National Register of Historic Places

Eells-Stow House

Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut
Listed
June 16, 1977
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
77001407

About this property

The Eells-Stow House is operated as a historic house museum at 34 High Street in Milford, Connecticut. Built as a private residence and with a construction history dating to c. 1700, it is believed to be Milford's oldest surviving building. It has a complex history of later additions and alterations. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is now owned by the Milford Historical Society. In the early 21st century, the Eells-Stow House is one of three houses that make up the campus of the Milford Historical Society. It is located on the south side of High Street east of Green Street and south of the city's downtown. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. Its front facade is four bays wide, with a large chimney centered on one of the central bays, and the main entrance on the other. A lean-to section, probably added in the late 18th century, extends to the rear, giving the house a saltbox profile. A two-story, 19th-century ell is partially built over the lean-to and another, older addition. The interior includes exposed construction elements, revealing the different stages of construction. The exact sequence of construction of the building's elements was historically a subject of debate among Connecticut's leading architectural historians, including Norman Isham and J. Frederick Kelly. The oldest portion of the house is believed to date to c. 1700, and was built by Samuel Eells, a prominent local citizen. During the American Revolutionary War, it was owned by Stephen Stowe and Freelove (Baldwin) Stow. Stowe contracted to house and care for prisoners of war who had contracted smallpox; he eventually caught it and died of the disease. National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven County, Connecticut

Location

34 High St.
Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut
41.21905, -73.05722

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Taylor Memorial Library
Industrial
0.2 mi
US Post Office-Milford Main
Industrial
0.4 mi
St. Peter's Episcopal Church
Industrial
0.4 mi
Academy of Our Lady of Mercy at Lauralton Hall
Listed
0.5 mi
River Park Historic District
Listed
0.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Raid on New Haven (Connecticut)
1779Revolutionary War
9.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Eells-Stow House listed on the National Register?

Eells-Stow House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 16, 1977.

What type of historic resource is Eells-Stow House?

Eells-Stow House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Eells-Stow House?

The period of significance for Eells-Stow House is recorded as the industrial era.

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