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The Ethan Allen House and Gun Shop is an historic property at 37 Waterville Street in Grafton, Massachusetts. The property includes the home and business of armsmaker
Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...
. The gun shop was constructed in 1833, while the house was built in 1834–36. Allen, the inventor of the
pepper-box The pepper-box revolver or simply pepperbox (also "pepper-pot", from its resemblance to the household pepper shakers) is a multiple-barrel firearm, mostly in the form of a handgun, that has three or more gun barrels in a coaxially revolving m ...
revolver, began manufacturing guns in Grafton in 1832; his business was one of the earliest gunmakers in the region and an early part of Grafton's industrial development. Allen's home was a Greek Revival residence, an uncommon style in the area. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Ethan Allen (not to be confused with American Revolutionary War hero
Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...
), was a native of Bellingham, Massachusetts who came to Grafton in 1831, where he manufactured
cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...
before entering the arms business. The land for the house and shop was acquired in partnership with his father in 1832, and purchased by him outright in 1837. When Allen began making guns, he dammed the brook near the shop site to provide water power to the facility. While working at this shop, Allen produced the first known example of an "underhammer" pistol, and the first self-cocking gun with a barrel that rotates when the trigger is pulled. His shop, in which he worked until moving to
Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...
in 1842, is one of the only examples of an early 19th-century gunshop in the state.


See also

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National Register of Historic Places listings in Worcester County, Massachusetts __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designated in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The locations of NRHP properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ethan Allen House And Gun Shop Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Greek Revival houses in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1833 Grafton, Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts