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Town of Woodbury
Hurd House
The Hurd House (ca 1680) Litchfield County's Oldest House
The north rooms of the house originally consisted a two story house, built entirely of wood, having exterior dimensions of 21 feet 5 inches by 15 feet 2 inches. The house had no chimney girt at the second floor level, and the summer beam must have been supported on one end by an exterior chimney. Both the first and second floor rooms in this house still have the original horizontal random width pine paneling. There is evidence that each room has one casement window. The pioneer house had a six inch overhang at the attic floor level.
Research indicates that this north house was the home in Woodbury of John Hurd who became the town miller by an agreement of August 28, 1681, making this part of the Hurd House the oldest structure at its original site in Litchfield County.
Records indicates that the south half of the house was joined with he earlier house about 1718, and may have belonged to one of the sons of the original miller. This house is about 26 feet long and 21 feet 5 inches wide. On each floor was one room, each plastered, with exposed wooden joists. There was a chimney inside the girts and a porch and stairway leading to the second floor and attic. The height between floors was greater in the south house than in the north so that the floor levels vary on each floor by about 2 inches. The south half of the house has no overhang. With its plastered walls and greater height, it is obviously later in date than the original house, it certainly was built before 1718.
When the two houses were joined, the original framing was retained. The summer beams of both houses were framed into a central chimney. The corner posts of the two houses remain and are about a foot apart. The clapboards cover the gap between the corner posts.
Sometime between 1718 and 1779, a lean-to was added to the back, giving the house the saltbox appearance it retained until the lean-to's removal early in this century. At some period prior to 1822, an ell was also added to the southeast corner of the home,which may have served its occupant as an office.
In 1967, the house came into the possession of the Old Woodbury Historical Society. During restoration and removal of the interior double walls in the north rooms of the house, wallpaper came to light which had been covered for generations. The earliest of these wallpapers had been applied to the wood paneling and bears the marks of English paper of the reign of King George III.
The furnishings in the house have, for the most part, been graciously given to the Society. While not all are original to the House, all are of the period when it was occupied by the Hurd family, as is the traditional herb garden surrounding the east and south sides of the House.
The Hurd House now is made up of the fabric of tow distinct single-room, two story end-chimney houses. These are virtually unique in western Connecticut, and the Society, in restoring the structure, has provided a fine example of pioneer homes of the seventeenth century.
THE BLACKSMITH SHOP & BARN
Members of the Hurd family occupied the house from 1680 until 1785, over 100 years. After 1785, ownership of the house passed through several hands until 1869, when the property was acquired by Michael K Skelly. Mr. Skelly was a blacksmith and maintained his smithy in the building south of the Hurd House. The Skelly family lived in the house from 1869 until it was purchased for the Society in 1966, well over 100 years.
A barn was mentioned in the distribution of John Hurd's estate in 1690. While it is impossible to say with certainty if the existing barn is the same one referred to in the 1690 distribution, the great age of the heavy hand-hewn framing makes it appear likely that it is. The barn has been restored and was originally located slightly west of its present site.
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