Historic Structure Report 

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Historic Architecture Program 

Northeast Region 

 HUNT HOUSE 

 Women's Rights National Historical Park 

 Seneca Falls and Waterloo, New York 
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PARTIAL DRAFT 

HUNT HOUSE 

Historic Structure Report 

Women's Rights National Historical Park 

Seneca Falls and Waterloo, New York 

By 

Barbara A. Yocum, Architectural Conservator 

Historic Architecture Program 

Northeast Region, National Park Service 

Lowell, Massachusetts 

January 2009 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

LIST OF FIGURES AND CREDITS........................................................... vi 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................ xvii 

I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................1 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................ 3 

 ADMINISTRATIVE DATA.............................................................. 7 

II. DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY .............................................9 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (BY Vivien Rose) .............................11 

 [Subtitles—to be added by Vivien] 

 CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE ......................... 12 

 Richard P. Hunt, 1827-56 ....................................................... 12 

 

 Jane C. Hunt, 1856-89............................................................. 37 

 Jennie and George T. Hunt, 1890-1919 .................................. 44 

 Clifford Beare, 1919-30 .......................................................... 47 

 Roy A. Brewster, 1930-44 ....................................................... 51 

 Irving Greenwood, 1944-76.................................................... 51 

 Joan and Thomas Olmstead, 1976-99 ..................................... 55 
iv

 National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1999-2001 ............. 60 

 National Park Service, 2001-Present ...................................... 60 

 

III. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS ....................................................71 

EXTERIOR ...................................................................................... 73 

 

 General Information ..................................................................... 73 

 Foundation.................................................................................... 73 

 Walls ............................................................................................. 73 

 Doorways ...................................................................................... 74 

 Windows ....................................................................................... 75 

 Cornice ......................................................................................... 77 

 Gutters .......................................................................................... 77 

 Roof .............................................................................................. 77 

 Chimneys ...................................................................................... 78 

 Porticos ......................................................................................... 78 

 Electrical Fixtures ......................................................................... 79 

 Painted Finishes ............................................................................ 79 

 Missing Wings and Porches........................................................... 79 

 

INTERIOR ....................................................................................... 89 

 Cellar ............................................................................................ 89 

 Room 101 (Lower Hall) ................................................................. 96 

 Room 102 (Dining Room) ............................................................. 107 

 Room 103 (Kitchen) ...................................................................... 117 

 Room 104 (North Addition) .......................................................... 125 

 Room 105 (Bathroom)................................................................... 129 

 Room 106 (Parlor) .................................................................... 136

 Room 201 (Upper Hall) ................................................................. 144 

 Room 202 (Southwest Bedroom)................................................... 150 

 Room 203 (Northwest Bathroom) ................................................. 159 

 Room 204 (North Bathroom) ........................................................ 167 

 Room 205 (Northeast Bedroom) ................................................... 177 

 Room 206 (Southeast Bedroom).........................................................185 

 Attic ........................................................................................ 194 
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 UTILITIES ....................................................................................... 201 

 

 Gas Lighting ............................................................................. 201 

 Electrical ...................................................................................... 201 

 Heating System.............................................................................. 201 

 Plumbing System ...................................................................... 202 

IV. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................205 

EXISTING INTEGRITY FOR 1847-49 ............................................ 207 

 CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES .......................................... 209 

 TREATMENT OPTIONS ................................................................ 213 

APPENDICES

A. PAINT ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 215 

B. MORTAR ANALYSIS ...................................................................... 245 

C. WALLPAPER INVESTIGATION .................................................... 251 

D. INTERIOR WOODWORK CASINGS ............................................. 257 

BIBLIOGRAPHY...............................................................................263 
vi

LIST OF FIGURES 

AND CREDITS 

Cover: Front façade of "The old Hunt homestead, circa 1900." 

 Photograph courtesy of Peggy Hunt Van Kirk. 

1. 1790 map of Seneca County showing military lots, including Lot 98. 

 Illustration from the "Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Hunt House, 

 Women's Rights National Historical Park, 2003," p. 2 of 7. Original 

 citation: Seneca County Clerk. ...................................................................................12 

2. Hand-drawn "Map of part of Lot 98 Junius, for Richard P. Hunt," 

 Circa 1827. The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo 

 Historical Society. ......................................................................................................13 

3. Undated photograph of the Reuben Swift House formerly on West Main 

 Street, Waterloo. Waterloo Historical Society ...........................................................14 

4. Circa-1870 photograph of the First National Bank of Waterloo at 

 the corner of Main and Virginia Streets in Waterloo, originally built 

 circa 1815 as the home of Martin Kendig, Junior. Waterloo Historical Society..........15 

5. Circa-1867 photograph of a building with stepped gable that survives 

 today at 18-20 West Main Street in Waterloo. Waterloo Historical Society. .............15 

6. First-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1828. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum in 2007, devised from an existing-conditions drawing 

 by John G. Waite Associates, Architects, 2006. ...........................................................19 

7. Second-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1828. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum in 2007, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John 

 G. Waite Associates, Architects, 2006. ........................................................................20 

8. South elevation of the Hunt House, circa 1848. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................28 

9. West elevation of the Hunt House, circa 1848. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................29 
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10. North elevation of the Hunt House, circa 1848. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................30 

11. East elevation of the Hunt House, circa 1848. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................31 

12. First-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1848. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................32 

13. Second-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1848. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................33 

14. Detail of the 1855 Map of Waterloo showing the house and outbuildings of 

 the Hunt farm. Illustration from the "Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Hunt 

 House, Women's Rights National Historical Park, 2003," p. 4 of 7. Original 

 citation: "Map of the Town of Waterloo, Seneca County, N.Y.: Illustrated 

 Plat-Book from the Cadastral from actual surveys" (Philadelphia: J.H. 

 French), 1855. Reprinted by W.E. Morrison and Co., Ovid, N.Y., n.d. .....................35 

15. "Bird's Eye View of Waterloo, Seneca County, New York," 1873, drawn by 

 Aug. Koch, published by J.J. Stoner, with detail of the Hunt residence. 

 Waterloo Historical Society........................................................................................40 

16. First-floor plan of the Hunt House, 1889. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................42 

17. Second-floor plan of the Hunt House, 1889. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................43 

18. Front façade of "The old Hunt homestead, circa 1900." Photograph courtesy 

 of Peggy Hunt Van Kirk..............................................................................................45 

19. Front façade of the Hunt House, circa 1910. Photograph in the archives 

 of the Waterloo Historical Society..............................................................................46 

20. First-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1920. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................49 

21. Second-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1920. Conjectural drawing by 

 Barbara Yocum, devised from an existing-conditions drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, 2006..............................................................................50 
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22. Cabin constructed in 1938-39 by Roy Brewster located northeast of the 

 Hunt House, 2001. Illustration from the "Cultural Landscapes Inventory, 

 Hunt House, Women's Rights National Historical Park, 2003," p. 5 of 8. ..................51 

23. Exterior snapshots of the Hunt House, September 1944. Photographs 

 from the Greenwood's photograph album, courtesy of Joan Greenwood 

 Olmstead. ............................................................................................................. 52, 53 

24. Three-bay garage constructed by the Greenwood family in 1954. Illustration 

 from the "Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Hunt House, Women's Rights 

 National Historical Park, 2003," p. 5 of 8. ..................................................................53 

25. Two views of the living room in the process of being remodeled circa 

 1959-60. Photographs courtesy of Joan Greenwood Olmstead. .................................54 

26. Snapshots of the dining room and new back room, August 1968. Photographs 

 courtesy of Joan Greenwood Olmstead. .....................................................................55 

27. South and east elevations of the Hunt House. Photograph by Barbara Pearson 

 (now Yocum), February 29, 1984. ..............................................................................57 

28. West elevation of the Hunt House. Photograph by Barbara Pearson 

 (now Yocum), February 29, 1984. ..............................................................................57 

29. North elevation of the Hunt House. Photograph by Barbara Pearson 

 (now Yocum), February 29, 1984. ..............................................................................58 

30. South and east elevations of the Hunt House. Photograph by Barbara 

 Pearson (now Yocum), February 29, 1984. .................................................................58 

31. "Survey Map of the Premises of Thomas H. and Joan K. Olmstead," drawn 

 December 3, 1999, based on the instrument survey of November 12, 1999. 

 Annotated by Barbara Yocum, 2007. Copy at Women's Rights NHP. .......................59 

32. South elevation of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006. Doorway and window numbers added by Barbara 

 Yocum, 2007...............................................................................................................62 

33. West elevation of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006. Doorway and window numbers added by Barbara 

 Yocum, 2007. ..............................................................................................................63 

34. North elevation of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006. Doorway and window numbers added by Barbara 

 Yocum, 2007...............................................................................................................64 
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35. East elevation of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006. Doorway and window numbers added by Barbara 

 Yocum, 2007. ..............................................................................................................65 

 

36. Roof plan of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006 ............................................................................................66 

37. Cellar plan of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006 ............................................................................................67 

38. First-floor plan of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006 ........................................................................................... 68 

39. Second-floor plan of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. 

 Waite Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions 

 Assessment Report," December 2006 .........................................................................69 

40. Attic plan of the Hunt House, 2006. Measured drawing by John G. Waite 

 Associates, Architects, included in the "Hunt House Conditions Assessment 

 Report," December 2006 ............................................................................................70 

Figures 41-157 are NPS photographs taken by Barbara Yocum. 

41. Front façade and west elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007. ................................81 

42. West elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007. ............................................................81 

43. North (rear) elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007. ................................................82 

44. East elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007. .............................................................82 

45. Limestone water table of the front façade shown in elevation and profile, 

 June 2007. ...................................................................................................................83 

46. Limestone bock foundation at the northeast corner of the east elevation, 

 June 2007. ...................................................................................................................83 

47. West side of the north elevation showing absence of limestone foundation 

 blocks, June 2007. .......................................................................................................83 

48. Detail of the exterior brick wall at the north elevation showing common bond 

 pattern—one row of headers to five rows of stretchers, June 2007. ............................84 

49. Detail of north brick wall showing remnants of circa-1920 red paint on the 

 brickwork and early lime mortar, June 2007...............................................................84 
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50. Front doorway details, including shadow outline of former portico and 

 reproduction 6-panel door, June 2007........................................................................85 

51. Detail of later French doorways at the east elevation and shadow evidence 

 of missing porch roof, June 2007. ...............................................................................86 

52. Detail of north elevation in the vicinity of the missing north-wing roof, 

 April 2008. ..................................................................................................................87 

53. Window W101 in the front façade—an original window with limestone lintel, 

 jack arch, and 9-over-6 sashes, June 2007. ..................................................................88 

54. Window W104 in the west elevation, which appears to have once been a 

 doorway, June 2007. ...................................................................................................88 

55. Window W105 in the west elevation with brickwork patching beneath the 

 opening. June 2007.....................................................................................................88 

56. Circa-1960 windows in the north elevation: W109 and W208, June 2007. ..................88 

57. View of the cellar looking northwest, June 2007. ........................................................92 

58. North wall of the cellar at doorway patch, June 2007..................................................92 

59. Bulkhead stair at the north wall of the cellar, June 2007.............................................93 

60. View of the cellar looking southeast, June 2007. ........................................................93 

61. View of the cellar looking southwest, June 2007. ........................................................94 

62. Southwest corner of the cellar showing the electrical panels and furnace, 

 June 2007. ..................................................................................................................94 

63. Detached cast-iron door in the cellar from a former boiler made by 

 "Richardson, Boynton & Co., New York." June 2007. ...............................................95 

64. Front doorway in the south wall of the lower hall (Room 101), June 2007. ...............102 

65. West doorway to Room 102 in the lower hall (Room 101), June 2007. ......................102 

66. Stairway to second story in the lower hall (Room 101), June 2007. ...........................102 

67. West doorway beneath the stair in the lower hall (Room 101), June 2007.................102 

68. East doorway to Room 106 in the lower hall (Room 101), June 2007. .......................103 

69. Detail of ceiling in the lower hall (Room 101) looking south towards the 

 front doorway, June 2007. ........................................................................................103 
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70. Detail of the floor at the west doorway of the lower hall (Room 101) showing 

 original floorboards beneath later flooring, August 2007..........................................104 

71. Detail of writing in the lower hall (Room 101) on north plasterboard 

 partition beneath large mirror, August 2007. ............................................................104 

72. View looking north towards the original exterior back doorway of the lower 

 hall (Room 101) following removal of the bathroom partition, April 2008...............105 

73. Detail at west doorway of the lower hall (Room 101) showing circa-1960 

 wallpaper on plaster beneath existing plasterboard, August 2007.............................106 

74. Detail of the east wall of the lower hall (Room 101) revealing patch of 

 a former doorway beneath later plasterboard, August 2007. ....................................106 

75. South wall of the dining room (Room 102), June 2007. .............................................112 

76. West wall of the dining room (Room 102), June 2007. ..............................................112 

77. Kitchen doorway in the north wall of the dining room (Room 102), June 2007. .......113 

78. Northeast corner of the dining room (Room 102), June 2007. ..................................113 

79. Upper east wall and ceiling of the dining room (Room 102), June 2007. ...................114 

80. Hall doorway in the east wall of the dining room (Room 102), June 2007. ................114 

81. Detail of chimney breast at the west wall of the dining room (Room 102) 

 following partial removal of plasterboard, August 2007............................................115 

82. Lower northwest corner of the dining room (Room 102) with plasterboard 

 partially removed, August 2007.................................................................................115 

83. Detail of north wall of the dining room (Room 102) at former doorway to 

 Room 103, August 2007. ...........................................................................................116 

84. View of the kitchen (Room 103) looking east, June 2007 ..........................................123 

85. Northeast corner of the kitchen (Room 103), June 2007...........................................123 

86. Northwest corner of the kitchen (Room 103), June 2007..........................................124 

87. North wall of the kitchen (Room 103), June 2007. ....................................................124 

88. Detail of upper southwest wall of the kitchen (Room 103) at doorway to 

 Room 102 revealing early plaster beneath plasterboard, August 2007. .....................124 

89. View of the back room (Room 104) looking east, June 2007. ....................................128 
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90. View of the back room (Room 104) looking west, June 2007. ...................................128 

91. Southwest corner of the bathroom (Room 105), June 2007.......................................134 

92. North wall of the bathroom (Room 105), June 2007.................................................134 

93. East wall of the bathroom (Room 105), June 2007. ...................................................134 

94. View of the bathroom ceiling (Room 105) looking east, June 2007. ..........................134 

95. View of the bathroom (Room 105) looking northwest following removal 

 of the hall partition and plasterboard, December 2007.............................................135 

96. Detail of the north wall of the bathroom (Room 105) showing wall niche 

 and wallpaper beneath plasterboard, December 2007. .............................................135 

97. Detail of west wall of the bathroom (Room 105) showing locations of 

 circa-1950 medicine cabinet and flanking lights, April 2008. ....................................135 

98. View of the living room (Room 106) looking south, June 2007. ................................141 

99. View of the living room (Room 106) looking north, June 2007. ................................141 

100. Detail of fireplace mantel at the east wall of the living room (Room 106), 

 June 2007. .................................................................................................................142

101. Detail of doorway to Room 101 at the west wall of the living room 

 (Room 106), June 2007..............................................................................................142 

102. Detail of French doorway at the east wall of the living room (Room 106), 

 June 2007. .................................................................................................................142

103. Detail of west wall of the living room (Room 106) at former hall doorway, 

 August 2007. .............................................................................................................143 

104. View of the upper hall (Room 201) looking south, June 2007....................................148 

105. View of the upper hall (Room 201) looking north, June 2007. ..................................148 

106. Detail of ceiling in the upper hall (Room 201) looking north, June 2007...................149 

107. Detail of doorway to Room 202 in the upper hall (Room 201), June 2007. ................149 

108. Detail of stair railing in the upper hall (Room 201), June 2007..................................149 

109. Detail of railing newel posts in the upper hall (Room 201), June 2007. .....................149 

110. East wall of the southwest bedroom (Room 202), June 2007.....................................155 
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111. South wall of the southwest bedroom (Room 202), June 2007. .................................155 

112. West wall of the southwest bedroom (Room 202), June 2007....................................156 

113. Detail of window casing at the west window of the southwest bedroom, 

 June 2007. .................................................................................................................156

114. North wall of the southwest bedroom (Room 202), June 20007................................157 

115. Original plaster revealed beneath plasterboard at the chimney breast 

 of the southwest bedroom (Room 202), August 2007................................................157 

116. Detail of the chimney breast in the southwest bedroom (Room 202) showing 

 plaster patch that preserves the outline of the missing fireplace mantel, 

 August 2007. .............................................................................................................158 

117. Original floorboards uncovered beneath later oak flooring in the southeast 

 closet of the southwest bedroom (Room 202), August 2007......................................158 

118. Northwest corner of the northwest bathroom (Room 203), June 2007. ....................164 

119. Northeast corner of the northwest bathroom (Room 203), June 2007. .....................164 

120. East wall of the northwest bathroom (Room 203), June 2007. ..................................164 

121. Southwest corner of the northwest bathroom (Room 203), June 2007......................164 

122. West wall of the northwest bathroom (Room 203) following partial removal 

 of the circa-1950 plasterboard to reveal circa-1920 plaster, August 2007. ................165 

123. South wall of the linen closet in the northwest bathroom (Room 203) following 

 partial removal of the circa-1950 plasterboard to reveal original lath and plaster, 

August 2007. .............................................................................................................165 

124. Remnant of Room-203 baseboard preserved at the north wall of the west 

 adjacent room (Room 204), April 2008. ....................................................................166 

125. Remnant of Room-203 baseboard preserved at the south closet wall of 

 the west adjacent room (Room 204), April 2008. ......................................................166 

126. Northwest corner of the north bathroom (Room 204), June 2007. ...........................174 

127. Northeast corner of the north bathroom (Room 204), June 2007. ............................174 

128. Hall doorway in the east wall of the north bathroom (Room 204), June 2007. ..........174 

129. Southeast corner at the closet in the north bathroom (Room 204), June 2007. .........174 

130. Ceiling of the north bathroom (Room 204) looking north, June 2007.......................175 
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131. East plaster wall and ceiling of the north bathroom (Room 204) above 

 existing plasterboard ceiling, June 2007....................................................................175 

132. Circa-1920 doorway in the west wall of the north bathroom (Room 204) 

 discovered behind later bathtub enclosure, April 2008.............................................176 

133. Shadow of missing attic stair discovered behind later plasterboard in the 

 south closet of the north bathroom (Room 204), April 2008 . ...................................176 

134. Original floorboards uncovered beneath later sheet flooring in the north 

 bathroom (Room 204), view looking north, April 2008.............................................176 

135. Back side of the north bathroom lavatory embossed with the date of 

 manufacture, "May 6, K49 [1949]." Photograph taken April 2008. ..........................176 

136. West wall of the northeast bedroom (Room 205), June 2007. ...................................181 

137. Northwest corner of the northeast bedroom (Room 205), June 2007. ......................181 

138. East wall of the northeast bedroom (Room 205), June 2007......................................182 

139. South wall of the northeast bedroom (Room 205), June 2007. ..................................182 

140. Ceiling of the northeast bedroom (Room 205) looking west, June 2007....................183 

141. Closet interior of the northeast bedroom (Room 205), June 2007.............................183 

142. West doorway of the northeast bedroom (Room 205) showing graining 

 partially exposed on the lower door panels, August 2007. ........................................184 

143. Detail of graining exposed on the lower panel of the west door in the 

 northeast bedroom (Room 205), August 2007...........................................................184 

144. West wall of the southeast bedroom (Room 206), June 2007. ...................................190 

145. North wall of the southeast bedroom (Room 206), June 2007...................................190 

146. East wall of the southeast bedroom (Room 206), June 2007......................................191 

147. South wall of the southeast bedroom (Room 206), June 2007. ..................................191 

148. Ceiling of the southeast bedroom (Room 206) looking east, June 2007.....................192 

149. Closet interior of the southeast bedroom (Room 206), June 2007.............................192 

150. Detail of chimney breast in the southeast bedroom (Room 206) beneath 

 later plasterboard, August 2007. ...............................................................................193 

151. View of the attic looking east, June 2007...................................................................197 
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152. East wall of the attic showing original reused roof purlin and iron 

 support, June 2007. ...................................................................................................197 

153. View of the attic looking west, June 2007..................................................................198 

154. View of the attic looking north, June 2007. ...............................................................198 

155. Roof framing in the attic, view looking west, June 2007. ...........................................199 

156. Modern hatch with folding stair in the floor of the attic, view looking 

 north, June 2007. ......................................................................................................200 

157. Original attic hatch and door, June 2007...................................................................200 

Appendix B: Mortar Analysis

B-1. Detail of exterior brickwork with original lime mortar. Photograph 

 by Barbara Yocum, June 2007. ..................................................................................247 

B-2. Detail of original plaster on the chimney breast of the southwest bedroom 

 (Room 202). Photograph by Barbara Yocum, August 2007. .....................................247 

B-3. Detail of exterior brickwork with gray repointing mortar. Photograph 

 by Barbara Yocum, April 2008. .................................................................................248 

B-4. View of the living room (Room 106) showing gray plaster patch enclosing 

 the hall doorway. Photograph dated circa 1960 courtesy of Joan Olmstead.............248 

Appendix C: Wallpaper Investigation 

C-1 Room 101: Circa-1930 wallpaper discovered behind a chase for heating 

 ductwork on the east wall of the lower hall (Room 101). Photograph 

 by Barbara Yocum, April 2008. .................................................................................253 

C-2 Room 102: Two wallpapers hung in the dining room by the Greenwoods 

 in 1948 and circa 1960. Photograph by Barbara Yocum, August 2007. .....................254 

C-3. Room 204: Pink striped wallpaper with narrow border hung in the halls by 

 the Greenwoods circa 1945. Photograph by Barbara Yocum, April 2008.................254 

C-4. Room 106: Snapshot showing circa-1945 wallpaper on the walls of the 

 living room. Photograph dated 1953 courtesy of Joan Olmstead..............................255 

C-5. Room 206: Snapshot showing circa-1945 wallpaper on the walls of the 

 southeast bedroom. Photograph dated 1953 courtesy of Joan Olmstead. ................255 
xvi

C-6. Room 105: Circa-1960s wallpaper preserved above the plasterboard 

 ceiling in the downstairs bathroom. Photograph by Anne Derousie, 

 September 2007. .......................................................................................................256 

Appendix D: Interior Woodwork Casings 

D-1 Plate 42 from Asher Benjamin's 1833 book Practice of Architecture. Boston: 

 Reprinted by Da Capo Press of New York, 1972.......................................................259 

D-2 Room 202: Detail of south window casing in the southwest bedroom. 

