Howd-Linsley House

Howd-Linsley House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	1795 Middletown Ave., North Branford, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°24′34″N 72°46′06″W
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Architectural style	Colonial
NRHP reference No.	86003382
Added to NRHP	December 10, 1986

The Howd-Linsley House is a historic house at 1795 Middletown Avenue in the Northford area of North Branford, Connecticut. Of uncertain 18th-century construction, it is a candidate as the oldest surviving building in the town, and a good example of period residential architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Description and history

The Howd-Linsley House is located in northern North Branford, on the south side of Middletown Avenue (Connecticut Route 17) at its junction with Sol's Path, a private lane. It is oriented facing west toward the lane on 2 acres (0.81 ha) of land. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The rear roof face extends to the first floor, giving the house a classic New England saltbox profile. The front facade has an irregular arrangement of windows around a center entrance, which is simply framed and sheltered by a projecting hood. The interior retains many original finishes, and exposes some of its main framing elements, allowing a construction sequence to be reconstructed.

The house's date of initial construction is not known, but its architecture is suggestive of multiple construction periods spanning different eras of the 18th century. A core portion of the house was probably built early in the century, including its massive chimney, with the leanto in the rear added later. The building underwent a restoration in 1928, when a number of 19th-century additions were removed.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven County, Connecticut