National Register of Historic Places

Raynham

New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut
Listed
July 10, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80004062

About this property

Raynham, also known as the Kneeland Townsend House, is a historic residential property at 709 Townsend Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of Connecticut's best-preserved Gothic Revival estates, having remained in the Townshend family for seven generations, and has a history dating back to the founding of the New Haven Colony in the 1630s. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Raynham is located in eastern New Haven's East Shore neighborhood, on the east side of Townsend Avenue opposite its junction with Raynham Avenue. Its 15-acre (6.1 ha) includes picturesque grounds. The main house was built in 1804 with Federal styling, but was extensively altered in the 1850s, giving it its Gothic Revival treatment. The estate includes a carriage house, caretaker's house, a variety of agricultural outbuildings, and three structures, including a gazebo, added in the 1920s. Land for the estate was first given to members of the Tuttle family in 1640 by the leaders of the New Haven Colony. It was sold to Isaac and Kneeland Townsend, prominent local merchants, in 1797. Kneeland Townsend built the core of the main house in 1804, and several of the outbuildings date to his ownership as well. The estate was given a significant makeover in the 1850s, applying the design principals and some design patterns of Calvert Vaux, a major proponent of Carpenter Gothic architecture. The surviving parcels of the estate constitute New Haven's largest single residential landholding. National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven, Connecticut

Location

709 Townsend Ave.
New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut
41.27650, -72.89481

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

Fort Nathan Hale
Colonial
0.5 mi
East Haven High School
Industrial
1 mi
First Congregational Church of East Haven
Industrial
1.2 mi
Morris House
Industrial
1.4 mi
East Haven Green Historic District
Listed
1.5 mi

Nearby Battles

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

Questions about this property

When was Raynham listed on the National Register?

Raynham was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Raynham?

Raynham is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Raynham?

The period of significance for Raynham is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Raynham?

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