 Photograph by Barbara Yocum, June 2007. ..............................................................260 

D-3 Room 206: Detail of south window casing in the southeast bedroom. 

 Photograph by Barbara Yocum, June 2007 ...............................................................260 

D-4 Room 206: Nail removed from south window corner block in the southeast 

 bedroom. Photograph by Barbara Yocum, June 2007. . ...........................................261 

D-5 Room 206: Detail showing the wooden support, or plaster ground, to which 

 the corner block was nailed. Photograph by Barbara Yocum, June 2007. ................261 

 

 
xvii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

The following people are gratefully acknowledged for their assistance with this project. 

Women's Rights National Historical Park

Tina Orcutt, Superintendent 

Vivien Rose, Chief, Cultural Resources 

Anne Derousie, Historian 

Robert Fenton, Facility Manager 

Leroy Renninger, former Facility Manager 

Sparky Hock, Jr., Maintenance Worker 

Northeast Regional Office, National Park Service

Peggy Albee Vance, Program Manager, Historic Architecture Program 

Lisa Cutone, Budget Analyst, Museum Services Center 

Sharon Ofenstein, Publications Editor, Historic Architecture Program 

Waterloo and Seneca County

Tanya Warren, Curator, Waterloo Library and Historical Society 

Walter Gable, Seneca County Historian 

Jim King, Manager, Maple Grove Cemetery, Waterloo, NY 
xviii

Hunt Family

Peggy Hunt Van Kirk, Great-great Granddaughter of Richard P. and Jane Hunt (Interview 

June 29, 2007) 

Greenwood and Olmstead Families

Mrs. Irving (Maria) Greenwood (Interview Feb. 29, 1984) 

Joan Greenwood Olmstead, Daughter of Mrs. Greenwood (Interview June 2, 2008) 

Doris Greenwood Depp, Daughter of Mrs. Greenwood (Interview June 2, 2008) 

Tom Olmstead, Son of Joan G. Olmstead (Interview June 2, 2008) 

Robin Olmstead Cain, Daughter of Joan G. Olmstead (Interview June 2, 2008) 

Doug Cain, Son of Robin Olmstead Cain (Interview June 2, 2008)
1

I. INTRODUCTION 
2

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3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This historic structure report on the Hunt House is the result of many years of study and the 

collaborative efforts of numerous individuals. I first toured the Hunt House on a snowy day 

in February 1984 with Judy Hart, the first superintendent of Women's Rights NHP; E. Blaine 

Cliver, Chief of the Historic Preservation Center, North Atlantic Region, NPS; and Terry 

Wong, Engineer with the Denver Service Center, NPS. Maria Greenwood, the mother of 

current owner Joan Olmstead, was kind enough to allow us into her home for a glimpse of the 

place where the idea for the first Women's Rights Convention was conceived in 1848. The 

Hunt House was one of five structures visited that week in the pursuit of background 

information for the fledgling park's first General Management Plan. The resulting 

"Architectural Survey" provided brief architectural histories of the Hunt House, M'Clintock 

House, Stanton House, Bloomer House, and Wesleyan Chapel in Waterloo and Seneca Falls, 

New York. More general historical context was provided by Sandra S. Weber's Special 

History Study published in 1985. It was in the process of researching these reports that the 

incredibly detailed probate inventories of Richard P. Hunt and Jane C. Hunt were discovered 

in the Surrogate Court Office of the Seneca County Courthouse. These documents contained 

not only the names of the rooms within the Hunt House but also their furnishings for the 

years 1856 and 1889. The Hunt House remained in private ownership for almost 20 more 

years before its acquisition by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1999 and 

thereafter by the federal government in 2001. 

Background

The red-brick Hunt House at 401 East Main Street in Waterloo, New York, was the home of 

Richard P. Hunt from 1828 to 1856, and his widow Jane C. Hunt and children from 1856 to 

1889. The house remained in the Hunt family until 1919 and was in private ownership until 

1999. It became part of Women's Rights National Historical Park in 2001. The house is listed 

as a contributing resource in a thematic nomination to the National Register of Historic 

Places entitled "Women's Rights Historic Sites." 

The Hunt House is significant as the site where the idea was conceived to hold a convention 

on the rights of women. Invitees to the home of Richard and Jane Hunt were Elizabeth Cady 

Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Mary Ann M'Clintock, and Mary C. Wright. The convention took 

place July 19 and 20, 1848 at the First Wesleyan Church (the Wesleyan Chapel) in Seneca 

Falls, New York. Richard and Jane Hunt both attended and were also signers of the 

convention's Declaration of Sentiments. 

One of the goals of this Historic Structure Report was to determine the historic integrity of 

the Hunt House for the period 1847 to 1849. This evaluation was achieved in part based on a 

collection of Hunt family papers that was recently acquired by Women's Rights National 
4

Historical Park and probate inventories dated 1856 and 1890. Archival research, along with 

physical investigation of the house, revealed the following: 

• The house was constructed in 1828, according to a receipt for labor. 

• Invoices for extensive work in 1841 are believed to have included enlargement of 

an existing north wing, building of a new west wing, and raising of the roof to 

accommodate the existing Greek-Revival style cornice. 

• The Hunt's "homestead farm" in 1847-49 encompassed 145-1/2 acres of land, the 

house, and numerous outbuildings. Of these, only the main portion of the main 

house remains today on 2.74 acres. 

• Missing are the north and west wings that were removed around 1920. 

• Many of the original windows with 9-over-6 sashes survive today, although the old 

doors in the front and back doorways are gone. 

• Inside, the general layout of the rooms is unchanged, except for the parlor that 

was enlarged to its present size around 1860, and the northwest corner rooms that 

were modernized as a kitchen and bathrooms in the 20th century. 

• The rooms retain much of their original woodwork trim, but no early fireplace 

mantels. 

• Three interior 6-panel doors remain in their original doorways in the upper hall. 

• Preserved beneath later accretions of flooring and plasterboard are the original 

random-width floorboards and plaster walls and ceilings. 

Although no historic wallpapers were found, complete removal of the later plasterboard may 

reveal surviving remnants. Paint analysis determined that the exterior and interior 

woodwork was finished during the historic period with a cream-color oil paint containing 

lead. 

Many existing elements of the house and site were identified as dating to the twentieth 

century: 

• The existing two-story portico with Doric columns was added to the front facade 

around 1920. 

• The small cabin west of the house was one of three built in 1938-39. 

• The Greenwood family constructed the three-bay detached garage in 1954, the 

one-story brick addition on the back of the house around 1960, and the in-ground 

swimming pool (now filled with sand) in 1962. 

• The semi-circular driveway in front of the house was installed by the last owners, 

Joan and Thomas Olmstead. 

The house, while updated and modernized over the years, has nevertheless retained its 

historic ambience. 
5

Methodology

Documentary research for this report incorporated a review of both primary and secondary 

sources. Among the primary records were the personal papers of the Hunt family, probate 

documents, deeds, tax assessment records, maps, U.S. census records, newspaper articles, 

local directories, genealogical records, photographs, and interviews. General historical 

information on the Village and Town of Waterloo was obtained primarily from John Becker's 

1949 book The History of the Village of Waterloo, New York. Descriptions of the planning for 

and execution of the first Woman's Rights Convention in 1848 were found in the 1881 

History of Woman Suffrage and the 1898 Reminiscences of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. 

Information from more recent scholarship was provided by Chad Garrett Randl's 1999 

report "Richard P. Hunt, Leader in Waterloo Real Estate and Business." A report on the 

"Level I Environmental Assessment Survey and Hazardous Materials Investigation" of the 

property and its structures by Roy F. Weston, Inc., of Rockville, Maryland is dated 2000. 

Subsequent archeological monitoring for the removal of underground gasoline storage tanks 

and electrical pole installation resulted in two reports by Corey R. Rosentel of Lonetree 

Archeology in 2002 and 2003. A "Cultural Landscapes Inventory" of the Hunt House was 

prepared by Robert Mooney and David L. Uschold in 2003. Judith Wellman's book The Road 

to Seneca Falls published in 2004, incorporates several earlier papers written for the park over 

the years. Finally, a "Conditions Assessment Report" that includes existing -conditions 

drawings of the house was prepared by John G. Waite Associates, Architects, in 2006. 

A physical investigation of the house was undertaken by John G. Waite Associates, 

Architects, in 2006 (see previous citation) and by this author during several visits to the site in 

2007 and 2008. Existing conditions were recorded photographically and in written site 

notes. Paint samples were extracted from exterior and interior painted elements and 

examined microscopically (see Appendix A). Mortar and plaster samples were also removed 

for comparative study (see Appendix B), and a diligent search made for early wallpapers. The 

park's maintenance staff undertook selective removal of modern materials, such as 

plasterboard and later flooring, in order to determine the extent of surviving historic fabric. 

Two bathrooms, one in the first story the other in the second story, were also disassembled to 

ascertain the earlier configuration of those areas. This process was photographically 

documented and the findings presented in this report. 

Report Organization

This report introduces the people and historical events associated with the historic Hunt 

House, provides a chronology of its physical evolution, describes its various parts, identifies 

character-defining features, evaluates its integrity for the 1847-49 period of significance, and 

makes suggestions for its use and treatment. The report is divided into five primary sections 

as follows: 

Section I, "Introduction," includes the author's acknowledgements, this executive summary, 

and administrative data. 
6

Section II, Developmental History," is divided into two subsections. "Historical 

Background" chronicles the people and events associated with the Hunt House.1

 

"Chronology of Development and Use" describes the physical construction and evolution of 

the Hunt House from its construction in 1828 to the present time. The text of this section is 

illustrated with historical portraits, conjectural architectural drawings, maps, and 

photographs. 

Section III, "Physical Descriptions" is a systematic accounting of the architectural elements 

of the Hunt House. Exterior and interior features are described and their historic integrity is 

assessed in this section. The state of repair of the Hunt House is not discussed in this report, 

but has been covered in a separate "Conditions Assessment Report." This section is 

illustrated with existing conditions floor plans and recent photographs. 

Section IV, "Conclusions," discusses the existing integrity of the Hunt House for the 1847-49 

period of significance and identifies character-defining features. Various general treatment 

options are also presented in this section. 

Appendices A and B contain information on the paint and mortar analyses that were carried 

out on the building. The results and conclusions of these analyses are incorporated into the 

text of the report. 

Bibliography. Sources of information consulted for this historic structure report are listed in 

this section. References in the text are also cited in footnotes. 

Treatment Recommendations

 [To be written following a charrette on the Hunt House to be held at Women's Rights NHP.] 

 

1

 The "Historical Background" section of the report was written by Vivien Rose, Chief of Cultural 

Resources, Women's Rights NHP. The remainder of the report was written by Barbara Yocum, 

Architectural Conservator, Historic Architecture Program, Northeast Region, National Park Service. 
7

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA 

Address

The Hunt House is located at 401 East Main Street in the Town and Village of Waterloo, 

Seneca County, New York. The existing property, acquired by the federal government in 

2001, is village lot 13.11 and encompasses 2.74 acres. 2

National Register of Historic Places

The Hunt House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places while still in private 

ownership as part of a thematic nomination entitled the "Women's Rights Historic Sites 

Thematic Resources," in August 1980. Five sites in Waterloo and Seneca Falls were included: 

the Hunt House, M'Clintock House, Wesleyan Chapel, Stanton House, and Bloomer House. 

These were chosen for their direct connection to the origins of the women's rights movement 

in the United States. The period of significance of the nomination was 1800-1899, focusing 

on the years 1847-1849. A "Hunt House Cultural Landscapes Inventory" written in 2003 

concurred with these dates, as did the New York State Historic Preservation Officer.3

 A 

revised National Register nomination, which expands the period of significance to include 

the years 1815 to 1862, is currently in progress. 

Women's Rights National Historical Park

Women's Rights National Historical Park was established by Public Law 96-607, Title XVI, 

signed on December 28, 1980. An amendment to the enabling legislation, Public Law 106-

258, was signed by President Bill Clinton on August 8, 2000, permitting the Secretary of the 

Interior to acquire the fee simple title to the Hunt House. Actual transfer of the title to the 

federal government from the National Trust for Historic Preservation took place the 

following year, on September 14, 2001. 

 

2

 Robert Mooney and David Uschold, "Hunt House Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Women's Rights 

NHP," 2003, Part 4, p. 2. 

3

 Ibid, and transmittal letter dated Aug. 20, 2003, from Marie Rust, Regional Director, Northeast 

Region, to Bernadette Castro, Commissioner, New York State Parks Recreation and Historic 

Preservation; concurrence signed by the SHPO Sept. 18, 2003. 
8

List of Classified Structures

The Hunt House is included in the National Park Service's "List of Classified Structures" as 

LCS number 040667, and park structure number 07. The LCS management category is "must 

be preserved and maintained" and the suggested treatment "preservation." This may be 

superseded, however, by the General Management Plan, which is in the process of being 

revised and updated. 

Geographical Data

The following UTM coordinates are provided in the previously described National Register 

nomination: Zone 18, Easting 349420, and Northing 4751810. 

Related Studies

Several other studies have addressed the Hunt House and its site. The earliest, entitled 

"Architectural Survey: Women's Rights National Historical Park," was written in 1984 by 

Architectural Conservator Barbara Pearson (now Yocum) to provide additional information 

on the historic structures listed in the 1980 National Register nomination for the park's first 

General Management Plan. Later studies were prepared following acquisition of the house 

by the National Trust for Historical Preservation in 1999 and thereafter by the National Park 

Service in 2001. These are listed in the previous section under the heading "Methodology" 

and in the bibliography. All of these studies were consulted and relevant information 

incorporated into this historic structure report. 

Research Materials

Materials generated by this report include research notes, paint samples, and 

mortar/samples. Original research notes and paint and mortar/samples will be retained at 

the offices of the Historic Architecture Program, Northeast Region, in Lowell Massachusetts. 

Copies of research notes will be made available to Women's Rights National Historical Park. 
9

II. DEVELOPMENTAL 

 HISTORY 
10

 

[Blank Page] 
11

HISTORICAL 

BACKGROUND [22 PT BOLD] 

Subheading [18 PT Bold]

Text is written in 11 pt. normal with no indentation at paragraphs. 

Subheading [14 PT Bold]
12

CHRONOLOGY OF 

DEVELOPMENT AND USE 

Richard P. Hunt, 1827-56

The Van Tuyl Property 

Village of Waterloo merchant Richard 

P. Hunt purchased 145-1/5 acres of 

land for $3,585.00 from fellow 

residents John Van Tuyl and his wife 

Jane on November 5, 1827.4

 This lot 

was located on the east side of the 

village and comprised the south 

eastern part of Military Lot 98 in the 

Town of Junius (fig. 1). The deed and 

associated map (fig. 2) did not describe 

any buildings on the property, 

although other historical evidence 

suggests that the transaction included 

the Van Tuyl's dwelling house. It was 

presumably here that Richard Hunt 

moved with his wife of four years, 

Matilda Kendig Hunt, in the winter of 1827-28. 

The location of Van Tuyl's residence had been described more than three years earlier, on 

April 9, 1824, in the Act of Incorporation for the Village of Waterloo. This document 

recorded the east boundary of the new village as 10 rods (165 feet) east of "John Van Tuyl's 

dwelling house" on the north side of the Turnpike road. 5

 The house was again referred to in 

a clarification of the village boundaries issued on April 18, 1829, as "the dwelling house in 

which John Van Tuyl resided at the time of the passing of [the] act hereby amended."6

 Yet 

another amendment recorded on April 26, 1839, referred to the house as "formerly owned by 

John Van Tuyl, now by Richard P. Hunt."7

 

4

 Deed Book T, p. 86, Seneca County Registry of Deeds, Waterloo, N.Y. A copy of the deed is also in 

The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection of the Waterloo Historical Society. 5

 John Becker, A History of the Village of Waterloo, New York, and Thesaurus of Related Facts 

(Waterloo: Waterloo Library and Historical Society, 1949), p. 93. 6

 Becker, History of the Village of Waterloo, 1949, p. 469. 7

 Ibid. 

Figure 1. 1790 map of Seneca County showing 

military lots, including Lot 98. 
13

Charles D. Morgan later recalled in a paper read before 

the Waterloo Historical Society in 1878 that Richard 

Hunt sold his store in Waterloo in 1829 [sic: 1828] and 

"removed to the old red house called the Van Tyle [sic] 

house."8

 No detailed descriptions or drawings of this 

house are known to survive. The dwelling may have 

been constructed by John Van Tuyl, who was one of the 

early settlers of the area. Van Tuyl was a veteran of the 

Revolutionary War who had resided "within a mile of 

Waterloo village" since about 1818, according to his 

pension application dated May 16, 1833.9

 Horace F. 

Gustin, son of early settler Oliver Gustin, wrote of nine 

"dwellings" on the north side of the river in 1815, 

among them "the tavern of John Van Tuyl at the 

extreme end of the street."10 Gustin also recalled, "the 

Van Tuyl tavern was later owned by Jane Hunt, and in 

it was printed the first newspaper in Waterloo, edited 

by George Lewis and called the Waterloo Gazette."11 

Presumably Van Tuyl's place of business also served as 

his home. 

