National Register of Historic Places

Warner House

East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut
Listed
February 19, 1987
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
87000174

About this property

The Warner House is a historic house at 307 Town Street in East Haddam, Connecticut. Built in 1738, it is notable for its high quality interior woodwork and hardware, the latter of which were probably made by some of its owners. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The house is now owned by Connecticut Landmarks, and in 2019 it opened as a historic house museum. The Warner House is located in a rural-suburban setting of western East Haddam, on the west side of Town Street (Connecticut Route 82) near its junction with Petticoat Lane. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof, large central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The main entrance is at the center of the symmetrical front facade, sheltered by a gabled portico supported by round columns. The entrance is flanked by simple pilasters. The interior follows a typical period center-chimney plan, with high-quality wood paneling around the main parlor fireplace, and elaborate millwork in the second parlor. The house was built in 1738 by John Warner, and was restyled in 1790, when most of its fine woodwork was added. John Warner was a noted regional maker of interior hardware (hinges, latches, and so on), whose work is probably in this house. His son and grandson, the next occupants of the house, were blacksmiths. The house was purchased in 1936 by Frederic T. Palmer, a restoration architect, who undertook a careful restoration of the house. In the mid-1940s, Palmer's lover, Howard Metzger, also moved into the house. The couple were not publicly out, but their status as a couple was well-known in their community. They hosted many gatherings of LGBT friends at the home. Palmer and Metzger also enjoyed collecting antiques, and the house was featured in Antiques Magazine in 1957. Palmer was a trustee and boardmember of Connecticut Landmarks, who received the property after the death of his partner in 2005. National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Connecticut

Location

307 Town St.
East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut
41.45455, -72.43973

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

Goodspeed Opera House
Industrial
1.2 mi
East Haddam Historic District
Listed
1.2 mi
Camp Bethel
Civil War
1.7 mi
Little Haddam Historic District
Listed
1.8 mi
Seventh Sister
Industrial
2.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Warner House listed on the National Register?

Warner House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 19, 1987.

What type of historic resource is Warner House?

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

What is the period of significance for Warner House?

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

Can I research the history near Warner House?

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