The
house is a New England gambrel cape of 3200 square
feet. It was built by Stephen Branch of Preston,
Connecticut, who moved to Lisbon, Connecticut
with his family sometime around the last decade
of the eighteenth century, as evidenced by land
and census records. These records, in addition
to probate records date the house to about 1790. Accordingly,
the house is named The Stephen Branch House, after
its builder, who at age thirty, joined the list
of men from Connecticut towns who traveled to
Boston for its defense, shortly after the Lexington
and Concord action of April 1775.
Subsequent land records show that the house stayed
in the family for over fifty years before changing
ownership a few times in the later part of the
19th century, and even as early as the 1850s,the
deeds reference the land parcel and structures
as the "Branch Place", indicating that
the name was in local usage in Lisbon at that
time. This is further evidenced by the fact that
the name was carried from deed to deed throughout
the late 19th century.
In 1971, the house was moved from its original
location to a new location one half mile closer
to the historical center of Lisbon known as Newent.
At that time it underwent an initial restoration,
and more recently, an additional restoration.
The philosophy of all restoration work was basically
to update essential services, while minimally
impacting the antique character of the house.
The result is a house, tastefully restored to
its original charm, while being completely livable
in the 21st century.
The Branch Place B&B would like to thank the
Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism
for its assistance.
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