Elijah Burt House

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Elijah Burt House
EastLongmeadowMA ElijahBurtHouse.jpg
Elijah Burt House is located in Massachusetts
Elijah Burt House
Location201 Chestnut St., East Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°3′15″N 72°30′54″W / 42.05417°N 72.51500°W / 42.05417; -72.51500Coordinates: 42°3′15″N 72°30′54″W / 42.05417°N 72.51500°W / 42.05417; -72.51500
Area2.3 acres (0.93 ha)
Built1720 (1720)
Architectural styleGeorgian
NRHP reference No.76000240[1]
Added to NRHPApril 26, 1976

The Elijah Burt House is a historic house at 201 Chestnut Street in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Built sometime between 1720 and 1740, it is believed to be the oldest surviving building in the town, and a station on the Underground Railroad. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

Description and history[]

The Elijah Burt House is located south of the center of East Longmeadow, on the north side of Chestnut Street roughly midway between Shaker Road and Prospect Street. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof, clapboard siding, and a central chimney. The main entrance is at the center of the front facade, flanked by pilasters, and topped by a corniced entablature.[2] Its interior retains original wide pine floors, fireplaces with beehive ovens, and gunstock posts in the corners. Part of the interior includes a secret passage that may have been used to shelter escaping slaves as part of the Underground Railroad.[3]

The house was built sometime between 1720 and 1740, and is believed to be the oldest house in East Longmeadow. It served in early days as a stop on stagecoach routes. In the years before the Civil War, an abolitionist owner is said to have harbored fugitive slaves in the basement, with a tunnel providing an escape into nearby woods.[3] The house underwent a Victorian update in the late 19th century, with a Queen Anne style porch with turned posts; most of these changes were reversed during 20th-century work to restore its 18th-century appearance.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "NRHP nomination for Elijah Burt House". National Archive. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  3. ^ a b "MACRIS inventory record for Elijah Burt House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
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