 In addition to his jobs as tavern keeper and landlord, 

John Van Tuyl served as sheriff of Seneca County from 

1813 to 1815 and was a trustee of the first Waterloo 

public school district in 1816. He and his wife Jane were founding members of the 

Presbyterian Church, organized in 1817, and the parents of seven children. John Van Tuyl 

died in Waterloo in 1836, and his wife eight years later in 1844.12

Measurements made by Anne Derousie, historian with Women's Rights National Park, have 

determined that the old Van Tuyl house/tavern was located a short distance to the east of the 

existing Hunt House. As such, it would have been a convenient location for Richard P. Hunt 

to supervise the nearby construction of his new brick dwelling house. Following completion 

of the new house, the old dwelling was said to have been occupied "for a long time" by Isaac 

Mosher, who was employed as a private agent by Richard P. Hunt. Following Hunt's death in 

1856, Mosher was entrusted with the general management and supervision of his estate and 

farm.13 The building was finally "moved back on the Hunt farm and ... used as an outhouse 

of the farm."14 No traces of it are visible today. 

 

8

 "Paper read before the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, by Charles D. Morgan, on Feb. 7, 

1878," in Scrapbook #2, p. 16, Waterloo Historical Society. 

9

 Alma Cramer, "Notes on the Van Tuyl Family," 1959, pp. 21 and 22. Typewritten manuscript posted 

on www.ancestry.com. 

10 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 67. 11 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 68. 12 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, pp. 62, 73, and 75; and Cramer, "Notes on the Van Tuyl Family," 

1959, pp. 21 and 22. 

13 The Centennial Celebration of General Sullivan's Campaign Against the Iroquois in 1779 ... to which is 

Prefixed a Sketch of the Waterloo Library and Historical Society by Rev. S.H. Gridley, D.D .(Waterloo: 

Waterloo Library and Historical Society, 1880), p. 22; and Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 61. 

Figure 2. "Map of part of Lot 98 

Junius, for Richard P. Hunt," circa 

1827. 
14

New Brick Dwelling House, 1828-29 

"Soon after" moving to the old red Van Tuyl house in 1827-28, Richard P. Hunt is said to 

have "erected the brick dwelling where he died."15 About this same time, Hunt sold his 

general store in Waterloo and published notices in the local newspaper requesting that all 

persons with outstanding balances settle their accounts with the new proprietors, Elijah P. 

Quinby and Daniel S. Kendig.16 Thus freed from the daily demands of the mercantile trade, 

Hunt now had time to devote to the building of his new home, real estate dealings, farming, 

and other interests. 

Architectural 

Influences 

Richard Hunt is said to have 

been influenced in his 

choice of architectural 

design by the homes of two 

of Waterloo's prominent 

citizens—Reuben Swift and 

Martin Kendig, Junior.17

The Swift house, known 

locally as the "Mansion 

House," was a wooden 

structure built in 1815-16 

on the north side of Main 

Street, approximately one 

block west of Virginia Street 

 The Federal Population Census for 1860 listed "Isaac Mosher, age 60, Superintendent of Farm" within 

close proximity to the Jane C. Hunt family. 

14 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 61. 15 "Paper read before the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, Feb. 7, 1878," Scrapbook #2, p. 16, 

Waterloo Historical Society. 

16 Notices asking people to settle their accounts were published in the Seneca Farmer & Waterloo 

Advertiser from Jun. 4 to Nov. 28, 1828. Both Elijah Quinby and Daniel Kendig were Hunt's brothersin-law: Quinby the husband of his sister Mary, and Kendig the brother of his wife Matilda. An 

incomplete set of "Day Books" for Richard P. Hunt's business, covering the years 1823 to 1828, are in 

The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection of the Waterloo Historical Society. Hunt's store carried a 

variety of items including cloth, sewing notions, groceries, hardware, and sundries, to name a few. 

17 Local historian Judith Wellman has asserted that Richard Hunt's new house "symbolized [his] 

arrival as one of the three most important men in Waterloo's economic history," and consciously 

imitated the houses of Reuben Swift and Martin Kendig, Junior. (Wellman, "Richard P. Hunt," 

undated paper posted on the NPS web site for Women's Rights National Historical Park; and 

Wellman, The Road to Seneca Falls (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2004), p. 93.) Swift and 

Kendig were both agents of absentee lawyer-landowner Elisha Williams. (Becker, History of Waterloo, 

1949, pp. 58 and 69.) 

Figure 3. Undated photograph of the Reuben Swift House 

on West Main Street, Waterloo. The house was remodeled 

as the Waterloo Memorial Hospital in 1920 and was later 

demolished in 1981-82.
15

(fig. 3).18 The Kendig house 

was constructed of bricks 

about this same time at the 

northeast corner of Main and 

Virginia Streets (fig. 4).19 Both 

were large, two-story 

dwellings in a vernacular 

Federal style featuring a fivebay symmetrical facade, 

Palladian-style window above 

the front doorway, and gable 

roof oriented parallel with 

Main Street. The Mansion 

House was further 

embellished with a two-story 

projecting center bay and 

Ionic pilasters at the corners 

of the building. Richard's 

Hunt's house, built more than 

a decade later, was a smaller 

and far less grand version of 

 these two dwellings. 

Like the Mansion House and the Kendig 

home, Richard Hunt's new brick house was a 

five-bay symmetrical design, two stories tall, 

with a gable roof oriented parallel with the 

principal street. Here, however, the 

similarities ended. The front façade had no 

Palladian window, but rather a center 

doorway with sidelights and a fanlight. 

Physical evidence preserved in the attic today 

also suggests that the brickwork on the sides 

of the house extended above the roofline in 

"stepped" fashion, incorporating two brick 

chimneys at each end. An example of this 

construction detail is illustrated in an 1867 

 18 The Mansion House was built by Reuben Swift as the residence of Elisha Williams. It was occupied 

by Reuben Swift and occasionally by Elisha Williams when he visited Waterloo. The house was 

converted to the Waterloo Memorial Hospital in 1920. (Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, pp. 69, 70, 

497 and 499.) It was demolished around 1981-82. (Tanya Warren to Barbara Yocum, June 3, 2008.) 19 The Martin Kendig, Jr., house was converted to a bank in 1834, in which use it remained until 

sometime after 1919. (Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, pp. 100 and 498.) The house is still standing 

today, in altered condition, at the corner of Main and Virginia Streets. 

Figure 4. Circa-1870 photograph of the First National Bank 

of Waterloo at the corner of Main and Virginia Streets. The 

house was constructed as the home of Martin Kendig, Jr., 

circa1815. 

Figure 5. Circa-1867 photograph of a building with 

stepped gable on West Main Street in Waterloo. The 

Hunt House had a similar roofline when constructed in 

1828.
16

photograph of a building that survives today at 18-20 West Main Street in Waterloo (fig. 5). It 

was built sometime after 1836 and before 1855, according to maps of those dates. The 1828 

Hunt House was thus an early example of stepped-gable construction in Waterloo. 

Construction Commences, 1828 

Construction of the Hunt's house proceeded from May through July 1828 under the direction 

of L.R. [A?] LaBattell. A receipt "For work at House" records the payments made to a team of 

workers that included LaBattell, Jackson, Moury, Long, Ingram, Thomson, Pulver, Edington, 

Joseph, Jasper Jones, Hagadorn, and Wilson Armstrong. Some descriptive entries of the 

labor were also recorded, such as work "on cellar," "on watertable," "keying stone," "Setting 

3 door sills," work on the "fire places" and "fire place stone," "on Steps," "Setting 22 window 

Sills," "plasting" [plastering], "breaking stone," and "Laying 82 thousd of Brick." The total 

bill for this labor amounted to $325.82, which was considered paid in full in a settlement with 

LaBattell dated March 17, 1829.20

Several of the "stone" elements installed in the house were marble. These were ordered by 

Richard Hunt from Albert John of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, according to a letter to John 

from Hunt dated May 14, 1828, and "an order for marble" dated May 30. Hunt's order was 

shipped from Stockbridge to Waterloo via canal and included 20 window sills, 1 door sill, and 

2 side sills. The 2 mantels, 2 hearths, 8 facings and 1 back, were presumably fireplace 

components.21

Little documentation has been found on the finishing of the house, which would have 

entailed the installation of window sashes, doors, and interior trim. It was not until half a 

century later that carpenter Levi Fatzinger was remembered for his work on the Hunt House. 

Six sons [of Jacob Fatzinger] all grew up to manhood, the four oldest learned the 

carpenter and joiners trade .... The third son, Levi, became a skillful workman and 

made the doors and casings of R.P. Hunt's dwelling, where the Hunt family now live; 

and they are as firm and sound as when made 50 years ago [1828]. ...In 1833[8?] Levi 

and Thomas Fatzinger built their distillery .... Some years later Levi was stricken 

down with paralysis and did not rally from the shock and died in March 1870.22 

An undated receipt for hardware purchased by R.P. Hunt from Knight Taylor "for Building" 

included nails, screws, butt hinges, latches, locks, and brads. The large quantity ordered 

makes it doubtful that the hardware was for Hunt's house, but was more likely intended for 

another building project. It is nevertheless of interest as documentation of the type of 

hardware that was available in 19th-century Waterloo.23

 

20 "Receipt for Labor on House," Catalog #26.3.4, The Hunt Family Papers, Women's Rights NHP. 21 "Order for Marble," Catalog #18.2, The Hunt Family Papers, Women's Rights NHP. No explanation 

has yet been found for the discrepancy in the number of window sills purchased (20) and installed (22). 

22 "Paper read before the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, Feb. 7, 1878," Scrapbook #2, p. 16, 

Waterloo Historical Society. 

23 The order included "3 Dz Butts [hinges] 3 1⁄2 in, 3 Gross Janus Screws, 1 Gross Janus Screws, 1 Gross 

Latches No. 2, 1 Gross Latches American No. 2, 1⁄2 Dz. Barret Bolts, 1/2 Dz Escutcheon Latches, 4 
17

Appearance of the Hunt House, 1828 

No drawings or detailed descriptions of the Hunt's new house as completed in 1828 are 

known to exist. However, it is possible to ascertain its appearance based on the clues 

provided in the documents described in the previous section and the original elements that 

survive in the house today. The foundation walls were a combination of hewn and rubble 

stones, the finer cut stones used on the principal façade and two side elevations. The upper 

walls and four chimneys were constructed of red handmade bricks laid in an American 

common bond with lime mortar. Only the front two chimneys contained flues; the back two 

chimneys had no function except to give the roof a symmetrical appearance typical of the 

Federal style. One doorway was centered in the front façade and one in the back, the front 

doorway flanked by decorative sidelights and topped by a fanlight. Abundant natural light 

was provided by 18 windows with 9-over-6 sashes. Inside, plaster with a hair binder was 

applied directly to the exterior walls and chimney breasts. Interior walls and ceilings were 

plastered on circular-sawn lath applied to wooden studs and joists. The floors consisted of 

one layer of thick, tongue-and-groove pine boards of random widths (approximately 4" – 5") 

nailed to floor joists. Doors had six panels and were hung on closed-butt hinges. Handplaned moldings with bull's-eye corner blocks trimmed the doorway and window openings, 

except in the back chambers where no corner blocks were used. Working fireplaces were in 

the front four rooms of the first and second stories; no provision appears to have been made 

for heating the rear rooms of the main house. 

The interior layout of the main house was a simple one with a center stair hall that 

communicated with the rooms in the first and second stories (figs. 6 and 7). Later probate 

inventories conducted in 1856 and 1890 indicate a dining room was located in the southwest 

corner of the first story. Behind it was a pantry, possibly partitioned into two rooms or 

closets, for the storage of china, plates, glassware, and flatware. The parlor was located 

across the hall in the southeast corner of the house. A small room situated behind the parlor 

may have been an office originally, which was later used as a bedroom by 1856. Upstairs were 

four chambers that opened off the center hall. Only one, at the head of the stairs in the 

northwest corner, appears to have been partitioned into three smaller areas to create an 

entry, a storage closet containing the attic stair, and a small bedroom. The attic was reached 

by a ladder stair, the physical evidence for which was found in 2008; the original hatch with 

wrought-iron hardware remains today. 

An attached kitchen wing of unknown dimensions, missing today, was presumably built of 

the same materials as the main house, with stone foundation walls and brick exterior walls. 

Its probable location was the back of the house on the west side, judging by a doorway patch 

in the existing cellar that would have connected with the kitchen cellar. The wing appears to 

have had one doorway and four windows, based on the total number of door and window 

sills actually installed as documented in Richard Hunt's "Receipt for Labor on House." This 

suggests that it was a small structure, most likely one story tall, possibly with a garret or attic. 

A cooking fireplace and bake oven were probably situated at the back (north) wall of the 

wing, which may have been similar in style to the circa-1835 kitchen fireplace at the 

M'Clintock House. More detailed information about this missing wing may be obtained by 

 Carpenter Knob Locks, 2 [nv?] 1-1/4 in Brads, 2 Kegs of Nails." Note that a "gross" is 12 dozen. 

(Receipt for Hardware, Catalog #26.3.2, The Hunt Family Papers, Women's Rights NHP.) 
18

future archeological explorations of the wing's foundation walls and former cellar. The 

exterior wall of the existing house, where the wing abutted, has unfortunately been altered by 

later openings for a later wing constructed circa 1960. 
19

Kitchen 

Dining 

Room 

CL

Parlor

Office?

Hall

Pantry 

 

 N 

Figure 6. Conjectural first-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1828. 

Not to scale. 
20

 

Figure 7. Conjectural second-floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1828. 

Not to scale. 

Kitchen 

Garret 

or Attic 

 

 N 

Upper 

Hall 

Northwest 

Chamber 

Entry 

Southwest 

Chamber 

Northeast 

Chamber 

Southeast 

Chamber 

Stair CL
21

New Fence, 1829

Construction of Richard Hunt's new brick house had probably been completed by January 

1829, when Richard Hunt wrote Nathan Rusco of Starkie, New York, inquiring if he was still 

interested in furnishing the boards and rails for "a Picket fence" they had discussed during 

Rusco's visit the previous summer. Rusco responded that he could indeed provide the "400 

boards 12 inches wide 12 feet long and 800 Ribs 12 feet long" and would ship the order by 

way of the canal. Hunt refined his requirements in a subsequent letter in which he 

expressed his preference for oak and hemlock rails, and an additional 100 chestnut posts to 

complete his existing inventory. He also said he was in hopes that the order could be 

delivered by the first of April, as he had "engaged Carpenters to commence work at that 

time."24

The picket fence described by Richard Hunt would have typically enclosed a house yard, 

rather than a barn yard or agricultural field, and was very likely intended for the new Hunt 

home. Such a fence can be seen in the earliest known photograph of the Hunt House, taken 

around 1900 (fig. 18). Although this fence was undoubtedly of later construction, it may have 

continued a Hunt family tradition of picket fences that started with Richard Hunt in 1829. 

Civic duties also occupied Richard Hunt about this time. He served as the first supervisor for 

the newly created Town of Waterloo from 1829 to 1830. 

The "Homestead Farm" 

Richard P. Hunt continued to purchase and sell additional portions of Military Lot 98 during 

his lifetime.25 He never sold the 145-1/5 acres acquired from John and Jane Van Tuyl in 

1827, though, and it was this property that came to be known as the Hunt family's 

"homestead farm." Richard Hunt himself referred to his "homestead farm" in his "Last Will 

and Testament" dated October 4, 1856. Hunt also mentioned his "present dwelling house" in 

this document, also called his "residence."26 Inventories undertaken by the executors of 

Richard Hunt's estate following his death in 1856 abbreviated "homestead farm" to "home 

farm." 

Residents of the Hunt Household, 1830

Richard P. Hunt and his wife Matilda had no known surviving children during their marriage 

from 1823 until Matilda's early death on August 17, 1832. While it is possible that extended 

 

24 Letters from R.P. Hunt to Nathan Rusco, Jan. 5 and 29, 1829; and letter from Rusco to Hunt, Jan. 20, 

1829; Catalog #7.1 and #8.1, The Hunt Family Papers, Women's Rights NHP. 25 Chad Garrett Randl, "Richard P. Hunt, Leader in Waterloo Real Estate and Business," Appendix A, 

pp. 1-2, unpublished manuscript prepared for Women's Rights NHP, Dec. 15, 1999. 26 Probate File #592, Surrogate Court Office, Seneca County Courthouse, Waterloo, NY; and The 

Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society. 
22

family members or others lived with the Hunts in their new home, no such information has 

yet come to light. One source, the Fifth Census of the United States for the year 1830, recorded 

the heads of households, along with the number and ages of the persons in that household for 

the entire country including Waterloo, New York. Unfortunately, the Richard P. Hunt 

family of Waterloo was not included in this census. One possible reason for this omission by 

the census taker may have been the family's temporary absence from home. 

Family and Business, 1832-1842 

No alterations are known to have been made to Richard Hunt's new house in the early years 

following its completion in 1828. The house was the setting for several personal tragedies 

and joys, including the death Matilda Kendig Hunt in 1832, and the marriage and death of 

Hunt's second wife, Anne Underhill, in 1834. Richard Hunt married his third wife, Sarah 

M'Clintock, in 1837 and together they had four children: Richard, born in 1838; Mary M., 

born in 1839; Sarah M., born in 1841; and Anna T., born and died in 1842, the same year as 

her mother Sarah. 

Richard Hunt supported his family with dealings in banking, real estate, and agriculture. He 

served as a member of the board of directors of the Seneca County Bank for 11 years, 

beginning in 1833. Hunt's many real estate transactions, beginning with the purchase of a 

lot in downtown Waterloo in 1823, are on record at the Seneca County Registry of Deeds. 

Many of these lots were developed as housing for workers of the Waterloo Woolen 

Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1836, of which Hunt was both a founding member 

and secretary. One of the brick houses constructed by Hunt in 1836 was leased to druggist 

Thomas M'Clintock, the uncle of his wife Sarah. 27 Hunt erected a brick commercial building 

on the north side of downtown Waterloo in 1839, adding two more structures in the 1850s. 

He was also actively involved in the operation of his "homestead farm," and was 

acknowledged with others by the Seneca County Agricultural Society in 1834 for their efforts 

in the development of a breed of cow with exceptional milking qualities. 

Nine persons were listed in the household of Richard P. Hunt in the Sixth Census of the 

United States in 1840. In addition to Richard, his wife Sarah, and their two young children, 

were five unidentified "Free White Persons." These included two males 30-to-40 years of 

age, one female 5-to-10 years of age, and two females 20-to-30 years of age. No "Free 

Colored Persons" were included in the Hunt household in 1840. Of the nine persons, three 

(presumably males) were listed as being employed in "Agriculture." Interestingly, none was 

listed as being employed in "Commerce." 

 

27 The genealogy of the Richard P. Hunt family is found in several sources, including several entries in 

www.ancestry.com, and unpublished papers on Richard P. Hunt and Jane Hunt posted on 

www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture. Recent scholarship indicates that Sarah M'Clintock was a niece of 

Thomas M'Clintock of Waterloo, not his sister as had previously been thought, according to historian 

Anne Derousie of Women's Rights NHP. 
23

House Remodeling, 1841 

The arrival of children beginning in the summer of 1838, combined with Richard Hunt's 

successful business dealings, may have prompted a remodeling of the Hunt home in 1841. 

Receipts in The Hunt Family Papers dated May 1841document the purchase of floorboards, 

French and American window glass, white lead (most likely for painting), door latches and 

hinges, window springs and sash fasteners, screws, casks of nails, a cook stove with riser pipe, 

a copper-bottom boiler, carpets, stair rods, china, furniture, and fabrics. Most items were 

obtained from merchants in New York City, with a few (mostly fabrics) from Philadelphia.28 

This purchase of building supplies, combined with household furnishings, suggests that the 

materials were for the Hunt home rather than one of Richard Hunt's business projects. No 

invoice for the laborers employed to remodel the house has yet been found, nor are any 

contemporary descriptions of the project known. The only known record of this work is 

found in these few receipts, later descriptions of the rooms in the probate inventories of 1856 

and 1890, and surviving physical evidence at the house itself. 

