The Dwight-Derby House
Since the purchase of The Dwight-Derby House by the town of Medfield in 1996, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the top ten oldest homes in America. Built in 1651, the house is a national treasure.
Please click on any of the image below to view a larger image.
Phase I
Phase II
The cross-gable addition on the right of the picture was the east end of the house. This is the oldest part of the house that visitors see today.
Dorcas and Timothy Dwight had three children, all sons. One died as a baby. During the King Phillip War, the Indians attacked Medfield. Dwight was was shot by an arrow on his front porch. Six weeks later he died after being married to Dorcas for 7 years.
The Dwight’s youngest child, John, inherited the property and an additional 335 acres that spanned from Medfield to Sturbridge. Elizabeth Harding and John Dwight married in 1696 and had eight children. It’s possible they added a one-story kitchen ell, a lean-to roof on the back, and remodeled the chimney to make the kitchen as you see it today. The expansive cooking hearth contains a beehive oven in the rear that predates 1720. After 1720, all beehive ovens were built on the side.
Seth Dwight, John's and Elizabeth’s youngest child, married Hannah Fisher in 1740. John gave Seth half of what he owned; the east end of the house, his barn, and land as a wedding gift. The house was modernized sometime between 1730 and 1750. The original (left) of the house, that dated to 1651, was torn down leaving only the original 1651 beams in the hallway. They converted the house to a Georgian style as you can see in the picture below.
Phase III
Seth’s children owned businesses. Timothy was a physician and Patty’s husband was a merchant. Upon inheriting the property, they sold the house and 16 acres, in 1797, to Horatio Townsend to gain capital for their businesses. Townsend had five children. Mary, the oldest, married John Derby and bought the house, the barn, and a small piece of land from her father in 1820. Mary lived in the house for the next sixty years. She raised her two children and took care of her mother and sister. Her husband left in 1823. Mary made changes in 1830-1840 to the house so that it now looked like the picture below.
Phase IV
The front door was changed to a Greek Revival style, front dormers and a two-story ell on the eastside were added. Mary transformed the house from a Georgian style farmhouse into a Victorian village home.
George Derby, Mary’s son, graduated from West Point. He served in two wars, the Spanish-American and the Civil War. Mary died in 1880. The property was inherited by George’s children. They rented the house for the next 80 years. At one time, the house was split into different sections for multi-family use.
Edith and Theodore Baker bought the property in 1948. The house was bought to be used as a vacation home. Shortly after the house was purchased Theodore died. Edith decided to make it her full-time home. She did extensive work to restore the home and property, resulting in the house looking much as it does today.
The house was sold to the Harris family in 1963 and then sold to the town of Medfield in 1996. The town acquired the property to preserve it as an historic treasure and a space to be used by the community.
Thanks to generous donations, grants from The Massachusetts Historical Commission and The National Trust we have been able to do structural and exterior repairs.
Today, The Dwight–Derby House sits on a half acre lot in its original location overlooking Meeting House Pond. We would like to start the interior restoration, but lack the funds. Please consider the Friends of the Dwight-Derby House for your next tax deductible charitable contribution. Thank you.
The Friends of the Dwight-Derby House is a citizen's group who support active use and preservation of this historic property. |
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