Maple Avenue

Set on a small rectangular lot and shaded by large pine trees, the Abel Coe House sits on the north side of Maple Avenue in a primarily residential neighborhood.

Notable Features

The Abel Coe House, ca. 1780, is an unusual example of an eighteenth-century domestic-style  structure which features a gable-to-street roof and utilizes a side-hall plan. This Colonial-period building has been somewhat modified from its original form over the years. The fenestration at the second story has been altered to display centrally located paired windows flanked by two-over-two sash on either side. Throughout the rest of the building similar late nineteenth-century two-over-two sash have louvered shutters. The facade doorway is highlighted by a shed roof supported by scroll sawn brackets. A 2 story, one-bay, flat-roofed pavilion added to the eastern elevation features a single-story, Victorian-period, open porch exhibiting scroll-sawn brackets and unadorned columns supporting another shed roof. A 2 story, flat-roofed addition has been added to the north elevation.

Historical or Architectural Importance

Abel Coe (1727-1798), son of Joseph Coe, built this house ca. 1780 on land he most likely inherited from his father’s estate. A farmer, Coe was enrolled as a freeman in 1770, which gave him the right to vote,and in 1777 he took the oath of fidelity. Abel and his brother were well known for trading extensively in land, purchasing over 200 acres in Hartland, Connecticut. Married to Prudence Rossiter in 1756, Coe willed the property to his three sons,Elijah, Charles,and Abel ( b.1768). In 1799, shortly before he moved to Granby, Ct., Abel Coe,Jr. sold the property to his sister Jerusha and her husband, James Parmelee. Mary Ann P. Roberts and Parmelia Maria Parmelee, the Parmelees’ daughters,received the  property in 1832 with a shop and dwelling house. Alvin P. Roberts (1828-1896~ a tinner by trade,purchased the house from his aunt Parmelia in 1853. Roberts most likely worked for the Merriam Manufacturing Company, producers of japanned* tin and iron ware. The house today still remains in the Roberts family.
Noteworthy for its long association with the Coe, Parmelee, and Roberts families, the Abel Coe House is a well preserved example of an eighteenth-century D0mestic structure altered over time to meet the changing preferences of each passing generation.

 

*japanned tin–tin covered with a glossy finish