This house is believed to have
been built for Thomas Avery by John Clark in 1845. There
are many clues that lead to this belief. One is the fact
that Thomas Avery and Elizabeth Griswold were married March
12, 1845, and the home might very well have been a wedding
gift to the new bride. Also, there is the carpenter’s
statement, dated July 20,1845, in the East Lyme Town records
(Vol. 1, pg. 630). This statement from John Clark reads
that he received from Thomas Avery the sum of $125 for a
dwelling house that he built southerly of the Congregational
Church. The third strong clue is the Christian Freeman newspaper
found in the walls of the house. This paper was is dated
August 7, 1845, and was found in the parlor walls during
restoration work in the 1970’s. This paper now hangs
in the library/meeting room on the second floor of the house.
The house is a Greek Revival, which was popular throughout
New England and the Mid West in the early to mid 1800’s.
It was built on land, which Thomas’s father, Abraham,
and grandfather, Jonathan, owned and most likely had a
dwelling on. There are indications that this house incorporates
an older house, or parts thereof. This is evident in the
back kitchen.
There are indications that Thomas Avery was a man of
better than average means. The house was one of the top
four listings in the tax records at that time, the decorative
window in the front peak of the house is unusual, more
elaborate, and denotes an oriental influence, and the
fact that the house has several closets.
Thomas and Elizabeth had three children here; Sarah Elizabeth,
William Andrew, and Charles Thomas. Sarah died at two
years, Charles grew and moved to Kansas, and William remained
in East Lyme. it is believed that Thomas was a merchant
and was of rather good means in order to afford such a
substantial dwelling. He was the seventh generation of
Avery’s in this country, descending from Christopher
Avery, and English immigrant, who settled in Groton. When
Elizabeth died at 29 and left Thomas with three young
children, Thomas had his sister, Elizabeth, come to live
with him to help raise the children.
William married Lockie Payne Gorton
in 1869. They lived in the house and had three children;
Eliza, Ellen and Williemene, who died at 6 years. When
William died at 30, Lockie sold the house to William H.
H. Smith, and left to live with her two remaining daughters
in Norwich. William was a salesman and farmer, and left
a fairly good estate when he died. The estate, valued
at $4695.30, was inventoried and filed in the probate
records of East Lyme on April3, 1877.
William H.H. Smith used the house as a summer home, and
eventually sold it to his brother and nephew, Herman Smith
and Frank Harris in 1921. While the house is on the National
Register of Historical Places as the Thomas Avery House,
it received its common name from these two men. They married
sisters, Lula and Florence Munger.
The Town bought the home and 103 acres from Smith &
Harris in 1952 for $34,000 in 1955, giving the previous
owners lifetime rights. Smith & Harris had run a productive
farm on the property for many years, and were popular
townspeople.
Once the men died, the sisters lived
in the house for another 16 years until infirmities made
it necessary for them to be moved to a nursing home. The
house was boarded up and had become the target for vandalism.
The Town was considering demolishing it when a group of
citizens urged that it be saved and restored. A restoration
committee was appointed in 1974 with a target date of
1976 for its completion. On July 3, 1976 East Lyme’s
Town Museum, The Smith-Harris House was dedicated.
In 1976, only the first floor was open to the public.
Over the years, the Commission has forged ahead and opened
the entire house, room by room. This could not have been
done without the help of the Friends of Smith-Harris House.
The Friends are a volunteer organization, which supports
the House through membership fees, fund raising, gifts,
grants, and many hours of hard work. |
