The Jonathan Murray House is a historic house at 76 Scotland Road in
Madison, Connecticut
Madison is a town in the southeastern corner of New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, occupying a central location on Connecticut's Long Island Sound shoreline. The population was 17,691 at the 2020 census.
Madison was first settled in 16 ...
. Built about 1690, it is one of a handful of 17th-century houses surviving in the state. The house was listed on 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 ...
in 1982.
Description and history
The Jonathan Murray House is located in a rural-residential setting northeast of Madison Center, on the south side of Scotland Road a short way east of its junction with Bishop Lane. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with clapboard siding, a stone foundation, and a large central chimney. The roof is distinctive in beginning a short way above the top of the first floor, even though there is a full second story. The facade is five bays wide, with sash windows arranged symmetrically around the center entrance. The windows and entrance transom butt against an overhang marking the start of the second story, which is separated from the eave by several rows of siding. The interior retains many original features, including fireplaces and fireplace surrounds, cabinetry, wide board flooring, and portions of original (or very old) plaster.
[
It is presumed, based on available documentary evidence and architectural analysis, that this house was built about 1690 by Jonathan Murray, a Scottish settler who arrived in the ]New Haven Colony
The New Haven Colony was a small English colony in North America from 1638 to 1664 primarily in parts of what is now the state of Connecticut, but also with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
The history o ...
in 1685. It is one of the state's small number of 17th-century houses. It remained in the Murray family until 1800, and then the Neeley family until 1923. It was first fitted with electricity and plumbing in 1956.
See also
*List of the oldest buildings in Connecticut
This article lists the oldest buildings in the state of Connecticut, United States of America. The dates of construction are based on land tax and probate records, architectural studies, genealogy, radio carbon dating, and dendrochronology. Buildi ...
*
The Descendants of Jonathan Murray of East Guilford, Connecticut
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Jonathan, House
Madison, Connecticut
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Houses completed in 1690
Houses in New Haven County, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut
1690 establishments in Connecticut