Marsh Hall, historically known as the Othniel C. Marsh House, is a historic house on Prospect Hill in

New Haven, Connecticut 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 ...

. The property, which includes the house and a grounds now known as Marsh Botanical Garden, was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1965. It was built in 1878 as the home of

Othniel Marsh Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among h ...

(1831–99), a leading 19th-century

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, who occupied it until his death. The house is now owned by

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and and the building is occupied by the

Yale School of the Environment Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental leaders through four 2-year degree programs ( Master of Environmental Management, Master of Environ ...

Marsh Hall formerly the residence of Othniel Charles Marsh New Haven

Description and history

The house is a 3.5-story brownstone structure, built of red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, overlooking an expanse of landscaped greenery. Its architecture is reminiscent of the

Jacobean revival The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...

, with asymmetrical massing, and a variety of projections, turrets, and decorative elements. It was designed for Marsh by J. Cleaveland Cady, and construction of the exterior of the main house was largely complete in 1878; it took another three years to finish the interior. The house is one of a relatively small number of Cady designs surviving in the city, and was one of the grandest private residences in the city at the time of its construction. Othniel Marsh had an interest in

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s from an early age, and studied geology at Yale. Before and after graduating he went on numerous collecting trips throughout northeastern North America, and was appointed the first professor of

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

. He engaged in repeated expeditions into the American West, sometimes returning with spectacular finds of

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s and other large vertebrates. His finds of Cretaceous winged dinosaurs, complete with teeth and other non-avian features, provided compelling evidence in the debate over the recently published

theory of evolution by natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

. Marsh, a bachelor, bequeathed his estate to the university. Marsh Hall currently houses offices of the

, including the "Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry".

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1878 National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut Tourist attractions in New Haven, Connecticut Yale University buildings University and college academic buildings in the United States Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Houses in New Haven, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New Haven, Connecticut Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References