The General Rufus Putnam House (also Bliss–Murray–Putnam House) is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

at 344 Main Street in

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts. Being 1,510.6 ...

, US.

History

The two-story wood-frame house was built between 1760 and 1765 by John Murray, a Scots-Irish

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

. Murray became a Mandamus Councillor, who enforced the tax laws and was only responsible to the governor and king. On August 24, 1774, an angry mob forced him to flee his home. He escaped to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and later to

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, never to return. Murray's daughter had married Daniel Bliss. They were also

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and lived in the house. 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

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

confiscated the property.Hubbard, Robert Ernest. ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' pp. 80-3, 203, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina. . On May 24, 1781, General

Rufus Putnam Rufus Putnam (April 9, 1738 – May 4, 1824) was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. As an organizer of the Ohio Company of Associates, he was instrumental in the initial co ...

purchased the property from the government for 993 pounds and lived there until 1788. He left to settle the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

as a leader of the

Ohio Company of Associates The Ohio Company of Associates, also known as the Ohio Company, was a land company whose members are today credited with becoming the first non-Native Americans in the United States, Native American group to permanently settle west of the Alle ...

. There he helped found

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Appalachian Ohio, southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum River, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia ...

and built a new home, also NRHP listed. The 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 ...

and designated a

in 1972, in recognition of its association with Putnam. The home is currently operated as a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

Description

The house is a wood-frame two-story house sheathed in clapboard, with a hipped roof and two interior brick chimneys. A two-story addition was added to the rear of the house early in the 20th century. The house front is five bays wide, with a center doorway that is flanked by pilasters and topped by a transom window and flat pediment. The interior of the main block consists of four rooms on each floor, surrounding a central hallway with stairwell. The second-floor bedrooms have retained much of their original woodwork, including pine wainscoting and paneling. Some of the first-floor rooms have had floors replaced using floorboards taken from the attic.

References

External links

Historic American Buildings Survey - Drawings, Photos and Data, c. 1934
* {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1760 National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Irish-American culture in Massachusetts Scotch-Irish American history Scottish-American culture in Massachusetts Rutland, Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts

History

Description

See also

References

External links