The Howd-Linsley House is a historic house at 1795 Middletown Avenue in the Northford area of North Branford, Connecticut. Built in 1705, it is a candidate as the oldest surviving building in the town, and a good example of period residential architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Description and history
The Howd-Linsley House is located in northern North Branford, on the south side of Middletown Avenue (Connecticut Route 17) at its junction with Sol's Path, a private lane. It is oriented facing west toward the lane on of land. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. The rear roof face extends to the first floor, giving the house a classic New England saltbox profile. The front facade has an irregular arrangement of windows around a center entrance, which is simply framed and sheltered by a projecting hood. The interior retains many original finishes, and exposes some of its main framing elements, allowing a construction sequence to be reconstructed.
A core portion of the house was probably built early in the century, circa 1705, including its massive chimney, with the lean-to added later. The architecture details suggest expansion was completed spanning different eras of the 18th century. The building underwent a restoration in 1928, when a number of 19th-century additions were removed.