Description and history
The Captain John Clark House is located in a rural setting of southern Canterbury, on the east side of Connecticut 169 south of its junction with Phinney Lane. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a clapboarded exterior. It is distinguished by a hip roof with a balustraded center, and entrances on two facades (in this case the south and street-facing west facades) both of which are framed by elegant woodwork. The building corners are pilastered, its cornice and rake line are modillioned, and its western entry is sheltered by a portico supported by Doric columns, and capped by a gable at the roof line. One historian, RIchard Dana, dates construction of this house to 1790, while others ascribe it to the early years of the 19th century. What is known is that in 1801, Captain John Clark, a ship's captain, purchased a house standing here from someone named Dyer. Either Clark or Dyer was responsible for bringing the house, an older 18th century construction, to its present appearance; the balance of historical opinion seeming to favor Clark, who is also generally credited with construction of the nearby Prudence Crandall House. The hip roof, Palladian window, and gable over the entry are all characteristics of the "Canterbury style" of Federal architecture, of which this house is a particularly good example.See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Windham County, ConnecticutReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Clark House Houses completed in 1790 Canterbury, Connecticut Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Georgian architecture in Connecticut Houses in Windham County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Connecticut