Benjamin Aldrich Homestead facts for kids
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Benjamin Aldrich Homestead
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | Shaw Rd., 0.46 E of Piper Hill, Colebrook, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 136 acres (55 ha) |
| Built | 1846 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 03000109 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | March 11, 2003 |
The Benjamin Aldrich Homestead is a really old farm located in Colebrook, New Hampshire. It's a special place because it's the oldest farm property still standing in the town. Parts of it were built way back in 1846! This homestead includes the original house and barns from that time. It's so important that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. It was also listed on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Contents
What Does the Aldrich Homestead Look Like?
The Benjamin Aldrich Homestead is in a quiet, rural part of northwestern Colebrook. It sits on a hillside that's about 136 acres big. From here, you can see the Connecticut River to the west.
The farm has several buildings. These include the main house, some barns, and a chicken coop. There are also other buildings for storage.
The Main House: A Peek Inside
The main part of the house is a two-and-a-half story building. It's made of wood and has a pointy roof. The bottom part of the house is made of strong granite stone. It's decorated in a style called Greek Revival. This style was popular a long time ago.
Attached to the main house is an older, smaller part. This used to be a one-and-a-half story house. Now it's like an extra wing on the south side of the main house.
The Barns: Built to Last
The main barn was built around the same time as the older part of the house. It's a special kind of barn called a bank barn. This means it's built into a hillside, so you can enter it on two different levels. The barn has a foundation made of fieldstone. Its frame is made from hand-cut timbers, which shows how much work went into building it!
The Story of the Aldrich Farm
Benjamin Aldrich bought the land for this farm in 1844. The older part of the house and the barn were built soon after, in 1846 and 1847.
In 1861, the bigger, main part of the house was built. The original, older house was then turned and attached to the south side of the new main house. This made it into the "ell" or wing we see today.
A Farm That Stood the Test of Time
This farm is very unique. It's the last complete 19th-century farm still standing in the town of Colebrook. Many farms used to be in Colebrook, but this one is the only one left that looks like it did back then.
The farm stayed in the Aldrich family for a very long time. Benjamin Aldrich's family owned it until 1988! They used the farm for growing crops and raising animals well into the 1900s. Even though Colebrook used to be a farming town, there are no active farms there today. The Benjamin Aldrich Homestead helps us remember what life was like long ago.
