William Mansfield House   -   circa  1836

     The William Mansfield House is a small, gambrel-roofed cottage. The style of the house is such that it could have been built at any date after 1730.  A date of 1836 is quite odd for such an "old style" building, but land records support this date for construction.

      It seems the lot was owned by several owners before any structure was ever built.  Samuel Whitehorne, who, in 1811 had built a brick mansion house on the southwest corner of Dennison Street (at Thames Street), the sold the land on the north side of Dennison Street to Joshua Langley in 1824.  Langley sold the lot to Horatio Tracy in 1831 who in turn sold it to William Mansfield (still as a lot only) in 1836.  When Mansfield sold the property in 1836 to Clarke Burdick, records indicate that the transfer included a lot and a dwelling.

      The house still had its original chimney when purchased by NRF as well as simple elements of interior trim.  Years of neglect, however, necessitated considerable work to the sills and frame during restoration.

     The William Mansfield House is on its original site.  The house was purchased by the NRF in 1968 and restored in 1970.