Changes made to the Hunt House in 1841 are believed to have included removing the stepped 

brickwork walls at the gable ends, raising the roof, moving the kitchen from the rear wing of 

the house to a new wing on the west side, enlarging the rear wing to accommodate a nursery 

and additional bedrooms, and adding a doorway in the second story to connect with the new 

wing. These changes are explained in detail below. 

Roof Raised 

Physical evidence of the original lower roof and remnants of the former stepped gable are 

preserved at the east and west walls of the attic today. Here the outline of the early roof can 

clearly be seen, along with the brickwork end walls that rose above it. The roof framing 

appears to have been lifted in place approximately two feet, thus preserving its original pitch . 

The reason for this alteration may have been to modernize the house in the popular Greek 

Revival style by adding a wide cornice above the windows in the front and rear elevations. It 

also had the added advantage of creating more head space in the attic. 

 

28 Receipts are in The Hunt Family Archives at Women's Rights NHS. They include the following 

merchants and vendors: R. Mount, for floorboards, cord wood, etc., May 3, 1841, (cat. #?); Wm. John 

Underhill, for white lead and window glass, May 5, 1841 (cat. #36.8); A. & E.S. Higgins of New York, 

for carpet and stair rods, May 7, 1841 (cat. #36.13); Eyre & Landell of Philadelphia, for fabric items, 

May 15, 1841 (cat. #35.2); Isaac C. Stokes, for fabric items, May 17, 1841 (cat. #35.3); Charles Wise of 

Philadelphia, for fabric items, May 18, 1841 (cat. #36.11); W.M. Wilson of Philadelphia, for spoons & 

c., May 19, 1841 (cat. #36.4); Stratton & Seymour of New York, for cook stove, stove pipe, boiler & c., 

May 21, 1841 (cat. #35.5); White & Barnes of New York, for "brown sheetings" & c., May 24, 1841 (cat. 

#35.4); S.P. Ingraham of New York, for furniture and Brussels rug, May 24, 1841 (cat. #36.1); A. & S. 

Willets of New York, for various hardware items, May 25, 1841 (cat. #35.6); James M. Shaw of New 

York, for china dishes, May 25, 1841 (cat. #36.5); and White & Barnes of New York, for fabric items, 

May 26, 1841 (cat. #36.7). 
24

West Kitchen Wing Built

A small wing that is missing today is believed to have been built on the west side of the Hunt 

House around 1841. A west wing definitely existed by 1855, based on the Waterloo map of 

1855 that depicts it in plan (fig. 14). The wing was also shown in perspective on the Bird'sEye view of 1873 (fig. 15). Photographs of the wing taken many years later (figs. 18 and 19) 

show it as a small, one-story structure with a tall chimney at the west end. Although it is 

difficult to say with certainty, it is assumed the wing was made of brick similar to the main 

house. The front was covered by a porch with shallow-pitched roof and wide cornice 

supported by three Doric-style columns in the Greek style. Openings in the front façade 

included a doorway and one window with nine-over-six sashes. 

That this wing contained the kitchen is suggested in the probate inventories of Richard P. and 

Jane C. Hunt prepared in 1856 and 1890. Both inventories recorded the names of the rooms 

and their contents, with both listing the "Kitchen" in close proximity to the Dining Room in 

the northwest corner of the main house. 

Physical evidence indicates that the west wing was a later addition and not part of the original 

construction of the house in 1828. First, assuming this kitchen wing had a cellar for 

preserving and storing food as most did, the cellar did not have a doorway connecting with 

the main cellar as would be expected if the two structures had been built at the same time. 

Second, the foundation of the main house in the vicinity of the west wing is composed of cut 

stones as was common for exposed , not covered, foundation walls. Finally, one original 

window in the pantry of the main house bears evidence of having been converted at some 

later date to doorway, and a second doorway opening appears to have been added in the west 

wall of the dining room, both connecting with the new wing. Future archeological 

excavations may uncover the foundations of this wing and conclusively determine if it had a 

cellar. 

North Wing Enlarged 

The original north kitchen wing is believed to have been enlarged to a two-story structure, 

and its kitchen moved to the new west wing, around 1841. The earliest documentation of a 

large wing on the north side of the house is the Waterloo map of 1855 that shows it in plan 

(fig. 14). Its two-story configuration is clearly depicted on the Bird's-Eye View of 1873 (fig. 

15). 

Although the north wing is missing today, surviving evidence at the existing main house is 

indicative of its alteration from one to two stories. A new second-story doorway was created 

in the north exterior wall of the passage off the northwest chamber, providing access from 

the main house to the second story of the north wing. An inventory of Richard Hunt's estate 

in 1856 referred to this passage as an "Entry," while the 1890 inventory of Jane Hunt's estate 

called it a "Hall." Following removal of the north wing circa 1920, the doorway was 

converted to a window. A brickwork patch visible beneath this window, in what is now the 

north bathroom (Room 204), attests to its earlier configuration as a doorway. Shadow 
25

outlines and a woodwork patch at the north and south baseboards of the room are all that 

remains of the west partition of the entry/hall. Archeological exploration will be required to 

determine if the north wing was lengthened, in addition to heightened, circa 1841. 

More Family Changes, 1842-1848 

Sarah Hunt had only a short time to enjoy her newly renovated home. She died the following 

year, in July 1842, at the age of 35. Richard P. Hunt was thus left with three small children 

under the age of five. What accommodations were made for child care are unknown. Hunt's 

close-knit community of family and friends no doubt helped to fill the void. Richard Hunt's 

sister, Lydia Mount, of Seneca Falls had become recently widowed and may have been 

available with her three older girls to help. Certainly the recently expanded house would 

have been able to accommodate additional family members. Three years later, in November 

1845, Richard Hunt married his fourth wife, Jane Clothier Master of Philadelphia. Jane gave 

birth to a son, William Master, in October 1846, and to a daughter, Jane Master, in June 1848. 

By 1850, Lydia Mount and two of her daughters were living elsewhere in Waterloo, according 

to the Seventh Population Census of the United States. 

Woman's Rights Convention, July 1848 

The event for which the Hunt House is best known is a meeting in which the idea for the first 

Women's Rights Convention was conceived and the newspaper announcement of it written. 

Our primary knowledge of this gathering comes to us from Elizabeth Cady Stanton who 

wrote of it in 1881 in the History of Woman Suffrage, and again in 1898 in Eighty Years and 

More. In 1881, Stanton said, 

 [T]he call "was issued by Lucretia Mott, Martha C. Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 

and Mary Ann McClintock [sic]. ... These four ladies, sitting round the tea-table of 

Richard Hunt, a prominent Friend near Waterloo, decided to put their long-talked-of 

resolution into action, and before the twilight deepened into night, the call was 

written, and sent to the Seneca County Courier.29

Stanton had embellished her story by1898 as follows: 

I received an invitation to spend the day with Lucretia Mott, at Richard Hunt's, in 

Waterloo. There I met several members of different families of Friends, earnest, 

thoughtful women. I poured out, that day, the torrent of my long-accumulating 

discontent, with such vehemence and indignation that I stirred myself, as well as the 

rest of the party, to do and dare anything. My discontent, according to Emerson, must 

have been healthy, for it moved us all to prompt action, and we decided, then and 

there, to call a "Woman's Rights Convention." We wrote the call that evening and 

published it in the Seneca County Courier the next day, the 14th of July, 1848 [sic], 

giving only five days' notice, as the convention was to be held on the 19th and 20th. The 

 

29 Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, (eds.), History of Woman 

Suffrage, Vol. I, 1848-1861 (Salem: Ayer Co. Publishers, Inc., 1985 Reprint Edition,), pp. 67-68. 
26

call was inserted without signatures,--in fact it was a mere announcement of a 

meeting,--but the chief movers and managers were Lucretia Mott, Mary Ann 

McClintock, Jane Hunt, Martha C. Wright, and myself. The convention, which was 

held two days in the Methodist Church, was in every way a grand success. The house 

was crowded at every session, the speaking good, and a religious earnestness dignified 

all the proceedings.30

The exact day of this gathering the Hunt House has been questioned, since the first notice of 

the convention appeared in the Seneca County Courier on Tuesday, July 11—not July 14 as 

recalled by Stanton. Historian Judith Wellman has concluded that the ladies therefore most 

likely met on Sunday, July 9, submitted their notice to the newspaper on Monday, July 10, 

which was then published the following day. 31

Appearance of the Homestead Farm, 1848 

No contemporary descriptions or views are known to exist of the Hunt residence for the year 

1848. As related in the previous section, Elizabeth Cady Stanton provided no insightful 

information about the house except that she and her hostess and fellow visitors were seated 

at a "tea table." Our best information comes from inventories and appraisals of Richard 

Hunt's estate undertaken in the months following his death in November 1856.32 These list 

the rooms of the house and their contents. Although dated more than eight years after the 

fact, no major alterations are known to have been made to the house between the years 1848 

and 1856. 

Sixteen rooms are listed in the inventories and appraisals, along with a cellar, a lower and 

upper hall, and a closet under the stairs. A general idea of the locations of these rooms can be 

determined by comparing this inventory with other sources of information, such as the 1873 

Bird's-Eye View (fig. 15), two exterior photographs taken in the early 20th-century (figs. 18 

and 19), and the layout of the surviving rooms as they exist today. Thus, the distribution of 

space appears to have been as follows. In the main two-story house that is still standing today 

were a cellar story and two floors of living space above, with rooms distributed on either side 

of a center north-south stair hall. In the first story, a "Dining Room" was located in the front 

northwest corner, with a "Dining Room Cupboard" to the rear. A "Parlor" occupied the 

front northeast corner, and behind it was a "Hall Bed Room" believed to have been used by 

Richard Hunt during his final illness. A "Closet Under Stairs" provided storage space in the 

first-story hall. Upstairs, a "Front Chamber" opened off the west side of the "Upper Hall." 

Behind it, also opening off the hall was a "Bed Room" with carpeted "Entry" and a storage 

 

30 Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Eighty Years and More (1815-1897): Reminiscences of Elizabeth Cady 

Stanton (New York: European Publishing Co., 1898), pp. 148-149. 31 Sandy Weber, Special History Study, Women's Rights NHP (U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park 

Service, 1985), p. 11. 

32 "Inventory of the Real & Personal Estate of Richard P. Hunt, Deceased, owned by him at the time of 

his death Nov. 7, 1856." One copy by appraisers William Knox and James Stevenson, dated Dec. 8, 

1856, is in Probate File #592, Surrogate Court Office, Seneca County Courthouse, Waterloo, NY. A 

nearly identical copy by executors and trustees Sterling G. Hadley and Walter Quinby, dated Jan. 1, 

1857, is in The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society. 
27

area for "trunks" and "carpet bags." The front bedroom on the east side was called the "Bed 

Room Over Parlor," and the bedroom behind it the "North East Bed Room." 

Several rooms appear to have been in two wings that are missing today. As previously 

explained, the "Kitchen" is believed to have been situated in a one-story west wing adjacent 

to the "Dining Room." Others appear to have been in the two-story north wing. These 

included a "Nursery," "Bed Room adjoining Sitting Room" and "Sitting Room" in the first 

story. Later references were also made in family correspondence in the early 1850s to a 

"bathroom" near the Nursery, which may have existed as early as 1848.33 Rooms in the 

second story of the north wing were a room "Over Nursery," a "Bed Room," and "Room 

Over Sitting Room." 

The rooms in which Elizabeth Cady Stanton and friends may have met in July 1848 to 

formulate the first Woman's Rights Convention were the parlor, dining room, and/or sitting 

room. Of these rooms, only the parlor and dining room remain (in altered condition) today. 

Other structures on the homestead farm were also listed in the inventories and appraisals of 

1856-57. These included a "Barn & Shed," "West Barn," "Carriage House," "Hen House," 

"Back Shed," "New Barn," "Old Barn," "Stable," "East Shed," "West Shed," "Corn House," 

and a "Shed Under Corn House." These structures were used for sheltering and storing 

animals and their feed, farm implements and vehicles, harnesses and saddles, family carriages 

and sleighs, and unused household and other miscellaneous items. Animals mentioned in 

the inventory were horses (one named "Tom"), cattle, hogs, and poultry. Feed, which may 

have been grown on the farm, included hay, wheat, oats, corn, and clover chaff. The 

buildings were located a short distance from, and to the northeast of, the house according to 

the 1855 Map of Waterloo (fig. 14). The carriage house was also later described as being 

"attached to his [Mr. Hunt's] residence," the upper story "fitted up with beds, for needy 

persons journeying along the road," including slaves traveling north to freedom.34 This may 

have been the gable-roofed structure shown appended to the back (north) side of the 

dwelling's north wing in the Bird's-Eye View of 1873 (fig. 15). 

One building not mentioned in the 1856 estate inventory was the outdoor privy or necessary 

that was probably situated a convenient distance from the house. Also not readily identified 

in the inventory was the old Van Tuyl House to the east of the Hunt residence. 

Drawings of the Hunt House showing its conjectural appearance circa 1841-56 are on the 

following pages. These include the four exterior elevations, the first floor plan, and the 

second floor plan (figs. 8-13). Room names are from the inventories and appraisals of 

Richard P. Hunt dated 1856 and 1857. Information on the approximate height of the missing 

west and north wings was obtained from the 1873 Bird's-Eye View (fig. 14) and two early 

photographs taken in the early twentieth century (figs. 18 and 19). 

 

33 Letter from Mary and Sarah Hunt to Richard Hunt, Jr., April 4, 18[52?]; and letter from Sarah Hunt 

to Richard Hunt, Jr., Aug. 31, 1852. Cat. #50.4 and #41.1, The Hunt Family Papers, Women's Rights 

NHP. 

34 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 156. 
28

Figure 8. Conjectural south elevation of the Hunt House, 

circa 1848. 

West Wing 

(Demolished 

ca. 1920) 
29

Figure 9. Conjectural west elevation of the Hunt House, 

circa 1848. 

West Wing 

(Demolished 

ca. 1920) 

North Wing 

(Demolished 

ca. 1920) 
30

Figure 10. Conjectural north elevation of the Hunt House, 

circa 1848. 

North Wing 

(Demolished 

ca. 1920) 

West Wing 

(Demolished 

ca. 1920) 
31

Figure 11. Conjectural east elevation of the Hunt House, 

circa 1848. 

North Wing 

(Demolished 

ca. 1920) 
32

Figure 12. Conjectural first floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1848. 

Most room names are from the 1856 probate inventory of Richard 

Hunt; the "bathroom" was mentioned in Hunt family correspondence 

in 1852. Not to scale. 

Kitchen 

Hall

Dining Room 

Parlor 

Closet 

Under 

Stairs 

Hall Bed Room Dining Room 

Cupboard & 

China Closet 

Rooms in North Wing: 

Bathroom 

Nursery 

Bed Room Adjoining Sitting 

Room 

Sitting Room 

 

 N 
33

Figure 13. Conjectural second floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 

1848. Room names are from the 1856 probate inventory of Richard 

Hunt. Not to scale. 

Upper 

Hall 

North East 

Bed Room 

Bed Room 

Over Parlor 

Front 

Chamber 

 

 N 

[Trunk Rm] 

Entry [to 

Bed Room] Bed 

Room 

Rooms in North Wing:

[Room] Over Nursery 

Room over Sitting Room 
34

Land Acquisition and Census, 1850 

Richard P. Hunt made one additional purchase of land to expand his homestead farm from 

145 1/5 acres to 145 9/20 acres (later referred to as 145 1⁄2 acres) in 1850. This small parcel, 

acquired from Jacob P. Chamberlain for $40.00, was located in the southeast corner of Lot 

98.35

The year 1850 is also when the most detailed national population census to date was 

undertaken. Head of household Richard P. Hunt was then recorded as age 52 with the 

occupation of "Farmer." Persons listed as members of the Hunt household were wife J[ane] 

C., age 38, and children Richard, age 11; M[ary] M., age 10; S[arah] M., age 9; Wm. M., age 3; 

and Jane, age 2. Also living with the Hunt family in 1850 were George Hunt, a male laborer 

from Ireland, age 30; Ann McClelland, also from Ireland, age 25; and Elizabeth Hennard of 

New York, age 13.36 Although their occupations were not identified, McClelland and 

Hennard both presumably provided household help. 

New "Bath Contrivance," Circa 1852 

The Hunt residence appears to have had a separate "bathroom" by 1852, as indicated in two 

letters written to Richard Hunt, Jr., by his sisters Mary and Sarah about that time. The first 

letter informed Richard, 

...We have got a new Bath Contrivance it is to stand in the bathroom and have the tin 

Bathtub in it, it is mahogany[.] [W]e took the door off and are going to have it for the 

door to a wardrobe.37

Sarah later related a light-hearted prank to her brother in another letter dated 1852 in which 

the "bath-room" was mentioned as being in the vicinity of the downstairs nursery. Later 

inventories suggest the nursery was in the first story of the north wing. 

I [Sarah] dressed up in thy old suit of clothes and put on Willie's hat and came down to 

the nursery door and knocked[.] Mother was in the bath-room when she came out she 

said 'Laws, I thought it was Richard and what does thee want little boy?' Then I 

thought she knew me so I laughed right out.38

 

35 Deed Book W2, p. 188, Seneca County Registry of Deeds, Waterloo, N.Y. 

36 Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. 

37 Letter from Mary and Sarah Hunt to Richard Hunt, Jr. April 4, 18[52?], cat. #50.4, The Hunt Family 

Papers, Women's Rights NHP.

38 Letter from Sarah Hunt to Richard Hunt, Jr., Aug. 31, 1852, cat. #41.1, The Hunt Family Papers, 

Women's Rights NHP. 
35

Map of Waterloo, 1855 

The earliest known depiction of the 

buildings on Richard P. Hunt's 

homestead farm was recorded on the 

1855 "Map of the Town of Waterloo"39

(fig. 14). This shows the Hunt House on 

the north side of Main Street near the 

east boundary of the village. The 

footprint of the house suggests that it 

then had two wings: a small wing on the 

west side and a larger wing in two tiers 

on the north (back) side. The narrow 

back tier of the north wing may have 

been the carriage house, which was later 

described as having been "attached to his 

[Richard Hunt's] residence."40 A 

number of other structures to the 

northeast of the house were undoubtedly 

the outbuildings of the farm. Of these 

buildings, only the house itself, without 

its wings, remains today. 

Death of Richard P. Hunt, 1856 

Richard P. Hunt died at his residence on Friday evening, November 7, 1856, following an 

illness that had confined him to his home for three months. His death was declared a public 

loss, and his contributions towards improving the Village of Waterloo with business 

investments and personal efforts were extolled. 41 Hunt's survivors included his widow Jane, 

age 44, and six minor children between the ages of four and 18. One more child had been 

born two years after the census of 1850--son George Truman Hunt, then age 4. 

Richard Hunt left a sizable estate, including his 145-1/2 acre "Home Farm" valued at 

$14,550.00. In his "Last Will and Testament" he provided for his widow, Jane C. Hunt, by 

giving her "one equal third part of all and singular my real estate, wheresoever situated, for 

and during the period of her natural life time only." He also specified that Jane should have, 

...the use of my said dwelling house, where we now reside, and of the garden and fruit 

yard, and such portion of the orchard there as she chooses to take; also the use of one 

 

39 "Map of the Town of Waterloo, Seneca County, N.Y.: Illustrated Plat-Book from the Cadastral, 

from actual surveys." Philadelphia: J.H. French, 1855. Reprinted by W.E. Morrison and Co., Ovid, 

N.Y., n.d. 

