Town House Road, west side, 0.1 m South of Maple Avenue

The Elias B. Meigs House stands on a tree-shaded half~acre lot on the west side of Durham’s Green.

• Record ID: 179
• Address: Town House Road, west side, 0.1 m South of Maple Avenue
• Current Owner: Cox, Hugh and Judith
• Name of Building:
• Historic Name: Elias Meigs House
• Download PDF of Original Record

Notable Features

This 2 1/2 story Federal-style residence in many ways resembles the Charles Camp House, which stands just to the south of it. Both are side-hall plan structures with gable
ends facing the street. The Meigs House, however, possesses that hallmark of the’ Federal style, a demi-lunette fanlight in its gable peak. It also possesses an elegant leaded
glass fanlight over its front entry, which is protected by a cove-ceilinged gable-roofed portico supported by Doric columns. A shed-roofed 10 x 16 addition, probably contemporary with the main block, stands to the rear of the structure. In 1980 a single-story gableroofed addition was made to the south side of the main block.

Historical or Architectural Importance

In April of 1830 Ebenezer Camp sold this one-acre lot to Elias B. Meigs for $160.75. No structure stood on it. The Grand List of 1830 shows no house on the site–but the list
for 1831 shows a structure valued at $1,000. On Meigs’ death in 1878 the house passed to his son and daughter, who held it as a rental property until 1913. It passed to its
present owners in 1966.
This is a fine example of Federal-style architecture. Its strategic location on the Green constitutes an important visual anchor to the area’s past.