Fairbanks House (Dedham, Massachusetts) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Fairbanks House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Fairbanks House in 2013
Location in Massachusetts Show map of Massachusetts Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	511 East Street, Dedham, Massachusetts
Built	ca. 1641
NRHP reference No.	66000367
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	October 9, 1960

The Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts is a super old house built around 1641. It's known as the oldest surviving wooden house in North America! Scientists used a special method called dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) to confirm its age.

A Puritan settler named Jonathan Fairbanks built this farmhouse for his wife, Grace, and their family. It stayed in the Fairbanks family for eight generations, which is over 300 years! Over time, the house grew bigger as the family did and as building styles changed.

Today, the Fairbanks House is a cool museum. The Fairbanks Family in America, a non-profit group, takes care of it. They have been preserving and sharing the history of their family home for more than 110 years. The house became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fairbanks House: A Look at Its Design
Fairbanks House: A Journey Through Time
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Fairbanks House: A Look at Its Design

Floor plan of the first floor

The Fairbanks House wasn't built all at once. It grew in different stages! The very middle part of the house is the oldest. It started as a two-story house with a chimney in the center.

The oldest part of the house was finished by 1641. We know this because of dendrochronology. This science looks at tree rings to find out when wood was cut. Beams in the house have dates from 1637, 1638, 1640, and 1641.

The outside walls were covered with wide oak boards on the front. Later, a lean-to (a small addition with a sloping roof) was added to the back. A wing was added to the east side, possibly in 1641. Another wing on the west side was built around 1654. Over the centuries, more parts were added, making the house larger and changing its look. For example, a new wing was added to the west side with two rooms. The last addition was a small outdoor toilet behind the west wing by 1881.

Fairbanks House: A Journey Through Time

Jonathan Fairbanks traveled from England to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1633. He bought land in Dedham and built his house there. It's probably the oldest house in New England that has stayed in the same family for so long! It's also the oldest wooden house still standing in North America. The family never even had a mortgage on the property!

Some interesting things found in the house suggest that early residents believed in folk magic. They placed special marks and objects to keep away bad spirits or witches. For example, hex signs were carved into the fireplace mantel to protect against fire and witches. Old shoes were found in the attic and behind the chimney. People believed these items would stop evil spirits from entering the house.

Building the Oldest House

Early historians thought the Fairbanks House was built in 1636. But newer studies, especially the tree-ring dating in 2001, show the oldest part was built between 1637 and 1641. Some stories say that parts of the house, like the frame, bricks, and windows, were brought all the way from England! The plaster on the walls was made using clay from the nearby Charles River.

The house wasn't built in its final form right away. Jonathan owned a house on the land by 1648. Later, around 1654, a big addition was made for his son John after he got married. The current roof was also added around this time, dated to 1652–1654 by dendrochronology. More additions were made in the 1700s and 1800s.

A famous professor, Abbot Lowell Cummings, once said that "no other house of the mid-17th century in New England has survived in such unbelievably unspoiled condition." This means the house is a treasure trove of information about how people lived long ago!

From Family Home to Museum

In 1879, Nancy Fairbanks, a descendant of Jonathan and Grace, passed away. She left the house to her niece, Rebecca Fairbanks. Rebecca moved in, but a lightning strike that killed her dog made her move out for a bit!

Rebecca faced money problems and sold the house to a realtor, John Crowley, in 1895. But she was allowed to keep living there. She also sold some family treasures, like a wooden chest from 1658. Luckily, the family bought it back in 2003!

In 1897, Crowley planned to tear down the house to build new homes. But people heard about it and Mrs. J. Amory Codman and her daughter Martha bought it to save it! They let Rebecca stay until 1904. Then, the newly formed Fairbanks Family in America group took over. They opened the house as a museum in 1905. For a while, the museum curators even camped in a tent outside! In 1912, they bought a new house from a catalog and built it next door.

Fun Facts from the 1900s

The Fairbanks family still holds a reunion at the house every year. In 1907, Charles W. Fairbanks, who was the Vice President of the United States at the time, even attended!

The Boston Bicycle Club used to stop at the house during their bike tours. In 1916, for their 40th anniversary, they planted a tree on the grounds. Years later, in 1926, they buried the ashes of one of their founders, Frank W. Weston, under that very tree.

On a rainy day in August 1964, a 17-year-old driver accidentally crashed his car into the east wing of the house! The car stayed there overnight. This accident led to a stone wall being built to protect the house. Good thing, too, because another car hit the wall in 1973!

In 1967, some people tried to burn the house down on July 4th, but thankfully they didn't succeed. In the 1970s, tiny bugs called powderpost beetles, which eat wood, had to be removed from the house to keep it safe.