40 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 156. 41 "Death of Richard P. Hunt, Seneca Observer, Nov. 13, 1856. (The Richard Pell Hunt Family 

Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 

Figure 14. Detail of the 1855 Map of Waterloo 

showing the house (at arrow) and outbuildings of the 

Hunt farm. 
36

horse and two cows ... and also the use of my one horse wagon and sleigh and harness; 

and also the use of all my house-hold furniture ... [for as long as] ... she remains my 

widow and continues to reside at my present dwelling house and takes care of my 

minor children.... [These] to be used and enjoyed by my said wife and my said 

children remaining at home for their mutual comfort and convenience. I intending 

that all my children may have a comfortable home at my said present residence, during 

their several and respective minority, and until married provided they behave in a 

proper manner. But in case my said wife sees fit to remove from said present 

residence, then said personal property above enumerated shall go into the general 

fund, with my other personal property, and she thereby forfeits all right to use the 

same....42

The care and management of the estate were to be handled by trustees Sterling G. Hadley and 

Walter Quinby, "in order to preserve my estate from waste and to insure its more judicious 

management." The trustees were also authorized and empowered to: 

...make such repairs and improvements in and upon any building or farm of which I 

may die possessed, as they deem best, suitable, or necessary to keep all or any said 

buildings properly insured, to employ such labourers, servants, and agents as they 

deem necessary....43

The trustees were also empowered to sell off real estate as would be "most beneficial to the 

interests of my estate," but were "not [to] sell or convey my homestead farm so called, where 

I now reside, situated in the town of Waterloo, between the Seneca outlet and the North 

Canandaigua road, so called, nor any part of it, except such part as they shall lay out into 

village lots, as hereinbefore provided ...."44 Isaac Mosher, then about 56 years of age, was 

also later said to have been entrusted with the "supervision of the estate, in behalf of the 

heirs," and appears to have assumed the role of farm superintendent.45 

As previously described, detailed inventories made of Richard Hunt's personal estate shortly 

after his death provide our first glimpse of the interior rooms and furnishings of the Hunt 

family home. Descriptions of the outbuildings and their contents also give some idea of the 

size and scope of the farm of which the house was a part. 

It was not until 1859, when son Richard reached his majority age of 21, that Richard P. Hunt's 

estate was divided (or partitioned) by the trustees among the six surviving children. The 

Home farm was divided into three parts, with the western portion allocated to Jane (Jenny) 

M. Hunt, then age 11. Jane's portion encompassed 64 and 12/100 acres, an unknown number 

of buildings, and was valued at $8,015.00. The northern portion was allocated to William, 

then age 13. William's portion encompassed 12 and 98/100 acres and was valued at $1,038.40. 

 

42 "Probate of the last Will and Testament of Richard P. Hunt, Deceased, Recorded the 17th day of 

November, A.D., 1856." (Probate File #592, Surrogate Court Office, Seneca county Courthouse, 

Waterloo, NY., and The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 43 "Probate of the last Will and Testament of Richard P. Hunt," 1856. 

44 "Probate of the last Will and Testament of Richard P. Hunt," 1856. 

45 Willers Diedrich and Rev. S.H. Gridley, The Centennial Celebration of General Sullivan's Campaign 

Against the Iroquois in 1778, Held at Waterloo, September 3rd, 1879, to which is Prefixed a Sketch of the 

Waterloo Library and Historical Society (Waterloo: the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, 1880), 

p. 22. Isaac Mosher was listed in the U.S. Census of 1860 on the same page as, and one person removed 

from, Jane C. Hunt, with an occupation of "Superintendent of Farm." 
37

The eastern portion was allocated to George Truman Hunt, then age 7. George's portion 

encompassed 68 and 71/100 acres, the dwelling house, and outbuildings and was valued at 

$8,588.00. George's partition also carried the provision that the Home Farm portion was 

"subject to the widow's rights under the will," meaning that his mother could continue to 

occupy the house during her lifetime as long as she remained a widow and used the house as 

her primary residence. George would come into possession of his inheritance upon reaching 

the age of 21 in the year 1873.46 

Jane C. Hunt, 1856-89

Jane C. Hunt Household 

The household of widow Jane C. Hunt remained a full one following the death of her 

husband Richard P. Hunt in 1856. The U.S. Census of 1860 recorded all six Hunt children, 

ages 8 to 22, as still living in the house headed by their mother who was then age 47. Shortly 

thereafter, son Richard married and by 1862 was living in his own house on Virginia Street in 

Waterloo. Daughter Sarah married Lyman C. Gardner and departed around 1864.47

By the time of the next U.S. Census in 1870, only four children were still at home with their 

mother: William, age 24, then listed as a "Farmer"; Mary, age 30; Jennie [Jane], age 22; and 

George T., age 17. Helping with the farm was Christian Storty, age 17, a "Farm Laborer" 

from Germany. The next to marry and depart was Jane, who wed William Trasher in 1874. 

Son William also appears to have left about this same time. Youngest son George T. Hunt is 

believed to have remained at the homestead farm, which had been left to him as part of his 

inheritance, until his untimely death in 1878. He was listed in the local directory of 1874-75 

as a "farmer" living in the house on "Main [street] n. [near] village limits."48 George married 

Ellen (Nellie) Goss Smith in October 1875, and together they had two children: Jane (Jennie) 

born in 1876 and George T. born in 1878. Sadly, George died only a few months after the 

birth of his son, in December 1878.49 

Jane C. Hunt's household had diminished considerably by the time of the next U.S. Census of 

1880. Then living in the family home were Jane, age 69; her unmarried daughter Mary, age 

 

46 Deed Book 62, p. 346, Seneca County Registry of Deeds, Waterloo, N.Y. A copy of this document is 

also in The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection of the Waterloo Historical Society, entitled "Sterling 

G. Hadley & Walter Quinby, Exrs & Trustees of Rich P. Hunt, decd, to Richard Hunt, Mary M. Hunt, 

Sarah M. Hunt, William M. Hunt, Jane M. Hunt & Geo. T. Hunt, Deed in Partition." 

47 Eight Census of the United States, 1860, and Brigham's Geneva, Seneca Falls and Waterloo Directory 

and Business Advertiser for 1862 and 1863. Although the exact dates of marriage of Richard and Sarah 

Hunt are not known, they can be roughly surmised from the birth dates of their first children. Richard 

and Anna Hunt had a son, Richard, around 1863. (Ninth Census of the United States,1870.) Sarah and 

Lyman Gardner had a daughter, Mary, in 1865. (Tanya Warren, "The Family of Richard Pell Hunt of 

Waterloo, NY, Waterloo Historical Society.) 

48 Seneca Falls and Waterloo Village Directory, 1874-75. 

49 Ninth Census of the United States,1870; Seneca Falls and Waterloo Village Directory, 1874-5; and 

Warren, "The Family of Richard Pell Hunt of Waterloo, NY," Waterloo Historical Society. 
38

39; and two servants: Rose Morgan, age 13, and Margaret Mahoney from Ireland, age 38. 

Also listed was John Walters, a 20-year-old "Farm Laborer" from Germany. Jane's daughterin-law, Ellen Hunt, and her two young grandchildren, were boarding elsewhere in Waterloo 

with another widow named Jane Hutton.50

Gas Lighting Installed, Circa 1858

Gas lighting was installed in the Hunt family residence sometime after inventories and 

appraisals were taken of the personal estate of Richard P. Hunt in December 1856 and 

January 1857, and before partitioning of the estate in September 1859. This improvement 

was no doubt made to the house under the direction of the estate's trustees following 

installation of a gas works in the Village of Waterloo sometime after December 1855.51 Gas 

fixtures were itemized in the revised inventory prepared for the 1859 partition. These 

included one "hall burner & shades," in addition to ten "gas burners," one "gas drop light," 

and one "gas burner & shades" in unspecified rooms.52 While none of these fixtures survive 

today, the gas pipes supplying them can still be seen within the floor and walls of the house. 

Parlor Enlarged and East Porch Built, Circa 1860s 

Sometime around the 1860s a remodeling was undertaken on the east side of the house. The 

work entailed the creation of one large room by removing the partition between the front 

parlor and the rear bedroom, centering the fireplace at the east wall by moving it farther 

north, and converting the two east windows to French doorways that opened onto a new 

exterior verandah. These changes occurred sometime after the inventory of Richard P. 

Hunt's personal estate in 1856, when the front parlor and hall bedroom still existed, and 

before the Bird's-Eye View of 1873 that shows the one-story veranda at the east elevation (fig. 

15). The instigation for the improvements may have been the marriage of son Richard P. 

Hunt around 1861 or daughter Sarah around 1864. The date "circa 1860s" is used in this 

report. 

Bird's-Eye View of Waterloo, 1873

The earliest perspective view of the Hunt House comes from the 1873 panoramic map 

entitled the "Bird's –Eye View of Waterloo,"53 (fig. 15). This is an artist's rendition looking 

 

50 Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. 51 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 167. 52 "Inventory of the Real & Personal property of Richard P. Hunt Dec'd made by Sterling G. Hadley & 

Walter Quimby Trustees of said Estate September 12th 1859." (Probate File #592, Surrogate Court 

Office, Seneca County Courthouse; and The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical 

Society.) 

53 "Bird's Eye View of Waterloo, Seneca county, New York, 1873," drawn by Aug. Koch, published by 

J.J. Stoner. 
39

towards the northwest that shows the front (south) and east elevations of the Hunt residence. 

The house is shown as a large structure with wings on the west and north (back) sides, similar 

to the 1855 map. The main house appears little changed from its appearance today, being 2-

1/2-stories in height with gable roof, front doorway centered in the 5-bay façade, and two 

bays in the east gable end. A one-story, shed-roofed veranda that is missing today was on the 

east side. A small wing, approximately 1-1-/2 stories tall, was appended to the west side of 

the house. This wing had a gable roof, chimney at the far west end, and a front porch. The 

rear wing was more substantial, consisting of two parts. The portion abutting the back of the 

main house was 2-1/2 stories tall with a gable roof. Joined to it on the back side was a lower 

gable-roofed structure with a porch on the east elevation. This may have been the carriage 

house described in later years as "attached to his [Richard Hunt's] residence."54 

Outbuildings that undoubtedly existed at this time were outside the boundaries of this map. 

 

54 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 156. 
40

 

Figure 15. "Bird's Eye View of 

Waterloo, Seneca County, New York," 

1873 (above), with detail of the Hunt 

residence (right). 
41

Death of Jane C. Hunt, 1889 

Jane C. Hunt died at the age of 77 on November 28, 1889, while on a visit to Chicago, Illinois. 

She was interred in Maple Grove Cemetery in Waterloo on December 2, 1889. Richard P. 

Hunt, who had been buried in the Quaker Cemetery, was later moved to the Maple Grove 

Cemetery and reinterred on April 20, 1893. 

Appearance of the Hunt House, 1889 

Similar to the procedure followed upon her husband's death, Jane Hunt's personal property, 

along with the dwelling house, was inventoried and appraised on February 7, 1890. 

Comparison of this inventory with the one made 34 years earlier provides valuable 

information of changes that had been made to the house during this period. Missing in 1890 

was the first floor "Hall Bed Room," most likely due to enlargement of the adjacent parlor, 

then described as having curtains for four openings instead of the three noted in 1856. Also 

missing were the Dining Room Cupboard, renamed the "Pantry off Dining Room," and the 

Room over Sitting Room possibly renamed the "Man's Bedroom." An addition appears to 

have been made to the kitchen wing, to accommodate a "Bed Room, off Kitchen" and a 

"Kitchen Stoop." Also mentioned was a "Bath Room" between the "Nursery" and the "Bed 

Room North of Sitting Room." Floor coverings were described as "rugs" and "carpets," with 

no oil cloth mentioned as before. Window dressings were more elaborate, with one window 

typically fitted with "shades, lace curtains, and cornices." "Gas light fixtures" had replaced 

oil lamps as a light source. Stoves, no doubt fueled by the five tons of coal stored in the 

basement, were noted in both the "Kitchen" and "Dining Room." The large amount of coal 

also suggests that house may have been equipped with a coal-burning furnace by this time.55 

An idea of the occupants of two of the upstairs bedrooms can be ascertained from the 

inventory. Jane's room appears to have been the southwest corner, based on a notation that 

it contained the "clothing of the deceased ...." Located off the hall behind Jane's room was 

the "North West Bed Room" that was also referred to as "Will's Room," presumably for 

Jane's son William Hunt. 

 

55 The loose cast-iron door of what may have been the original furnace, cast with the name 

"Richardson, Boynton & Co., New York," is stored in the cellar today. The company's name changed 

to "Richardson & Boynton Co." sometime between 1863 and 1885, according to trade catalogs and ads 

dated 1863, 1885, 1886, 1900, 1913, and 1931. 
42

Figure 16. Conjectural first floor plan of the Hunt House, 1889. 

Room names are from the 1890 probate inventory of Jane Hunt. Not 

to scale. 

Kitchen & 

Bedroom 

off Kitchen 

Rooms in North Wing:

Nursery 

Bath Room 

Bed Room North of Sitting Room 

Sitting Room 

Dining 

Room 

Pantry off 

Dining Room 

[CL]

Lower 

Hall 

Parlor

 

 N 
43

Figure 17. Conjectural second floor plan of the Hunt House, 1889. 

Room names are from the 1890 probate inventory of Jane Hunt. Not to 

scale. 

[West Garret?] 

Rooms in North Wing:

Man's Bed Room 

[Main Garret?] 

North West 

Bed Room 

(Will's Room) & Hall Adjoining Bed Room, 

North East 

Bed Room, 

South East 

Bed Room, 

Upstairs 

South West Upper 

Hall 

 

 N 
44

Dispersal of Jane C. Hunt's Estate

A previous ruling in 1882 had decided that the one-third portion of Richard P. Hunt's estate 

that had been allotted in 1856 to his widow, Jane C. Hunt, for her lifetime would be dispersed 

following her death. It was also decreed that the trust previously established to manage the 

affairs of the estate would be discontinued at that time. 56

Upon Jane Hunt's death in 1889, the one-third remaining portion of Richard P. Hunt's estate 

was thus divided by the sole surviving trustee, Sterling G. Hadley, into six shares for the 

surviving Hunt children and/or their heirs. This included the eastern portion of the 

homestead farm, which had been left to youngest son George T. Hunt. George had 

predeceased his mother in 1878, so the property passed in 1890 to his two minor children, 

Jane (Jennie) Hunt and George T. Hunt.57 

Jennie and George T. Hunt, 1890-1919

Jennie Hunt was 14-years old, and her brother George was 12, when they inherited the 

homestead farm from their grandparents' estate in 1890.58 Jennie and George were living on 

the farm by 1894 with their mother Ellen (known as "Nellie"), her new husband Montgomery 

Whiteside, and a Miss Mannie L. Smith, according to the 1894-95 Business Directory of 

Seneca County, New York. The directory also noted that the farm owned by Jennie and 

George Hunt was located on "E. Main n[ear] Gas Works," had 4 horses and 3 cows, and was 

"worked by Montgomery Whiteside." Aunt Mary Hunt, who had been living at the family 

home with their Grandmother Jane in 1880, was then residing in her own house at the corner 

of Williams and Virginia Streets in Waterloo.59

The earliest known photograph of the Hunt House was taken around 1900 (fig. 18)60 This 

shows the front elevation as remarkably similar to the artist's rendition in the 1873 "Bird'sEye View" (fig. 15). Details not previously seen in 1873 include a picket fence fronting the 

property, a small pedimented porch at the front doorway, and windows with nine-over-six 

sashes and shutters. The west wing was still standing, as was verandah on the east side of the 

house. Other details about the property in 1900 come from the property assessment for the 

Town of Waterloo and the U.S. Census. Jane and George T. Hunt were then listed as co-

 

56 "Opinion in the matter of the Estate of Richard P. Hunt, late of Waterloo, dec'd," by H.L. Comstock, 

Mar. 14, 1882. (The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 57 Deed Book 105, p. 330, Seneca County Registry of Deeds, Waterloo, N.Y; and "Division Finally 

Made of the Hunt Estate," Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Apr. 28, 1890. (The Richard Pell Hunt 

Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 

58 Ibid. The transmittal of George T. Hunt, Sr.'s, estate to his children was not officially recorded until 

Aug. 1, 1908. (Deed Book 127, p. 495, Seneca County Registry of Deeds). 

59 Hamilton Child (ed.), Reference Business Directory of Seneca County, N.Y., 1894-95 (Syracuse: E.M. 

Child, 1894), pp. 501, 532, and 544. 

60 The photograph is contained in an album that is in the possession of Peggy Hunt Van Kirk, daughter 

of Robert Hunt who was the son of George T. and Bertha Hunt. The photograph is labeled, "The old 

'Hunt' Homestead – about 1900." 
45

owners of the 62-acre Hunt Farm valued at $4,200.61 Members of the family, as noted in the 

U.S. Census for 1900, included widow Nellie Whiteside, age 45, and her two unmarried 

children: daughter "Jennie" Hunt, age 23, and son George T. Hunt, age 21, a "farmer." 62

George T. Hunt became head of the household after marrying Bertha Leora Emerick in 1903; 

sister Jennie had married Joseph Koeltz the previous year.63 George Hunt's family in 1910 

consisted of himself, age 31; his wife Bertha, age 28; daughter Helen, age 5; son Richard, age 

3; and mother Ellen (Nellie), age 56. His profession was still recorded as "farmer" in the 1910 

census, suggesting that Hunt made a living working the family farm. A notation on the census 

form also indicates that George Hunt "rented" his home, perhaps an arrangement with sister 

and co-owner Jennie who then lived down the street.64 A photograph taken about this time 

shows a number of people, including young daughter Helen, posed in front of the house (fig. 

 

61 Town of Waterloo tax assessment book, 1900, Treasurer's Office, Seneca County Building, 

Waterloo, N.Y. 

62 Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. 

63 Warren, "The Family of Richard Pell Hunt of Waterloo, N.Y.," The Richard Pell Hunt Family 

Collection, Waterloo Historical Society. 

64 Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910. Joseph C. Koeltz, his wife Jennie H., and their 7-yearold daughter Alice were living elsewhere on Main Street in Waterloo in 1910, according to information 

provided by the census. George and Ellen had two more sons, according to the 1920 U.S. Census: 

Carroll B. in 1914 and Robert C. in 1918. 

Figure 18. Front façade of "the old Hunt homestead," circa 1900. 
46

19).65 Only a few changes appear to have been made to the property since the earlier 

photograph of circa 1900: the picket fence was gone and a gutter downspout had been added 

to the front façade. 

George and Jennie Hunt began selling off portions of the farm in lots along East Main Street 

in 1909. By 1915 they had conveyed all but 33.6 acres, then assessed at $1,500.66 

Improvements had been made to the town by 1915, including completion of a sanitary sewer 

system and the paving of East Main Street.67 Four years later, on February 7, 1919, George 

and Bertha Hunt, together with sister Jennie Koeltz, sold the old Hunt dwelling house and 

one acre of land to Clifford L. Beare. 68

 

65 The photograph is in The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society. Peggy 

Hunt Van Kirk, granddaughter of George T. and Bertha Hunt, has identified the little girl standing at 

the doorway as her Aunt Helen. 

66 Robert Mooney and David L. Uschold, "Hunt House Cultural Landscapes Inventory," Women's 

Rights NHP, 2003, Part 2a, p. 5. 

67 Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 448. 68 Deed Book 143, pp. 354-55, and Deed Book 144, p. 126, Seneca County Registry of Deeds, Waterloo, 

N.Y. George T. Hunt and his family moved down the street to 229 East Main Street in Waterloo, later 

known as the "Helen Hunt" house, across from the Waterloo Woolen Mills, according to Tanya 

Warren of the Waterloo Historical Society. 

