Hyland House Museum facts for kids
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Hyland–Wildman House
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 84 Boston St., Guilford, Connecticut |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1713 |
| Architect | Parmelee, Isaac |
| Architectural style | Colonial |
| Website | http://hylandhouse.org |
| Part of | Guilford Historic Town Center (ID76001988) |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001989 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | March 26, 1976 |
| Designated CP | July 6, 1976 |
The Hyland House Museum, also known as the Hyland–Wildman House, is a really old and special house in Guilford, Connecticut. It's located at 84 Boston Road. This house was built way back in 1713. It is one of the best-kept houses from that time in Guilford.
Since 1918, the Hyland House has been open to everyone as a museum. A local group that works to save old buildings helps take care of it. In 1976, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized as an important historical site. Inside the museum, you can see furniture and items from the Colonial period.
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Exploring the Hyland House Museum
The Hyland House is just a short walk east of Guilford's main town green. You can find it on the north side of Boston Street. It's a two-and-a-half-story house made of wood. It has a pointy roof and a big stone chimney in the middle. The outside is covered with wooden boards called clapboards.
What Does the House Look Like?
The front of the house has five windows. They are placed evenly around the main door. The door has a simple frame and a small window above it with four panes of glass. The back roof of the house slopes down very far, almost to the ground floor. This gives the house a classic New England "saltbox" shape. It looks a bit like the boxes people used to store salt in.
Inside the house, you'll notice the wooden beams, called girts, are decorated. These are special because they are some of the earliest examples of this kind of decoration.
A Peek into History
For a long time, people thought the Hyland House was built around 1660. They believed a builder named George Hyland built it then. However, scientists used a method called tree-ring dating on the main wooden beams. This showed that the house was actually built around 1713. It was probably built by Isaac Parmelee, who owned the land at that time.
The house got a big makeover in 1917. An expert in old buildings, Norman Isham, led the restoration. The money for this important work came from the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. This group is now known as Historic New England.
See Also
