The Thomas Lyman House is a historic house at 105 Middlefield Road in

Durham, Connecticut Durham is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Durham is a former farming village on the Coginchaug River in central Connecticut. The population was 7,152 at the 2020 United Stat ...

. Built about 1774, it is a well-preserved example of late Colonial architecture, regionally unusual for its

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

. The property 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 1975.

Description and history

The Thomas Lyman House is located in a rural setting northwest of Durham center, on the east side of Middlefield Road (

Connecticut Route 147 Route 147 is a state highway in central Connecticut running from Durham to Middlefield. Route description Route 147 begins as Middlefield Road at an intersection with Route 17 just north of the town center of Durham. It heads northwest, crossi ...

) just north of a stream crossing. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with two chimneys, a

and two front dormers, and is oriented facing south. The front entry is sheltered by a small Doric-columned porch. A -story ell extends to the east, covered by a bellcast gabled roof. Windows are twelve-over-twelve sash, and the second story has a slight overhang over the first. The interior follows a typical colonial-era central hall plan. The house was built c. 1774 by Thomas Lyman IV on land purchased by his father in 1709. It is locally unusual for its hip roof, which is not normally found on houses of the period. Lyman, a veteran of 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 ...

, is said to have been friends with

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

and to have entertained Lafayette in this house several times. He was also active in civic affairs, serving on a state constitutional convention in 1830. After his death, the house passed through several generations of Lyman descendants. and

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyman, Thomas, House Durham, Connecticut Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Houses in Middlesex County, Connecticut Houses completed in 1774 National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References

External links