Figure 19. Front façade of the Hunt House, circa 1910. 
47

Clifford Beare, 1919-30

Clifford L. Beare purchased a one-acre lot, along with the brick Hunt House, from the Hunt 

family on January 7, 1919.69 The U.S. Census of 1920 listed Clifford Beare as a 42-year-old 

"Lawyer in General Practice" who was living with his wife Dorothy, age 22.70 Beare worked 

as the attorney for the Village of Waterloo for two years, in 1922 and 1923.71 He and his wife 

had one son, Robert, born in 1920.72 

Clifford Beare was remembered by later owner Marie Greenwood as having made a number 

of changes to the house, the most notable being the construction of a two-story, neoclassical 

portico on the front side. He is also said to have removed the wings from the west and north 

sides of the house and the veranda from the east side. 73 A new kitchen and bathroom must 

have replaced those formerly located in the west and north wings, and doorways connecting 

with those wings converted to exterior openings. Other changes most likely attributed to 

Beare included the alteration of several interior doorways, such as widening of the openings 

connecting the lower hall with the dining room and parlor. The larger dining room doorway 

was fitted with French doors, and the parlor doorway embellished with columns that 

matched a new fireplace mantel. Upstairs, the partition in the northwest chamber was 

relocated, perhaps in connection with installation of the new bathroom. Care appears to 

have been taken to remove and reuse old woodwork trim, reattaching it with new wire nails. 

New oak floorboards, 2" wide, were installed over the old random-width floorboards 

throughout the house. Walls were patched with lath and plaster containing wood fibers. Gas 

lighting was probably converted to electric lighting. Beare may also have installed or 

upgraded the coal-burning furnace in the cellar. 74

That much of this work was carried out shortly after Beare acquired the house in 1919 is 

suggested by the assessed property value, which rose from $1,500 in 1918 for the 33.66-acre 

farm, to $3,000 in 1919 for the one-acre residential lot. Less dramatic increases were also 

recorded in 1923 when the value rose to $3,500, then to $4,000 in 1926. Beginning in 1927 the 

total valuation of $4,000 that encompassed the "full value of real property including buildings 

thereon" was further refined by assigning a "land value" of $600, thus making the value of the 

undefined "buildings" $3,400. Curiously, Beare's property assessment was unaffected by his 

acquisition of additional land to the north and east of the house lot in 1929, which increased 

his total holdings to 5-1/4 acres. 75

 

69 Ibid. 

70 Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. 

71 Becker, History of the Village of Waterloo, 1949, p. 455. 72 Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. 

73 Mrs. Greenwood to Barbara Pearson (now Yocum), Feb. 29, 1984. 

74The detached door of an old boiler or furnace, cast with "Richardson Boynton & Co.," is stored in 

the cellar today. Electric street lights were installed in the Village of Waterloo in 1885-86. However, it 

was not until 1925-28 that electric lighting replaced gas lighting in the Baptist Church and parsonage 

(the M'Clintock House) on Williams Street. (Becker, History of the Village of Waterloo, 1949, p. 275; 

and Barbara Yocum, The M'Clintock House Historic Structure Report,1993, p. 80.) 75 Town of Waterloo tax assessment books, 1918-30, Treasurer's Office, Seneca County Building, 

Waterloo, N.Y.; and Mooney and Uschold, "Hunt House Cultural Landscapes Inventory," 2003, Part 

1, p. 12. 
48

The Hunt House had been thoroughly remodeled and modernized by the time of its sale by 

Clifford Beare in July 1930.76 Unfortunately, no photographs, detailed maps, or drawings are 

known to exist that document this transformation. Conjectural floor plans prepared for this 

report give an idea of the interior layout of the first and second floors (figs. 20 and 21). 

 

76 Deed Book 160, pp. 566-67, Seneca Country Registry of Deeds. 
49

Figure 20. Conjectural first floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1920. Not to scale. 

Kitchen 

[Pantry?]

 

 N 

Dining Room 

Living Room 

Hall
50

Figure 21. Conjectural second floor plan of the Hunt House, circa 1920. Not to scale. 

 

 N 

Southwest 

Bedroom Upper 

Hall 

Southeast 

Bedroom 

Closet 

Northeast 

Bedroom 

Bathroom 
51

Roy A. Brewster, 1930-44

Roy A. Brewster purchased the white-columned house on Main Street in Waterloo from 

Charles B. and Mary A. Smith on August 22, 1930, who in turn had acquired it from Clifford 

Beare on July 23, 1930.77 Little is known about Brewster, except for the information recorded 

by the U.S. Census taker in April 

1930. Roy A. Brewster, age 45, 

was then living in nearby Geneva, 

New York, with his wife, Agnes 

E., and his 70-year-old mother 

Georgiana. He was employed as a 

salesman for a bakery. 78 

No significant alterations are 

known to have made to the Hunt 

House by the Brewster family 

during their 14-year occupancy. 

Three "cabins" were constructed 

on the property between 1938 

and 1939, which were probably 

rented to traveling motorists. 79 

One of these cabins is still 

standing today (fig. 22). Roy 

Brewster sold the property to 

Irving Greenwood in 1944.80

Irving Greenwood, 1944-1976

Irving Greenwood, owner and president of the "Home Style Food Products Company" (later 

called "Greenwood Foods"), moved his company and family from Brooklyn, New York, to 

Waterloo in 1944.81 Greenwood purchased the red-brick house of Roy A. Brewster on East 

Main Street on August 23, 1944, and established a processing plant for his company outside 

of town.82 Greenwood soon made his mark on Waterloo, serving as the president of the 

 

77 Deed Book 160, pp. 566-67 and p.587, Seneca County Registry of Deeds. 78 Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. 

79 Town of Waterloo tax assessment books, 1931-44,Treasurer's Office, Seneca County Building, 

Waterloo, N.Y. Joan Greenwood Olmstead remembered there were three cabins when her family 

bought the property in 1944. (Interview at the Hunt House June 2, 2008. Transcript is on file at 

Women's Rights NHP.) 

80 Deed Book 187, p. 590, Seneca County Registry of Deeds. 81 A history of the company, which is still in operation today, says "In 1944 the company moved to 

Waterloo, N.Y. to be closer to the beet fields." (www.birdseyefoods.com/greenwood/history.asp.) 82 Deed Book 187, p. 590; and Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 435. 

Figure 22. Cabin constructed in 1938-39 by Roy Brewster 

located northeast of the Hunt House, 2001. 
52

Chamber of Commerce in 1946-47 and mayor of the Village of Waterloo from 1949 to 1951.83 

He was considered a leading industrialist in the area, providing steady employment to local 

residents.84 Irving and his wife Marie were active in civic affairs and contributed both land 

and money for the construction of a new community hospital.85 Two daughters of Irving and 

Marie Greenwood, Joan Greenwood Olmstead and Doris Greenwood Depp, still live in the 

area today. 

Photographs were taken of the exterior of the house in September 1944 shortly after its 

purchase by the Greenwoods (figs. 23a and 23b). These show the columned portico added 

by Clifford Beare and the brick walls overgrown with ivy. The veranda is missing from the 

east side of the house, as is the wing from the west side. There are no views of the rear 

elevation, although it is known from an interview with Marie Greenwood in 1984, and her 

daughter Joan in 2008, that the old north wing was also gone by 1944. 

 

83 "Greenwood Named Head of Chamber," Syracuse Herald-Journal, Nov. 23, 1946, p. 3; "Retiring as 

Chamber President—He is the President of the 'Home Style Food Products Co.," Syracuse HeraldJournal, Nov. 23, 1947, p. 3; and Becker, History of Waterloo, 1949, p. 458. 84 "Firm Adopts Bonus Plan," Syracuse Herald-American, July 5, 1953, p. 32. 85 "600 at Seneca Falls Hear Dr. Fishbein Tell Need of Community Hospital, Syracuse Herald-Journal, 

April 18, 1955, p. 2. 

Figure 23a. Exterior views of the house from the 

Greenwood's photo album, September 1944. 
53

Daughters Joan Greenwood Olmstead and Doris Greenwood Depp recalled in a recent 

interview that when they moved to Waterloo there were hitching posts and stone mounting 

steps near the road. A sidewalk led from the road to the front door. Three cabins were on 

the east side of the property and a long low building oriented east-west stood just north of the 

current garage. There was no wing or appendage on the back (north) side of the house. Here 

a center doorway in the first story entered the hall, and a kitchen door with a window were to 

the right. Inside, the kitchen had a large pantry on the east side and a hatch in the floor that 

led to the dirt-floored basement. The only bathroom in the house was in the second story in 

the small northwest corner room. A stair 

to the attic was in the closet of what is now 

the north bathroom. One electric light 

hung from the center ceiling of each room, 

and there were no (or few) electrical 

outlets at the walls. The fireplaces were 

closed up and the mantels missing in the 

dining room and upstairs bedrooms.86 

Joan and Doris remembered that 

improvements were made to the house 

over the years as their parents were able to 

afford them. The electrical system was 

upgraded and the coal-burning furnace 

was replaced by an oil-fueled furnace and 

later by a gas furnace. A concrete floor 

 

86 Interviews June 2, 2008, Oct. 14, and 17, 2008. Transcripts on file at Women's Rights NHP. 

Figure 23b. More exterior photographs of the house from the Greenwood's photo 

album, September 1944. 

Figure 24. Three-bay garage constructed by 

the Greenwood family in 1954. (Photograph 

2001.) 
54

slab was poured over the dirt floor in the basement and a stair replaced the hatch in the 

kitchen floor. The kitchen was enlarged by removing the pantry and a small toilet room 

opening off the hall was eventually installed in its place. Closets were added to the 

bedrooms. The dining room was wallpapered in 1948 by "O.C. Kidd" of Waterloo.87 The 

original bathroom was remodeled and a second bathroom added in the room next to it 

around 1950.88 The long shed out back was demolished and a garage constructed nearby in 

1954. The cabins were rented until 1956-57, when the two smaller ones were sold and 

removed. A one-story brick addition was also built on the back side of the house around 

1960, and two windows added to the main house: a picture window in the parlor and a 

smaller window in the northeast bedroom (figs. 25 and 26). A small closet was also installed 

in the northwest corner of the dining room about this time (fig. 26). A concrete swimming 

pool was installed in the back yard in 1962, and the remaining cabin retrofitted as a pool 

house.89 

Living in an old house had its share of surprises and excitement. The Greenwood sisters 

remembered hearing a "huge crash" while the family was watching television downstairs. 

 

87 The wallpaper installer left this note on the plastered chimney breast of the dining room: "Oct. 1st

1948, O.C. Kidd, 19 Oak St., Waterloo, N.Y." 

88 The date of the bathroom remodeling is based on the date of manufacture imprinted on the back 

side of one of the sinks: "May 6 K49." 

89 An undated drawing found in a closet of the house is entitled, "Pool for Greenwood, Route 5 & 20, 

Waterloo N.Y., Built by Whiting Pools Inc., 7244 Palmyra Rd., Fairport, N.Y." Unless otherwise 

noted, the information in this paragraph is from the interview with the Greenwood sisters on June 2, 

2008, and the "Hunt House Cultural Landscapes Inventory," 2003. 

Figure 25. Family snapshots from Joan Olmstead's photo album showing two views of the living 

room in the process of being remodeled circa 1959-60. Note the enclosed doorway at the west wall 

(left) and the right edge of the new picture window in the north wall (right). 
55

Upon inspection they found the ceiling in their parents' bedroom, the southwest chamber, 

had fallen onto the bed.90

The house remained in the Greenwood family for two generations, passing to daughter Joan 

Greenwood Olmstead and her husband Thomas in 1976.91 

Joan and Thomas Olmstead, 1976-99

Joan and Thomas Olmstead moved back to the family home to care for Joan's mother, Marie 

Greenwood, in 1976. The property was conveyed to them on July 19 of that year.92 The 

 

90 Interview at the Hunt House June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at Women's Rights NHP. 

91 Deed Book 373, p. 230, Seneca County Registry of Deeds. 92 Ibid. 

Figure 26. More family snapshots 

from Joan Olmstead's photo 

album. 

Above: West wall of the dining 

room showing later closet, August 

1968. 

Below: Southwest corner of the 

new back room, August 1968. 

Note large interior window in the 

south wall and built-in barbeque 

at the west wall. 
56

Olmsteads retained ownership of the property for more than twenty years, during which a 

number of changes and improvements were made to the house and yard. 

Shortly after moving to the house, in 1977, the toilet room in the first story was enlarged to a 

full bathroom by partitioning the north end of the hall. A distinctive floor-to-ceiling mirror 

was installed on the hall side of the new bathroom wall.93 The back addition was also 

partitioned to create another bedroom for daughter Christie, who had moved back home 

after finishing college. The plaster walls and ceilings of all the rooms were covered with 

plasterboard, and new louvered doors installed on the closets of the upstairs bedrooms. 

Outside, a semi-circular driveway was added to the front of the house along with new 

landscape plantings. 

The kitchen was most recently remodeled in 1993 by Johnson's Kitchens and Baths of 

Geneva, New York, with new sheet flooring, cabinets, appliances, and Corian countertops. 

The dining room was also updated with new built-in cabinets at the east wall and hardwood 

flooring installed over the oak floorboards. Plush wall-to-wall carpeting was laid over the 

oak floorboards in the parlor, upstairs hall and the second-story bedrooms. 

The back addition was renovated sometime between 1984 and 1999, according to the 

photographic documentation (figs. 27-30).94 The exterior doorway in the east wall was 

removed and a small portico installed at the west doorway. New windows replaced the old, 

including a projecting bay window with interior window seat at the east wall. The interior 

partition was also removed to make one large sun room. 

The Olmstead family listed their house for sale for $139,900 in May 1999 with real- estate 

agent Gregory W. Peet of Waterloo. Although the National Park Service was interested in 

acquiring the house, Congressional authorization was not then in place for its inclusion in 

Women's Rights National Historical Park. A private party offer of $134,000 was therefore 

accepted by the Olmsteads, contingent on the sale of the buyers' house in East Bloomfield, 

New York. National publicity for the sale was subsequently generated by an article published 

in the New York Times on November 14 headlined, "For Sale: Home of Original Suffragists." 

The story generated a flurry of interest and several additional offers that ultimately resulted 

in termination of the first contract. An auction was thought to be the fairest means to 

accommodate serious bidders. This was scheduled for December 17 with an initial asking 

price of $205,000. The winning bid of $231,000 was made by the Trust for Public Lands, 

working with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.95

 

93 The plasterboard behind the mirror was signed in pencil by "Dave, Dick [and] Bill, Geneva Glass, 

April 21, 1977." 

94 Exterior photographs of the Hunt House were included in an "Architectural Survey" report 

prepared by Architectural Conservator Barbara Pearson (now Yocum) for Women's Rights NHP in 

1984. 

95 Articles in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: "Market for Hunt House Heats Up," Dec. __, 

1999; "Family Loses Chance on Hunt House," Dec. __, 1999; "History Up for Auction," Dec. 17, 1999; 

and "Hunt House Sold; Buyer Giving it to Park Service," Dec. 18, 1999." Also, "In the Hunt," 

Preservation News, March/April 2000, and Deed Book 600, p. 139, Seneca County Registry of Deeds. 
57

Figure 27. South and east elevations of the Hunt House, February 29, 1984. 

Figure 28. West elevation of the Hunt House, 

February 29, 1984. 
58

Figure 30. North and east elevations of the Hunt House, February 29, 

1984. 

Figure 29. North elevation of the Hunt House, February 29, 1984. 
59

Figure 31. "Survey Map of the Premises of Thomas H. and Joan K. Olmstead," drawn December 3, 

1999, based on the instrument survey of Nov. 12, 1999 (identifying labels added). 

Swimming 

Pool

Pool House 

(Cottage) 

Garage

 House
60

National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1999-2001

The Hunt House property was acquired by the Trust for Public Lands, working with the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation, with a winning telephone bid of $231,000 on 

December 17, 1999.96 The property included 2.74 acres of land, the Hunt House, one 

surviving cabin built by Roy Brewster in 1938-39, a garage and swimming pool installed by 

the Greenwood family, and landscaping improvements made by Joan and Thomas Olmstead. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation contracted with Roy F. Weston, Inc., of 

Rockville, Maryland in 2000 to undertake a "Level I Environmental Assessment Survey and 

Hazardous Materials Investigation" of the Hunt House. Hazardous materials identified at 

the house included asbestos and lead paint. Asbestos was found in duct wrapping in the 

basement, in the bottom layers of sheet flooring in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, in 

the window caulk, and within the stone/tar on the roof of the back addition. The lead paint 

investigation, subcontracted to Integreyted Consultants of Syracuse, New York, used handheld XFR (X-ray fluorescence) spectrometers to identify lead paint on the exterior and 

interior painted surfaces of the building. 301 areas were tested at the Hunt House, pool 

house, and garage. At the house, positive readings for lead were observed on selected 

exterior woodwork and interior trim. No lead paint was found in new or renovated rooms 

such as the kitchen, downstairs bathroom, and back addition. 

The Hunt House and other structures remained unoccupied during the ownership of the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation. The property was transferred to the federal 

government in 2001.97 

National Park Service, 2001-Present

The federal law establishing Women's Rights National Historical Park in 1980 was amended 

by Public Law 106-258, signed by President Bill Clinton on August 8, 2000. This amendment 

permitted the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the fee simple title to the Hunt House in 

Waterloo, New York. Actual transfer of the title to the federal government from the National 

Trust for Historic Preservation took place the following year, on September 14, 2001.98

Underground gasoline storage tanks on the west side of the property were excavated and 

removed, with archeological monitoring, in 2001.99 The National Park Service filled in the 

 

96 Deed Book 600, p.139, Seneca County Registry of Deeds. 97 Deed Book 633, p. 103, Seneca Country Registry of Deeds. 98 Ibid. 

99 The gasoline tanks were the site of a former gas station located west of the house that had been 

purchased by the Greenwoods from the Getty Oil Company on October 1, 1968. (Mooney and 

Uschold, "Hunt House Cultural Landscapes Inventory," 2003, Part 2b, p. 2 of 5.) Removal of the tanks 

is documented a report by Corey Rosentel, Lonetree Archeology, "Hunt House Property UST 

[Underground Storage Tanks] Removal Archeological Monitoring, End of Field Letter," Women's 

Rights NHP, April 2002. 
61

concrete swimming pool with sand for safety reasons in 2002. Archeological monitoring was 

also provided for installation of a new electrical pole installed east of the house in 2003.100 

The pole provided electrical service to the garage to run the climate control system for a new 

collections storage unit installed in the garage. 

A "Conditions Assessment Report" of the Hunt House, along with existing conditions 

drawings, was prepared by John G. Waite Associates, Architects, in December 2006.101 This 

report provided a brief historical background of the house and evaluated its state of repair. 

Annotated copies of the drawings can be found on the following pages (figs. 32-40). These 

drawings were also used as the basis for conjectural drawings of earlier configurations of the 

Hunt House, which are incorporated in the text of this report. John G. Waite Associates 

recommended that a historic structure report be prepared on the building, and that 

archeological investigations be undertaken to search for the remaining foundations of 

missing wings. No treatment recommendations were made. 

Following completion of the "Conditions Assessment Report," the maintenance staff of 

Women's Rights NHP removed existing soiled and compressed fiberglass insulation on the 

floor of the attic and replaced it with new fiberglass insulation. Documentation of the house 

for this historic structure report commenced in the summer of 2007 with detailed notes and 

photographs . Careful removal of selected modern materials was then carried out by the park 

maintenance staff in order to determine the extent of surviving historic materials. Small 

areas of circa-1920 oak floorboards were removed from each room to reveal the earlier 

floorboards beneath. Panels of circa-1970s plasterboard were also removed from chimney 

breasts and selected walls and ceilings to uncover the original plaster finishes. The firststory bathroom and the hall bathroom in the second story were both disassembled in 2007. 

Contract work in 2007 included removal of sheet flooring containing asbestos from the 

kitchen, downstairs bathroom, and hall bathroom. Asbestos wrap was also removed from 

the heating ducts in the basement prior to installation of a new furnace. 

The house has remained unoccupied as of Autumn 2008, but is occasionally open to visitors 

for special tours. The park is awaiting the completion of all planning studies before a future 

use is decided. 

 

100 Corey R. Rosentel, Lonetree Archeology, "Hunt House Electrical Pole Archeological Investigation," 

Women's Rights NHP, 2003. 

