The 19th of October has come and gone but not without excited visitors as they walked through the oldest house in the Town of Orange. Fires were lit in the parlor, hall and keeping room with visitors admiring the effort put forth by the OHS to bring the house back to its beginnings. The CT Trust for Historic Preservation matching grant, which the society received, has been spent plastering the walls, resurfacing feathered edge walls, laying down original flooring and restoring the parlor fireplace which had been dismantled sometime in the 1930's and replaced with modern firebrick. Although the original side walls had been removed, the inner hearth was covered with the yellow brick and when removed revealed the original hand made bricks as originally laid in 1740. One aspect of the home which is unique is the porch. Known to us as a foyer, one would step into this area from the front door and be met with a painted feathered edge wood wall in the best color available. For the Bryan family, Prussian blue was the color of choice and since the original walls had been removed, OHS bought old ones from a home in Massachusetts. Karan Oberg, historian and artist, replicated the original color using a section of doorway that had once been covered with wallpaper. The house is available for families and groups for a tour, a meeting or a meal. Until the society has facilities to offer food to the public, people are invited to bring their own meal, celebrate a birthday, a new member in the family or a reunion of friends and family. The atmosphere is so inviting and brings one back to quiet times where hustle and bustle were not part of the daily 18th century lifestyle. The society is fortunate to have found two restoration contractors for the interior with Joe Carney, a master mason and refinishing the wood walls and placement of the floors by Edd Oberg. The original restoration, over the past 14 years, was ably handled by Wess Corjuc of Historic Preservation and his brother Joseph. For information call 203 795-3106 and leave a message. All calls will be returned. News from the Bryan-Andrew House! We're in the newspaper again. Click here! The 9-ft Keeping Room fireplace was restored several years ago and on the several visits has warmed the guests as they roamed through the house, feeling how it was to live in 1740 so many years ago. One thing became apparent to restoration contractor Edd Oberg and mason Joe Carney, that the beehive oven didn't draw correctly. The smoke from some small pieces of kindling reached into the room. Upon inspection, the team found that the flue was hidden with a half dozen bricks and 2 inches of concrete. They went to work removing the material and without a hitch, a fire, built in the oven took off and burned with great ease. The two of them waited until Ginny could arrive and they inaugurated the oven for future use. Now the entire Keeping Room fireplace is ready for some hearth-cooked dinners.

The bee hive oven gets tested after the flue was exposed.

Joe Carney inspects his work.

Buttery shelves from a MA home ca. 1760. Original lath on the wall and ceiling has been plastered over.

Orange Historical Society

Orange, Connecticut