The Phineas Thurston House is a historic house on Old Silo Road (Town Highway 12) in
Barnet, Vermont
Barnet is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,663 at the 2020 census. Barnet contains the locations of Barnet Center, East Barnet, McIndoe Falls, Mosquitoville, Passumpsic and West Barnet. The main settlemen ...
. Built about 1787, it is one of the oldest surviving houses in
northeastern Vermont, and one of the best-preserved early houses in Barnet. It 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 1989.
Description and history
The Phineas Thurston House stands in a rural area of northeastern Barnet, on the west side of Old Silo Road. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. A single-story ell extends to the north, ending in two carriage bays with keystoned arched openings. The main facade is five bays wide, with nine-over-six sash windows, and a center entrance with an original paneled door and transom window. The interior follows a typical central-chimney plan, although the chimney itself has been removed. The entrance opens into a narrow vestibule, with a winding stair to the attic level, with chambers on either side of the chimney space. There are three rooms along the rear, traditionally a pantry and borning room. The ell housed the summer kitchen. The interior retains much original woodwork and decorative features, with restorative work performed using period materials from other houses.
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Barnet was first settled in 1770, but significant growth did not begin until after 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 ...
. Phineas Thurston was part of that wave of settlement, arriving in 1787. He purchased of land, and probably built this house within the following year, using lumber from a recently established nearby sawmill. Based on a survey of period Cape houses in the region performed in 1976, this is one of the best-preservered, and is particularly distinguished by its early ell and carriage bays. The house has been separated in ownership from the surrounding land, which is still used for agriculture.
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See also
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, Phineas, House
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Caledonia County, Vermont
Houses completed in 1787
Houses in Caledonia County, Vermont
Buildings and structures in Barnet, Vermont