Thursday Doors – Denslow House

How many things can you accomplish with one blog post? At least three. I chose today’s door because it looks good in black and white. This allows me to complete the black and white five-day photo challenge that Cordelia’s Mom (CM) nominated me for a while back. The stuff I’m going to write about this door lets me also complete the Five Photo Five challenge for which I was nominated by Amy. Of course, this being a Thursday, well, doors.

I live in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Windsor Locks is only 100 years older than me (incorporated in 1854). When this area was originally settled, it was the Pine Meadows district of Windsor, CT. People migrated from Windsor to this area along the CT River and began to stake out farms and build houses. One of the first settlers in Pine Meadow was Henry Denslow, who moved there in 1663.

The second sentence in the previous paragraph is astounding to me. People migrated from Windsor to Windsor Locks. Using a point of reference that more people might understand, that’s like migrating from downtown New York City to Midtown. Which. I’m sure. People. Did.

We consider distances like this (3-5 miles) to be trivial today. I ride my bike in a 10-mile loop that takes me into the north edge of the Windsor Historic District (with homes dating back to the mid-1600s) past the Denslow house and then up into other sections of Windsor and Windsor Locks. On a good day, I can complete that loop in 45 minutes.

Henry Denslow left his family in Windsor and traveled north into the Pine Meadows section. He lived there for thirteen years, when, according to the stone marker at the historic site, he was killed by Indians.

As for the Denslow House, it’s old but not that old. Several sources point to the 375 year-old Fairbanks House in Dedham, MA as being the oldest remaining freestanding structure. The Denslow house shown here is not the original house built by Henry, but it’s well over 250 years old. It’s not in the greatest shape. Like the Lockkeeper’s house I featured last week, it needs a little TLC. Similarly, if it doesn’t get that TLC, it will someday need a restoration effort. Unlike the Lockkeeper’s house, this building is made of wood and if it’s allowed to deteriorate too long, there won’t be a chance for restoration.

A view of the house from the location of the stone marker.

This stone marker was carved to make the site of the original Denslow house.

This is a color version of the south side of the house, including the door that is featured today.

The color version of today’s door.

This plaque is affixed to an iron fence that surrounds the stone marker.

The Denslow House sits adjacent to a Park & Ride lot near an interchange of Interstate 91.

It’s hard to tell which door would have been considered the front door. The house has been moved and the parking lot tends to remove the points of reference.

This marked the site of the original house.

This might be the front door of the house, I love the weathered look.

This post is part of Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors series. If you want to join the fun, click the link to Norm’s page and follow the easy instructions.

If you are a history buff, you can follow this link to a well-researched and comprehensive history of Windsor Locks. A more personal view of this history was published in 1900 in a series of sketches written and compiled by Jabez-Hasicell Hayden can be viewed here.