Smith-Harris House c 1845

Niantic, CT

This was my last stop on my recent tour of historic homes in East Lyme/Niantic.  The Smith-Harris house, pictured here, was built for Thomas Avery in 1845, a local farmer who apparently was pretty well off back in the day.  The house is an example of the Greek revival style of architecture, a style common for houses built in the 1800's throughout New England and the Mid-West.  It is listed on the Registry of Historic Places as the Thomas Avery house.  The home was occupied by family's descendants for 110 years when the house and 103 acres of farmland were sold to the city of East Lyme for municipal uses.  The house was boarded up and was frequently vandalized to the point that the city considered having the house torn down.  Local citizens rallied to save the home, formed a commission to oversee its restoration and today maintains the home and surrounding land as a museum.