The Levi B Frost House, also known as the Asa Barns’ Tavern, is an historic building in the
Marion Marion may refer to:
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village of
Southington
Southington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion, Milldale, and Plantsville.
Geography
Southington is situ ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. The home represents over two centuries of Southington history. Appearing twice on the National Register of Historic Places, as an individual structure and as a part of the
Marion Historic District, the house is significant both architecturally and historically for its connection to United States and New England history.
Asa Barns established a
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
in this building at around 1765, when Marion Avenue was part of a north–south road connecting
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
.
[ Known also as the Barnes Tavern (the "e" in Barnes first appearing in land records in 1825), for many years the Inn hosted numerous travelers, among them a French General and his officers.] During the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, on June 26, 1781, troops under French general Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...
established their eighth campsite of their route nearby on French Hill, and Landlord Barns entertained Rocchambeau and his officers in his tavern for the four nights of the encampment
Camp may refer to:
Outdoor accommodation and recreation
* Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site
* a temporary settlement for nomads
* Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
.[H.R. Timlow, ''Ecclesiastical and Other Sketches of Southington, Conn.'', (1875)] Barns gave a ball at the tavern in their honor, at which a large number of the young women of the vicinity were present and esteemed it an honor to have a cotillon with the polite foreigners. Rochambeau and his officers visited Barns' Tavern again on the return march on October 27, 1782.[David F. Ransom (1987), , Connecticut Historical Commission]
Asa Barns lived in the house until his death in 1819, after which his son leased the building to Micah Rugg and Levi B. Frost, two pioneers in the manufacture of carriage bolts that started in Marion in the 1840s. The Frost-Rugg partnership did not last long, however, and the men parted ways. Frost, a blacksmith who specialized in shoeing oxen and making hand-forged bolts and other products, bought the house from Barns outright in 1820. The house served as his blacksmith shop, his home and country store. His shop became famous for shoeing of oxen. By using a particular contrivance invented by Frost that controlled the oxen during the shoeing process, his shop attracted customers from many miles away. He began a bolt manufacturing business from this house, and in 1842 moved his operation across the street to a factory building. Frost then manufactured bolts in the shop across the street from his house and, doing business as L. B. Frost & Son, originated the first lathe for turning bolt heads. In 1844, the company began making nuts and managed to stay in business into the early 20th century.
Frost became a leader in the young American bolt industry. In addition to being an enterprising businessman, Frost was a local leader in the community, having served his community in several local offices and in the State House for many years. Frost died in the house on December 28, 1865, but the home stayed in his family into the 1920s.
The front part of the building burned[Federal Writers Project, Works Progress Administration No. 2, Census of Old Buildings in Connecticut] and the was rebuilt in 1836 by Frost, then a wealthy businessman, in the newer Greek Revival style that was popular in the middle of the 19th century, incorporating a full pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
ed gable, three-bay facade, recessed front doorway that is flanked by plain pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s that support an entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
with projecting cyma cornice characteristic of Greek Revival buildings. What is uncharacteristic of the Greek Revival style is the building's length of 50 feet, which may be the result of the original 18th-century structure. Investigators believe that the large rear room with its well-worn chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
planks, large cooking fireplace with bee hive oven and stone hearth
A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a lo ...
, gouged dado and separate exterior door, appears older than the rest of the house and is likely to be the pre-1836 taproom of the former tavern. The supporting beams under the rear portion of the house are tree trunks with bark intact, indicating that this part of the building is older. The front of the building generally appears to be newer, as it bears the most characteristic details of the Greek Revival style, including wide pine floors, a front stairway rising to the left, a large front room on the right and detailing of stairway treads, risers, railing and handrail that appear to be original of the mid-century design.
The house has remained a private residence, and in 1987, came under the protection of the National Park Service when listed to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
for its architectural and historical significance. It is also part of the Marion Historic District.
See also
* Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
The Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route is a series of roads used in 1781 by the Continental Army under the command of George Washington and the Expédition Particulière under the command of Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau during their 14- ...
* List of historic sites preserved along Rochambeau's route
A series of sites along the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route have been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places or otherwise recognized and preserved. Buildings or roadway or other artifacts at these sites have been ...
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Levi B., House
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Houses in Southington, Connecticut
Historic places on the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut
Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut