The Shaw Mansion, also known as the Shaw-Perkins Mansion and as the Shaw Mansion Museum, is a historic mansion and
house museum at 11 Blinman Street between Bank and Brewer Streets in
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
. Built in 1756 for Nathaniel Shaw Sr., it is a well-preserved example of a wealthy merchant's house, made further notable as the location of the state's naval offices during 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
.
The headquarters and museum of the New London County Historical Society have been located in the Shaw Mansion since 1907.
[http://nlchs.org/home/about/ New London County Historical Society]
The house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1970.
Description and history
The Shaw Mansion stands overlooking New London's southern downtown waterfront, on the north side of Blinman Street at Bank Street. It is a large three-story granite structure, whose main block is six bays wide, with a single-story porch extending across its width. A three-story granite wing extends the main block to the right at a recess. The interior follows a central hall plan, with a two-stage staircase in the central hall that has a fine mahogany banister and balustrade.
[
The house was built in 1756 for Nathaniel Shaw Sr. with the labor of ]Acadian
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...
s who had been brought to New London as refugees from the English Expulsion of the Acadians
The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal of inhabitants of the North American region historically known as Acadia between 1755 and 1764 by Great Britain. It included the modern Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Br ...
from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
furing the French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
. Nathaniel Jr. was appointed Connecticut's Naval War Agent; at the time, the state had its own navy, but far more effective and lucrative was privateering
A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since Piracy, robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sover ...
, the capturing of enemy ships by private individuals. New Londoners captured 155 prize ships during the war, which was one of the reasons behind Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...
's attack in the Battle of Groton Heights
The Battle of Groton Heights (also known as the Battle of Fort Griswold, and occasionally called the Fort Griswold massacre) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 6, 1781 between a small Connecticut militia force le ...
, and the burning of New London. The house caught fire, but local legend has it that the fire was put out by a neighbor using vinegar
Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...
. The neighbor's house – which is no longer extant – came to be called the "vinegar house".[Historic plaque on site]
However it happened, the house survived the fires, suffering only the loss of a wood-frame annex, which was afterwards rebuilt in granite in 1840. The single-story porch across the front was added in the mid-19th century.[Historic plaque on site] The society was founded in 1870. The house is now operated as a museum and is the repository of antiques and its extensive research library.
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut
References
External links
New London County Historical Society
{{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut, state=collapsed
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Georgian architecture in Connecticut
Houses completed in 1756
Houses in New London, Connecticut
Museums in New London County, Connecticut
Historic house museums in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut
1756 establishments in Connecticut
Stone houses in the United States