101 John G. Waite Associates, Architects, "Hunt House Conditions Assessment Report," National Park 

Service Contract No. 1443CX2000040700, Task Order T2000040712," Dec. 2006. 
62

Figure 32. South elevation of the Hunt House, December 2006. Existing conditions 

drawings by John G. Waite Associates, Architects, December 22, 2006; doorway and 

window numbers added by Barbara Yocum. Not to scale. 

 D101

 W102 W111 W101 W110 

W203 W202 W201 W212 W211 
63

Figure 33. West elevation of the Hunt House, December 2006. Not to scale. 

D102 

W103 W104 

 W105 

W205 W204 

 W301 

W106 
64

Figure 34. North elevation of the Hunt House, December 2006. Not to scale. 

W107 

D001 

W109 

W208 

W207 

W206 
65

Figure 35. East elevation of the Hunt House, December 2006. Not to scale. 

D104 D103 W108 

W210 W209 

W302 

W002 W001 
66

Figure 36. Roof plan of the Hunt House, December 2006. Not to scale. 

 

 N 
67

Figure 37. Cellar plan of the Hunt House, December 2006. Not to scale. 

 

 N 
68

Figure 38. First floor plan of the Hunt House, December 2006. Room names 

added by Barbara Yocum. Not to scale. 

Living Room 

Back Room 

(Ca. 1960) 

Dining Room 

Hall

Kitchen 

Bathroom

CL

CL

CL 

 

 N 
69

Figure 39. Second floor plan of the Hunt House, December 2006. Room names 

added by Barbara Yocum. Not to scale. 

Southeast 

Bedroom 

Southwest 

Bedroom Hall

Northeast 

Bedroom 

Bathroom

Bathroom 

Laundry 

Room 

CL CL 

CL

CL

CL 

 

 N 
70

Figure 40. Attic plan of the Hunt House, December 2006. Not to scale. 

 

 N 
71

III. PHYSICAL 

 DESCRIPTIONS
72

[Blank Page] 
73

EXTERIOR 

General Information

The existing 2-1/2 story, brick-walled Hunt House is all that remains of the buildings 

comprising the Hunt family's 19th-century "homestead farm." The house was constructed by 

Richard P. Hunt in 1828 and its roofline and cornice altered to its present appearance circa 

1841. Two wings that were built circa 1841 on the west and north sides of the house and 

existing in 1848 were removed, and the existing two-story portico added to front, around 

1920. A brick addition on the back side of the house was built around 1960. No outbuildings 

associated with the Hunts' 145-1/2 acre farm survive today. These have been replaced by 

structures more in keeping with a suburban lot, including a small cottage northwest of the 

house built in 1938-39, a detached garage to the northeast built in 1954, and a concrete 

swimming pool (now filled with sand) installed in the back yard in 1962. The paved semicircular driveway and most landscape plantings were installed by the last owners of the 

property in 1977. 

Foundation

Limestone foundation walls dating to 1828 support the upper brick walls of the Hunt House 

(figs. 45-47). Rubble and roughly-shaped stones used below grade are visible in the cellar and 

on the back side of the house. Stone blocks are above grade on the exposed front, east, and 

west sides of the house. A limestone water table, with beveled upper edge and tooled 

decorative finish, crowns the foundation on the front façade only. The absence of a stone 

foundation on the back northwest side of the house is a clue that the house was originally 

constructed with a rear wing with its own cellar. This portion of the foundation is made of 

bricks, which is described in more detail on the section on the cellar walls. 

Walls

The upper walls of the Hunt House are made of red bricks laid in the American common 

bond (fig. 48). These walls date to the original construction of the house in 1828. The bricks 

are hand made and the original mortar a lime type. Some original mortar joints remain 

visible today, despite many episodes of repointing. The early mortar is characterized by its 

pink-beige color and white lime inclusions (fig. 49 and Appendix B). Physical evidence 

visible in the attic indicates the brick end walls of the house originally extended above the 

roof line, probably in a "stepped" fashion (figs. 151 and 153). The elevated end walls are 

believed to have been eliminated when the roof was raised around 1841. Other missing 
74

exterior features have also left their marks on the brick walls in the form of nail remnants and 

paint lines. These include a small portico at the front doorway, a veranda at the east wall, and 

the roof of the missing north wing (figs. 50-52). 

Extensive brickwork repairs and repointing have occurred on the back northwest side of the 

house, in the vicinity of the former north wing. These brick joints have hard, gray and lightcolor mortars containing cement.

Doorways

There are five existing exterior doorways at the Hunt House: one in the cellar story and four 

in the first story. Two of these openings date to the original construction of the house in 

1828, two were converted from windows to doorways circa 1860s, and one is in the circa1960 back addition. Physical evidence of the original back doorway (now an interior 

doorway) was also discovered during the architectural investigation of the building. 

Doorway numbers in the following descriptions are keyed to elevation drawings on pages 62-

65 (figs. 32-35). 

Cellar Doorway (D001) 

An exterior entrance to the cellar is located on the east side of the rear elevation (figs. 43 and 

59). This opening appears to be an original feature of the foundation, with stone retaining 

walls and stone steps. The metal bulkhead frame and doors are modern. A wood-framed 

enclosure most likely covered the stairway in the 19th century. 

Front Doorway (D101)

The main entrance to the house is centered in the front façade (fig. 50). This doorway, which 

dates to 1828, retains many original features including marble threshold, flanking sidelights, 

semi-circular fanlight, and wooden casings. Some early glass, held in place by lead cames, 

has survived in the sidelights and fanlight. The sidelight cames have a distinctive geometric 

design of circles and diamonds ornamented with 4-leaf bosses. The 6-panel door, while 

stylistically appropriate, is a later replacement probably installed by the Greenwood family 

sometime after 1944, according to the findings of the paint analysis. A modern aluminum 

storm door covers the exterior side of the opening. 
75

West Doorway (D102)

The side entrance of the house is located in the west elevation of the circa-1960 north 

addition (fig. 42). This opening is presumably contemporary with the addition; the existing 

metal door was installed sometime between 1984 and 1999, based on photographic 

documentation. 

East Doorways (D103 and D104)

Two doorways in the first story of the east elevation were converted from windows sometime 

between 1856 and 1873—a conjectural date of "circa 1860s" is used in this report (fig. 44). 

The doorways opened onto a veranda that had been constructed on the east side of the house 

by 1873, as seen in the "Birds-Eye View" of that date (fig. 15). The original marble window 

sills appear to have been reused as door sills; glazed French doors replaced the window 

sashes. Both openings are covered today by modern aluminum storm sashes. The veranda 

was removed around 1920. 

Back Doorway

The original back doorway of the Hunt House opened onto the center hall. Physical 

evidence indicates that this was a simple opening with no sidelights or fanlight. The doorway 

was converted to an interior doorway when the existing addition was built on the north side 

of the house circa 1960. It became a bathroom doorway when the downstairs toilet room was 

enlarged as a bathroom (Room 105) in 1977. The original frame of this doorway survives 

today; the early casings and door are missing (fig. 72). 

Windows

Existing Windows

There are 27 windows in the Hunt House. Of these, 16 are original openings dating to 1828 

that retain their early casings and sashes; four are original openings that are missing their 

early sashes; two are circa-1841 doorways that were converted to windows circa 1920; and 

five were installed circa 1960 or later (see figs. 53-56). Windows in the front and side 

elevations are framed by non-historic vinyl shutters. Most of the windows also have modern 

storm sashes and screens with aluminum frames. Both the shutters and storm sashes were 

installed sometime after acquisition of the house by Irving Greenwood in 1944. 
76

Each window is briefly described in the chart below. Window numbers are keyed to 

elevation drawings on pages 62-65 (figs. 32-35). 

Window 

Number 

Date Story Elevation Sill Sashes Brief Description 

W001 1828 Cellar East Wood Modern Original window opening 

with later sash. 

W002 1828 Cellar East Wood Modern Original window opening 

with later sash. 

W101 1828 First South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window 

(fig. 53). 

W102 1828 First South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W103 1828 First West Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W104 ca. 1920 First West Marble 9/6 Ca.-1841 interior doorway 

to west wing converted to 

window ca. 1920 (fig. 54). 

W105 1828 First West Marble Modern 

casement 

Original window enlarged 

as doorway ca. 1841; 

window restored ca. 1920; 

shortened to present height 

sometime later (fig. 55). 

W106 Ca. 1960 First West Wood Casement, 

post-1984 

Window is in the ca.-1960 

back addition. 

W107 Ca. 1960 First North Wood Casement, 

post-1984 

Window is in the ca.-1960 

back addition. 

W108 Post1984 First East Wood Casement, 

post-1984 

Bay window installed after 

1984 in ca.-1960 addition. 

W109 Ca. 1960 First North Marble Large 

plate glass 

Later window opening (fig. 

56). 

W110 1828 First South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W111 1828 First South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W112 

W201 1828 Second South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W202 1828 Second South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W203 1828 Second South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W204 1828 Second West Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W205 1828 Second West Marble Casement Original window opening 

with later casement sashes. 

W206 Ca. 1920 Second North Marble Casement Ca.-1841 interior doorway 

to north wing converted to 

window ca. 1920. 

W207 1828 Second North Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W208 Ca. 1960 Second North ? 8/8 Later window opening (fig. 

56). 

W209 1828 Second East Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W210 1828 Second East Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W211 1828 Second South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W212 1828 Second South Marble 9/6 Original unaltered window. 

W301 1828 Attic West Wood Plate glass 

& louvers 

Original opening; 6/6 sashes 

are stored in attic. 

W302 1828 Attic East Wood Plate glass 

& louvers 

Original opening; 6/6 sashes 

are stored in attic. 
77

Missing Windows

Two original windows with 9-over-6 sashes were converted to doorways (D103 and D104) 

when a verandah was constructed on the east side of the house circa 1860s (fig. 51). These 

former windows are missing their sashes and casings; the marble window sills appear to have 

been reused as door sills. 

Cornice

The Hunt House has a wide cornice with gable-end returns that is typical of the Greek 

Revival style. This cornice dates to circa-1841, when the roof was raised and the north wing 

enlarged to 2-stories. That some portions of the cornice are old is suggested by a patch in the 

frieze on the back side of the house in the former location of the north-wing roof (fig. 52). 

The cornice was also replicated in the two-story portico that was constructed on the front of 

the house circa 1920. 

Gutters

White aluminum gutters with downspouts provide drainage from both the main roof and 

back addition of the Hunt House. These were installed by either the Greenwoods or the 

Olmsteads sometime after 1944. The earlier gutter system consisted of a wooden gutter 

incorporated into the existing boxed cornice, which was drained by metal leaders. The 

remnant of one of these early leaders can be seen today at the eave soffit on the south 

elevation where the 2-story portico meets the main house. The roof covers these early 

gutters today. 

Roof

The Hunt House has a gable roof that is oriented ridge-parallel to the street. The roof 

framing and most sheathing boards appear to be original to the house when it was 

constructed in 1828. This roof was heightened approximately 2 feet circa 1841 to 

accommodate the existing wide cornice. Physical evidence of the roof's original height is 

preserved at the gable ends of the attic (figs. 151 and 153). A hatch on the north side enables 

access to the roof from the attic. The house and circa-1920 portico were last roofed with 

asphalt shingles around 1997, as noted in the1999 real estate listing that states "new roof in 

past 2 years." The 19th-century roofing was most likely wood shingles, similar to those used 

on the nearby M'Clintock House that was also owned by Richard P. Hunt.1

 Physical 

 

1

 Barbara Yocum, M'Clintock House Historic Structure Report, Women's Rights National Historical 

Park, 1993, p. 122. 
78

evidence of the historic roofing may be found by examining the sheathing boards the next 

time the roofing is replaced on the Hunt House. 

The circa-1960 addition on the back of the house has a flat roof with ballasted built-up 

roofing. It is covered with stone/tar roofing that contains asbestos, according to a 

"Hazardous Materials Investigation" report prepared in 2000. 

Chimneys

Three brick chimneys rise above the roof of the Hunt House: two on the east side, and one on 

the west side (figs. 42 and 44). One chimney, at the northwest corner, is missing above the 

level of the roof. Of the four original chimneys, only the two on the front (south) side of the 

house were functional, each equipped with two flues to accommodate two fireplaces. The 

two chimneys on the back (north) side did not extend below the level of the attic floor and 

were thus strictly decorative, providing symmetry to the roof. The southwest chimney 

appears to have been completely rebuilt with new bricks. This most likely occurred around 

1920, when a central heating system was installed and vented to this chimney. 

Porticos

A two-story neoclassical portico with four fluted Doric columns and concrete floor is 

centered on the front façade of the Hunt House (fig. 41). This portico was constructed by 

Clifford Beare circa 1920; the concrete slab was added sometime after 1944. The portico 

replaced a smaller, gable-roofed portico that covered the front doorway by circa 1900 (figs. 

18and 19). This smaller portico is not shown on the Bird's-Eye view of 1873 (fig. 15), 

suggesting that it was added sometime between 1873 and 1900. 

A smaller portico, installed by the Olmsteads after 1984, is located at the west doorway of the 

circa-1960 back addition (fig. 42). 

Electrical Fixtures

Electrical service enters the Hunt House via overhead wires from a pole at the street to a 

vertical conduit at the southwest corner of the building. An electric meter attached to this 

conduit is mounted to the west brick wall in the first story (fig. 42). 

Exterior lighting is provided by two pole-mounted lamps at the front driveway and by lights 

mounted to the house. A brass fixture resembling an old-fashioned gas lamp is mounted 

above the fanlight at the front doorway, while floodlights at the two corners of the back 

addition illuminate the back yard. All exterior lighting fixtures were installed sometime after 

1944 by the Greenwood and/or Olmstead families. 
79

Painted Finishes

Paint analysis indicates that all exterior woodwork elements of the Hunt House have always 

been painted various shades of white. The earliest paintings of the house used cream-white 

oil paints that contained lead. The most recent paintings have used latex paints. 

All exterior wooden elements of the Hunt House are painted white today. This includes the 

doorways, windows, front portico, and cornice. There is also surviving evidence of red paint 

on the exterior brickwork walls of the house (fig 49). Analysis of this paint, combined with 

close study of the two early photographs of the house, suggests that the walls were painted 

red around 1920 when the west and north wings were removed. The reason for this may have 

been to provide a more uniform appearance to the walls by covering the scars left by the 

missing wings and patched openings. 

Missing Wings and Porches

West Wing

A one-story kitchen wing was attached to the west side of the house from circa 1841 to 1920. 

The wing is documented by the "Bird's-Eye View" of 1873 (fig. 15) and by two photographs 

dated circa 1900 and 1910 (figs. 18 and 19). The wing appears to have been constructed of 

brick with a veranda on the front side and tall end chimney. A doorway connecting with this 

wing was added to the west wall of the existing dining room, which was later converted to a 

window when the wing was removed circa 1920 (W104). Brickwork patching beneath this 

window is indicative of its earlier configuration as a doorway. The wing covered the two 

cellar windows on the west side of the main house and appears to have had no connecting 

doorway in the cellar, both suggesting later construction. The west brick wall of the main 

house appears to retain surprisingly few remnants of the former wing, such as shadow 

outlines or flashing nails from the former roof. Better access to the upper reaches of the wall, 

with tall ladders or scaffolding, may help to identify additional physical evidence. Future 

archeological excavations may also reveal the subterranean foundation walls of the west 

wing. 

 

North Wing

Another wing was attached to the back side of the house from circa 1828 to 1920. This wing 

is believed to have originally housed the kitchen, which was moved to the new wing on the 

west side of the house circa 1841. The north wing is thought to have been enlarged to 2-1/2 

stories at that time. A carriage house may also have been attached to the back side of the 

wing, as described in John Becker's 1949 History of the Village of Waterloo. The only known 

depiction of the north wing appears in the 1873 "Bird's-Eye View" of Waterloo (fig. 15). The 
80

probate inventories of Richard P. Hunt in 1856 and Jane C. Hunt in 1890 suggest the wing 

contained a sitting room, bedroom, nursery and bathroom in the first story and two rooms in 

the second story. Physical evidence of the missing wing is found on the north wall, west side, 

of the main house. Inside, in the cellar, can be seen a patch for a doorway that once 

connected with the now missing cellar of the north wing (fig. 58). Outside, the outline of the 

wing's missing roof is faintly defined by flashing nails, repointing repairs to the brickwork, 

and a patch in the lower edge of the cornice (fig. 52). In addition, a second-story window in 

the vicinity of the wing (W206) retains evidence of its earlier configuration as a doorway, 

including brick patching below the window and a baseboard patch on the room side of the 

opening. Future archeological excavations may also reveal the subterranean foundation 

walls of the north wing and determine if the walls were brick or wood. 

Front Portico

A small gable-roofed portico was located at the front doorway of the Hunt House by circa 

1900, according to photographs dated circa 1900 and 1910 (figs. 18 and 19). A shadow outline 

of the portico is also preserved on the brickwork today (fig. 50). This portico is believed to 

have been replaced by the existing 2-story portico around 1920. Less certain is when it was 

constructed. Its absence in the "Bird's-Eye View of Waterloo" of 1873 (fig. 15) suggests the 

small portico was installed sometime after that date. Whether or not this was the case, or the 

portico was inadvertently omitted from the drawing, is unknown. Physical evidence of the 

early portico deck was most likely destroyed by the concrete slab of the existing large portico. 

East Veranda

A one-story veranda was added to the east side of the house sometime between 1856 and 1873 

(circa 1860s is used in this report); it was removed around 1920. This alteration coincided 

with the remodeling of the parlor, which included enlargement of the two east windows as 

doorways. The veranda is documented by the 1873 "Bird's-Eye View of Waterloo" and the 

photographs of circa 1900 and 1910 (figs. 15, 18 and 19). Physical evidence of the veranda's 

roof and roof brackets is also preserved on the existing brickwork as ghosted outlines (fig. 

51). 
81

Figure 41. Front façade and west elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007. 

Figure 42. West elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007.
82

Figure 43. North (rear) elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007. 

Figure 44. East elevation of the Hunt House, June 2007.
83

Figure 45. Limestone water table of the front façade 

shown in elevation (above) and profile (right), June 

2007. 

Figure 46. Limestone foundation at the 

northeast corner of the east elevation, June 

2007. Similar construction is found on the 

west side of the house. 

Figure 47. Limestone foundation stones are 

noticeably absent from the west side of the 

north elevation, except at the northwest corner 

(at arrow). 
84

Figure 48. Detail of the exterior brick wall at the north elevation showing 

common bond pattern—one row of headers to five rows of stretchers. June 

2007. 

Figure 49. Detail of north brick wall showing remnants of 

circa-1920 red paint on the brickwork and early lime 

mortar (at arrow), June 2007. 
85

Figure 50. Front doorway and details, including shadow outline of former portico (above at arrow), 

and reproduction 6-panel door (lower right), June 2007. 
86

Figure 51. Detail of later French doorways at east elevation and 

shadow evidence of missing veranda roof (at arrows), June 2007. 
87

Figure 52. Detail of north elevation in the vicinity of the 

missing north-wing roof (at arrows). April 2008. 
88

Figure 53. Window W101 in the front 

façade, June 2007. This is an original 

window with limestone lintel, jack arch, 

and 9-over-6 sashes. 

Figure 54. Window W104 in the west 

elevation, June 2007. This opening 

appears to have once been a doorway. 

Figure 56. Windows W109 and W208 in 

the north elevation, June 2007. Both are 

later openings installed circa 1960. 

Figure 55. Window W105 in the west 

elevation, June 2007. Note the brickwork 

patching beneath the window, suggestive 

of a former doorway. 
89

INTERIOR 

Cellar

General Information

The cellar is an original feature of the Hunt 

House dating to 1828. This cellar appears to 

have connected with a cellar beneath the 

now missing north wing, based on physical 

evidence of a patched doorway at the north 

wall. Exterior access was through a stonestepped entrance at the east end of the north 

wall. Richard P. Hunt's probate inventory of 

1856 described milk pans, stone crocks, 

meat casks, and a safe stored "In Cellar." Jane Hunt's probate inventory of the "Cellar" was 

more detailed, listing 5 tons of coal, "1 Washing Machine," "1 Refrigerator," "1 Wash boiler 

tin," and 2 "Churn[s]," in addition to various crocks, tubs, pails, barrels, beets, carrots, 

potatoes, apples, a wooden bench, and a bell. The existing interior stair was installed by the 

Greenwoods sometime after 1944; an earlier interior stairway may have been in the former 

north wing. A modern gas-fueled furnace, two electrical panels, and a water heater are in the 

cellar today.

