Solomon Goffe House
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The Solomon Goffe House is 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 ...
at 677 North Colony Street in
Meriden, Connecticut Meriden ( ) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planni ...
, United States. It was built in 1711, and is the oldest remaining building in the city of Meriden. It is owned by the city and is open for tours during the summer, or by appointment.


Description and history

The Solomon Goffe House is located north of downtown Meriden, on the east side of North Colony Street between Griswold and Maynard Streets. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a
gambrel A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maxim ...
roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. It is eight bays wide, with two entrances and six windows; there are four shed-roof dormers on the front roof face. The interior has undergone significant alterations, but three downstairs rooms remain relatively unaltered, and other features are preserved elsewhere. The house was built about 1711 by Solomon Goffe, about whom little is known. It was probably constructed at first as a five-bay structure, with the northern three bays added later. It had received numerous small additions in the 20th century, most of which have been removed during restoration.


Current use

The house is currently a museum owned by the city. There are tours the first Sunday of the month from April to November 1:30pm to 4:30pm. Each month has a different theme. One of the highlights of the landscaping is its traditional
herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
garden, which was designed after examples of typical 18th century herb gardens in the area. The Archaeology Society of Connecticut has done some digs on the property and found a number of objects, including an axe blade.


See also

*
List of the oldest buildings in Connecticut This article lists the oldest buildings in the state of Connecticut, United States of America. The dates of construction are based on land tax and probate records, architectural studies, genealogy, radio carbon dating, and dendrochronology. Build ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven County, Connecticut National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...


References


External links


Solomon Goffe House - Meriden Patch
{{Connecticut Buildings and structures in Meriden, Connecticut Houses completed in 1711 Goffe House Saltbox architecture in Connecticut Houses in New Haven County, Connecticut Archaeological sites in Connecticut Museums in New Haven County, Connecticut Historic house museums in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut 1711 establishments in Connecticut