The Captain David Judson House is a historic house at 967 Academy Hill in

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bri ...

. It was built by David Judson in 1723. The new house was built on the stone foundation and incorporates the chimney of the original house built on the site in 1638 by Judson's great-grandfather William. William left the house to his son

Joseph Judson Lieut. Joseph Judson ( – October 8, 1690) was an early New England colonist best known for co-founding the town of Woodbury, Connecticut. The Judson family, including the teen-aged Joseph Judson, settled in Concord, Massachusetts, Concord ...

in November 1660 when he removed to New Haven. Nine generations of Judsons lived in the house until 1888. The first floor, now the cellar, is above ground level and contains a massive central stone chimney which was built with lug poles. It is believed that the cellar was used as slave quarters in the early18th century. The new house, built in 1723, is designed in the style of

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

, or colonial Georgian, found throughout the American colonies during this time. The furnishings are entirely period pieces of Stratford origin, dating from the 18th century and includes a piano which belonged to

William Samuel Johnson William Samuel Johnson (October 7, 1727 – November 14, 1819) was an American Founding Father and statesman. He attended all of the four founding American Congresses: the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, the Congress of the Confederation in 1785–1 ...

, framer of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

, and also the second president of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. The piano has been on display at George Washington's plantation

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

. The house also has various other works of historical and artistic significance, displayed for the public. The Judson House broken scroll pediment entry is one of the finest in Connecticut. An architectural drawing was used on the cover of J. Frederick Kelly's ''Early Domestic Architecture of Connecticut'' published in 1924. Captain David Judson House was listed on 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 ...

on March 20, 1973. It is also included in the

Stratford Center Historic District The Stratford Center Historic District is a historic district in Stratford, Connecticut. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It then included 257 contributing buildings. It is significant for histori ...

, which was listed on the NRHP in 1978.
NRHP nomination form Stratford Center Historic District retrieved 2021-04-19 The house is open to the public and is operated as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

and research library by the Stratford Historical Society, and is located at 967 Academy Hill in Stratford.

References

External links

Stratford Historical Society
{{National Register of Historic Places Judson, David Museums in Fairfield County, Connecticut Judson, David Judson, David Houses completed in 1639 Houses completed in 1723 Judson, David Judson, David Colonial architecture in Connecticut Georgian architecture in Connecticut British colonial architecture in the United States 1639 establishments in Connecticut Slave cabins and quarters in the United States

See also

References

External links