Abel H. Fish House

Abel H. Fish House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
view of the rear of the house, which faces the public way
Location	Buckley Hill and Rathbun Hill Roads, Salem, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°31′47″N 72°14′55″W
Area	9.4 acres (3.8 ha)
Built	1835 (1835)
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	82004381
Added to NRHP	March 2, 1982

The Abel H. Fish House is a historic house at Buckley Hill Road and Rathbun Hill Road in Salem, Connecticut. Built about 1835, it is a well-preserved example of a vernacular Greek Revival farmhouse. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 2, 1982.

Description and history

The Abel H. Fish House is located in the rural setting of northeastern Salem, near the junction of Buckley Hill and Rathbun Hill Roads. It is set well south of Buckley Hill Road, about 200 feet (61 m) down a lane that used to be a public road, and is oriented facing south, away from the road. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, four-bay facade, and clapboarded exterior. It has Greek Revival features, including an entry flanked by sidelight windows and pilasters, and topped by a transom window and entablature. To the east is a single-story wing, believed to be an older structure. The interior has a number of unusual features, including a winding staircase near the entrance, and a space that may have been used for the manufacture of soap.

The house was built about 1835, and is a typical example of a period farmhouse built for a farmer of middling economic means. Abel Fish bought this farm, then 165 acres (67 ha) in 1826, where he grew potatoes and raised dairy cows and sheep. He was active an area Baptist congregation, referred to in local records as "Deacon Abel Fish". The house now stands on about 10 acres (4.0 ha), with much of the surrounding farmland still relatively undeveloped.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut