut is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is maintained by the Stamford Historical Society. Visits are by appointment only at 203-329-1183 or at: administrator@stamfordhistory.org

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