Buckingham House (Milford, Connecticut)


The Buckingham House is a historic house at 61 North Street in Milford, Connecticut. With a construction history dating at least as far back as 1725, it is one of the city's oldest surviving buildings, with a long history of association with early settlers of the area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Description and history

The Buckingham House is located in what is now a residential area north of downtown Milford, on the east side of North Street at its junction with Maple Street. It is a 2-1/2 story timber framed structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The siding on the front of the house is wide sawn boards with beading, and is believed to be old if not original to the house's construction. The front facade has an unusual configuration, with five bays on the first floor and three on the second, all in a symmetrical arrangement. The entrance is in the center bay, framed by moulding and topped by a projecting cornice. The interior has a number of original or older finishes, and architectural evidence of the First Period methods used to frame the structure.
The land on which the house stands was allocated to Thomas Buckingham during the first period of colonial settlement, in 1639. Although it is possible that portions of the house structure date to the 17th century, a significant number of its features are characteristic of late First Period construction, suggesting a construction date around 1725. The house underwent a number of alterations in the 18th century, especially after 1753, when Jehiel Bryan, a carpenter, married into the Buckingham family. Most of its significant architectural features date to the 18th or early 19th century.