Duane Barnes House, Middletown, Connecticut:
This Gothic Revival style house at 327 High Street, was erected in 1848. Edward Duane Barnes commissioned the home to be constructed from finely cut brownstone from across the river in Portland, Connecticut. Barnes was a successful quarryman, real estate investor, bookseller, poet and intellectual. A leader of Middletown’s avant-garde, Barnes likely admired the controversial Free Love Movement (married three times) popularized by Victoria Woodhull.
The rural residence was designed and completed by master architect Andrew Jackson Dowling, along with input from Barnes. Touted as one of the most artistic residences in United States, it’s whimsical decorations represents romantic naturalism and transcendentalism of the early 19th century.
Elements of the home were also a reflection of Edward Duane Barnes’ individual tastes. The impressive exterior includes ashlar wood trim, iron railings and a steep gabled roof. A stylized acorn and oak leaf motif appear on the bargeboards. The elegant architecture epitomized Middletown’s most prestigious street.
In 1855, Barnes conveyed the property to William Sebor, captain of a New York to London packet ship. The house remained in the Sebor family until 1901, when Louis deKoven Hubbard acquired the property. The Hubbard heirs sold to Wesleyan University in 1934, who turned the residence into an infirmary. Wesleyan still owns and preserves the property, now called Davison Health Center.
Fun fact: On a visit to Middletown in 1867, famed author Charles Dickens stayed at the Duane Barnes House for a night and exclaimed, “High Street is the most beautiful street I have seen in America.”
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