Floor

The floor of the cellar is concrete. The original dirt floor was most likely covered with 

concrete when the heating system was upgraded by the Greenwood family circa 1945.

Walls

The walls of the cellar are exposed stone covered with a thin pargette of gray mortar, except 

for the western portion of the back (north) wall that is constructed of bricks with a doorwaysized patch (fig. 58). This stretch of wall, measuring 16'-10" long, is also less deep than the 

adjacent stone walls. A plausible explanation is that the house had a wing with cellar 

appended to this side when it was originally constructed in 1828. A doorway would have 

connected the cellar of the main house with the cellar beneath the north wing. Bricks were 

probably used here instead of stone because the material did not need to function as an 

earthen retaining wall. The north wing was demolished, and the doorway patched, around 

1920. 

Furnace

Doorway 

Patch 

 N
90

Ceiling

The cellar ceiling is the exposed framing of the first floor. Fiberglass insulation installed by 

the Olmsteads (1976-99) fills the spaces between the floor joists today. A small area of lath 

and plaster is on the ceiling above the furnace, perhaps intended as fire-proofing. 

Doorways 

An exterior bulkhead entrance is located at the east end of the back (north) wall. This is 

probably an original (1828) feature of the house based on the construction details including 

the smooth sides of the opening, stonework retaining walls, and stone steps (fig. 59). A 

modern metal bulkhead door covers the stairway today. A wooden structure most likely 

existed in the 19th century. A second doorway connecting with the cellar beneath the north 

wing was enclosed circa 1920 (see "Walls" for more information). 

Windows

There are two small windows in the upper east wall of the cellar (W001 and W002). These 

appear to be original (1828) openings with modern sashes. Two historic windows that are 

enclosed today were in the upper west wall. These would have been covered by the west wing 

and its porches when they were constructed circa 1841. It is not known when the openings 

were enclosed with stonework patches. 

Chimney Bases

Two original brick chimney bases are situated at the east and west walls of the cellar (fig. 60). 

Like the walls, the chimneys are covered with a thin pargette of gray mortar. The east 

chimney base supported the chimney for the fireplaces in the parlor and the southeast 

bedroom. The west chimney base supported the chimney for the fireplaces in the dining 

room and the southwest bedroom. Today the west chimney is used exclusively to vent the 

cellar furnace. 

Brick Piers

Two brick piers with a thin pargette of grey mortar are located in the middle of the cellar (fig. 

57). These support the two main north-south beams that define the width of the center hall 

in the first and second stories. The piers provide important structural support and may date 

to the original construction of the house in 1828. 
91

Stairway

The existing wooden stair to the first story was installed in the center of the cellar by the 

Greenwood family around 1950 (fig. 57). The Greenwood children recalled in a recent 

interview that access to the cellar was originally through "a trap in the center of the [kitchen] 

floor." Later flooring in the kitchen and a covering of fiberglass insulation in the cellar 

ceiling obscures the location of this hatch today. The wooden stair is a simple design with 

open treads and a single handrail. 

Electrical Equipment 

The main electrical panel for the house is mounted to the west wall of the cellar in the 

southwest corner. A second panel for the north addition and outbuildings is mounted to the 

north wall. Lighting is provided by ceiling fixtures with single exposed light bulbs. 

Heating Equipment 

All that remains of early heating equipment in the cellar is a detached cast-iron door of what 

may have been the original furnace, cast with the name of the manufacturer "Richardson, 

Boynton & Co., New York" (fig. 63). A gas-fueled "Lennox Aire-F10" furnace was in the 

cellar when the Hunt House was acquired by the federal government in 2001 (fig. 57). This 

was replaced by a new furnace in 2007. The furnace is located on the west side of the cellar 

and is vented to the southwest chimney. Sheet metal heating ducts exposed at the ceiling 

were installed by the Greenwoods around 1945. 

Plumbing Equipment

Plumbing is believed to have been first introduced into the existing Hunt House around 1920, 

with the installation of a kitchen and second-story bathroom. The exposed plumbing in the 

cellar is more recent than this, however. A waste pipe, which exits the house through the 

west wall, is made of white PVC. A gas-fueled hot-water tank in the northwest corner of the 

cellar appears to be new. 
92

Figure 58. Cellar: North wall at doorway patch (at arrow), June 2007. 

Figure 57. Cellar: View looking northwest, June 2007.
93

Figure 60. Cellar: View looking southeast, June 2007. Note chimney base 

at the east wall (at arrow). 

Figure 59. Cellar: East end of the north wall showing bulkhead stair (at 

arrow), June 2007. 
94

Figure 62. Cellar: Southwest corner showing the electrical panels (left) and 

furnace (right), June 2007. 

Figure 61. Cellar: View looking southwest, June 2007.
95

Figure 63. Cellar: Detached cast-iron door from 

an early furnace made by "Richardson, Boynton 

& Co., New York." 
96

Room 101 (Lower Hall)

General Information 

The lower hall is an original feature of the house 

dating to 1828. The hall functioned as the main 

entrance, connecting corridor, and stairway to 

the second story. Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1856 indicates the "Hall" was 

furnished with a table and a map of the United 

States, while Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory 

of 1890 mentioned only "2 Door Mats" in the 

"Lower Hall." The hall extended the entire 

depth of the house, with the front doorway at 

one end and the back doorway at the other. 

Interior doorways on the west side connected 

with the dining room and back pantry, and on 

the east side with the parlor and back bedroom 

(later the rear parlor). The doorways to the 

parlor and the dining room were widened and new oak floorboards installed over the old 

flooring by Clifford Beare around 1920. Changes made by the Greenwood family (1944-76) 

included replacing the front door with a new 6-panel door, installing new ductwork and 

chases for the heating system, and removing the rear parlor door. The north end of the hall 

was partitioned by Joan and Tom Olmstead to create a full bathroom, and the walls and 

ceiling of the hall were sheathed with plasterboard, in 1977. This bathroom was 

disassembled and the partition removed by the National Park Service in 2008. 

Floor 

The original floor of the hall consists of a single layer of random-width, tongue-and groove 

floorboards (fig. 70). The floor was protected in 1856 with "1 Oil Cloth," according to 

Richard P. Hunts probate inventory. The oil cloth been replaced by 1890 with "Abt. 25 yds 

carpet in lower hall" along with "2 door mats," as noted in Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory. 

Two layers of later flooring cover the original floorboards today. Oak floorboards over 

construction paper were installed circa 1920. Black-and-white vinyl tiles 9" square were 

removed in 1977 prior to installation of 12"-square vinyl tiles of faux marble design that cover 

the floor today. The circa-1950 black-and-white tiles were found preserved at the north end 

of the hall beneath the bathroom flooring (fig. 72). 

 N
97

Baseboards

Molded baseboards trim the base of the walls in the lower hall. The baseboards are 7-1/2"+ 

tall, as measured from the level of the existing tile flooring. The molding style is similar to 

that used in the parlor (Room 106), the upper hall (Room 201), and the southeast bedroom 

(Room 206). 

Walls

The four walls of the 19th-century hall are mostly intact today. The walls at the north and 

south ends of the hall are exterior brick walls; the east and west walls are wood-framed 

interior partitions. Portions of the interior walls that are missing today include the south 

ends of the interior walls where the doorways were widened circa 1920. The north end of the 

west wall (north of the closet doorway) was also mostly removed to create a downstairs 

bathroom in 1977. Note that upper studs of this wall remain intact, concealed above a drop 

ceiling, and shadow evidence of the wall is preserved on the floorboards. A vertical gap in the 

original plaster of the adjacent north wall also clearly defines the wall's location. The walls of 

the hall were finished historically with lime plaster applied directly to the brickwork of the 

exterior walls and to sawn lath at the interior walls. How much of this original plaster 

remains is unknown because the walls are mostly concealed today by plasterboard installed 

in 1977. Small areas uncovered in 2007 reveal both original plaster and later patching. The 

north end of the hall was partitioned in 1977 to create a bathroom (Room 105), with a floorto-ceiling mirror installed on the hall side. Both the partition and mirror were removed by 

the National Park Service in 2008.2

Ceiling

The ceiling measures 9' 9" high today, which is less than its historic height due to the buildup 

of later flooring and ceiling materials. The ceiling, like the walls, was finished with lime 

plaster applied to sawn lath originally. The extent of surviving original ceiling plaster in the 

lower hall is unknown, since most of the ceiling is still covered today with plasterboard 

installed in 1977. A round decorative ceiling molding in the front portion of the lower hall is 

presumably contemporary with the plasterboard (fig. 69). 

 Doorways

Five of the hall's doorways seven original doorways survive today in altered condition. The 

doorways were trimmed with casings featuring ovolo edge molding and rosette corner 

 

2

 A penciled note on the plasterboard beneath the mirror reads, "April 21, 1977, Geneva Glass, Dave, 

Dick, Bill" (fig. 71). 
98

blocks, except the front doorway that was crowned with a fanlight. Casings of similar style 

were used in the parlor (Room 106), upper hall (Room 201), and southeast bedroom (Room 

206). No original doors or door hardware remains today. Each doorway is described in 

more detail below, presented in clockwise order beginning with the front (south) doorway. 

South Doorway (Front Entrance)

The main entrance to the house is the south exterior doorway of the lower hall (fig. 64). This 

doorway retains its original casings, flanking sidelights, and semi-circular fanlight. The 

existing 6-panel door is a later replacement installed circa 1945-60 by the Greenwoods, based 

the analysis of the door's painted finishes. The modern hardware is contemporary with the 

door. The earlier door appears to have also had 6 panels, based on the earliest-known 

photograph of the house dated circa 1900 (fig. 18). 

West Doorway (Dining Room)

The first doorway on the left as one enters the house connects with the west dining room 

(Room 102—fig. 65). This doorway was widened to its present size, and French doors 

installed, circa 1920. The casings and rosette corner blocks have a mixture of ovolo and 

cavetto moldings reused from two or more doorways. Physical evidence preserved on the 

original floorboards may be helpful in determining the size and location of the original 

doorway. 

West Doorway (Closet)

An original doorway in the west wall beneath the stair opened onto a storage closet until 

around 1920. This closet was called the "Closet Under Stairs" in the 1856 probate inventory 

of Richard P. Hunt. Although not specifically mentioned in Jane C. Hunt's 1890 probate 

inventory, miscellaneous items listed in the "Lower Hall," such as a "cake box" and "lot of tin 

ware," were no doubt stored in the closet. A portion of this doorway remains intact today, 

including some of the casings and jambs on the hall side (fig. 67). The west wall of the closet 

itself appears to have been removed to create a large kitchen circa 1920; the closet doorway 

was retained to provide direct access from the hall to the new kitchen. The doorway opening 

was narrowed on the north side and the closet door removed when the north end of the hall 

was partitioned for a bathroom in 1977. It retains this appearance today. 

West Doorway (Pantry)--Missing 

A doorway at the north end of the west wall is believed to have connected the hall with the 

room called the "Dining Room Cupboard" in Richard P. Hunt's probate inventory of 1856 
99

and the "Pantry off Dining Room" in Jane C. Hunts probate inventory of 1890. This doorway 

may have been used circa 1950 to access a new toilet room that opened off the hall. The 

lower wall in which the doorway was located was removed in 1977 to enlarge the toilet room 

to a full bathroom. Physical evidence of the missing doorway may yet be found on the 

floorboards following complete removal of later flooring materials. 

North Doorway (Back Entrance)

The back entrance to the house was in the north exterior wall of the lower hall. All that 

remains of this doorway is the opening itself and the door frame (fig. 72). Physical evidence 

indicates that this doorway had no sidelights or fanlight. It was converted to an interior 

doorway with the construction of the north addition around 1960. Access to the doorway 

from the hall was later completely blocked in 1977 when the north end of the hall was 

partitioned for a bathroom. This partition was removed by the National Park Service in 2008. 

The existing narrowed opening has a modern, hollow-core door. 

East Doorway (Hall Bedroom/Rear Parlor)--Missing

The last doorway on the right near the back end of the hall opened onto a small room called 

the "Hall Bed Room" in the probate inventory of Richard P. Hunt in 1856. This doorway was 

retained when the bedroom partition was removed to enlarge the parlor sometime before 

1873 (circa 1860s). It was finally removed and the opening enclosed by the Greenwoods 

around 1960, based on a family photograph (fig. 25) and analysis of the paint on the 

baseboard patch. The location of this former doorway can be clearly discerned by patches in 

the baseboards and walls on the hall and parlor sides of the former opening (fig. 74). 

East Doorway (Parlor/Living Room)

The first doorway on the right as one enters the house connects with the parlor, now called 

the living room (Room 106—fig. 68). This doorway was widened to its present size, and 

embellished with flanking columns on paneled bases, circa 1920. There are no doors. The 

casings and rosette corner blocks have a mixture ovolo and cavetto moldings reused from 

two or more doorways. Physical evidence preserved on the original floorboards may be 

helpful in determining the size and location of the original doorway. 

Windows

Natural light is provided to the lower hall by the sidelights and fanlight at the front doorway 

(fig. 64). These are original windows with lead cames and some early glass, judging by swirls 
100

and imperfections. Although these are not large windows, their southern exposure provides 

adequate lighting to the entire length of the hall during daylight hours. 

Closet (Missing)

A closet located beneath the stair at the west wall was an original feature of the hall from 1828 

until circa 1920. As previously mentioned in the section on "Doorways," this closet was 

referred to as the "Closet Under Stairs" in the 1856 probate inventory of Richard P. Hunt. 

Surviving physical evidence indicates that the framing of the stair was exposed in the closet 

historically. The closet's north and west partitions were removed around 1920 and the space 

incorporated as part of a new kitchen. The underside of the stair was finished at this time 

with the lath and plaster, which is furred out with pieces of reused painted woodwork. A 

cellar stair and access doorway were later installed by the Greenwoods circa 1950, beneath 

the hall stair in the south wall of the former closet. Plasterboard walls were erected at this 

time for a toilet room in the northeast corner of the kitchen, creating the existing narrow 

passage. All that remains of the hall closet today is the partial doorway opening and casing on 

the hall side (fig. 67). See "Doorways" for details. 

Stairway

A stairway leading to the second story is an original feature of the lower hall (fig. 66). The 

stair is a straight run with a Federal-style railing and simple tapered balusters. The stair was 

described in Richard P. Hunt's probate inventory of 1856 as having a "Stair Carpet & Rods." 

These may have been the same "77 yds Carpet" and "1 1/3 doz Rod" purchased by Hunt from 

A. & E. S. Higgins of New York on May 7, 1841.3

 A mechanical chair lift that was installed on 

the west side of the stair by the last owners is missing today. 

Light Fixtures

No specific references to lighting of the lower hall were made in Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory, although "1 Astrol Lamp" was noted in the upper hall. Gas lighting had been 

installed in the house by the time a revised inventory was undertaken in 1859 that included "1 

Hall Gas Burner," no remnants of which were found during the architectural investigation. 

Electric lighting was probably introduced around 1920. The hall is lit today by a combination 

electrical ceiling fan/light fixture installed by the last owners, located at the south end of the 

hall near the front doorway (fig. 69). 

 

3

 Cat. #36.13, The Hunt Family Papers, Women's Rights NHP. 
101

Heating Equipment 

A modern heat register is located at the west wall of the lower hall to the south of the dining 

room doorway (fig. 65). An enclosed ductwork chase is also in the southeast corner of the 

room. The ductwork is believed to have been installed by the Greenwoods around 1945. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes

The first several paintings of the woodwork in the lower hall (1828 to circa 1848) used creamcolor paints containing lead, according to the findings of the paint analysis. The stair steps 

and risers were similarly painted, although the railing (including the balusters) had a resinous 

finish. The walls were most likely wallpapered historically, based on the smooth texture of 

the surviving original plaster and absence of paint. No remnants of early wallpapers have yet 

been found. The ceiling appears to have been painted with a water-soluble calcimine. No 

paint was observed on the original floorboards, which have a buildup of dirt and a substance 

that may be wax. 

The hall woodwork continued to be painted in light shades of cream, white, and light yellow 

in subsequent years. Paint analysis confirmed that woodwork from several rooms was 

assembled to create the casings for the widened doorways to the dining room and parlor 

circa 1920. The earliest wallpaper found in the lower hall is a circa-1930 brown- leaf design 

preserved behind heat ducts at the north end of the hall at the east wall, now Room 105 (fig. 

C-1, Appendix C). This foliate wallpaper was completely removed from wall surfaces prior to 

application of the next wallpaper, a pink-and-white striped design, circa 1945 (also hung in 

Room 204—see fig. C-3, Appendix C). Another wallpaper was applied over this paper circa 

1960, with a design of geometric forms and flowering branches in gold and silver on a beige 

ground (figs. 73 and 74).4

 These wallpapers remain on the walls today, preserved beneath 

later plasterboard. 

Plasterboard was installed over the wallpapered walls and painted ceiling in 1977. Vinyl 

wallpaper with a yellow damask design and no border covers the walls from baseboard to 

ceiling (figs. 64-67). The woodwork is painted cream, except the stair treads that are brown 

and the stair handrail that has a clear resinous finish. The ceiling is painted white. 

 

4

 This wallpaper was remembered by Robin Olmstead Cain as having been hung by her grandparents, 

Irving and Marie Greenwood, in the 1960s. (Interview at the Hunt House June 2, 2008; transcript on 

file at Women's Rights NHP.) 
102

Figure 64. Room 101: Front doorway at 

the south wall, June 2007. 

Figure 65. Room 101: West doorway to 

Room 102, June 2007. 

Figure 66. Room 101: Stairway to the 

second story, June 2007. 

Figure 67. Room 101: West doorway 

beneath the stair, June 2007. 
103

Figure 68. Room 101: East doorway to Room 106, June 2007.

Figure 69. Room 

101: Detail of the 

ceiling looking 

south towards the 

front doorway, June 

2007. 
104

Figure 70. Room 101: Detail of the floor at the west doorway to Room 

102 showing original floorboards (at arrow) beneath later flooring, 

August 2007. 

Figure 71. Room 101: Detail of writing on plasterboard at the later north 

partition beneath large mirror, August 2007. 
105

Figure 72. Room 101: View looking north towards the original exterior 

back doorway at the end of the hall following removal of the bathroom 

partition, April 2008. 
106

Figure 73. Room 101: Detail at 

west doorway to Room 102 showing 

circa-1960 wallpaper on plaster 

beneath existing plasterboard, 

August 2007. 

Figure 74. Room 101: Detail of east plaster 

wall beneath plasterboard at former 

doorway to Room 106, August 2007. 
107

Room 102 (Dining Room)

General Information

The room in the southeast corner of the house is 

believed to have always been used for dining 

because of its close proximity to the pantry and 

kitchen. Richard P. Hunt's probate inventory of 

1856 described the furnishings of the "Dining 

Room" as including two tables, 10 chairs, a settee, 

and a clock. No chairs or tables were noted in 

Jane C. Hunt's 1890 probate inventory, although 

reference was made to a closet, stove, curtains, 

and gas light fixture. A doorway appears to have 

been added to the right side of the fireplace 

around 1841to connect with a newly constructed 

kitchen wing. This wing was removed and the 

doorway converted to a window by Clifford Beare 

circa 1920. The hall doorway was also widened 

about this time, the north doorway relocated to the west end of the wall, and oak floorboards 

installed. The Olmsteads covered the walls and ceiling with plasterboard in 1977, and 

installed new flooring and built-in closets in the early 1990s. 

 

Floor

The original floor of the dining room consists of a single layer of random-width, tongue-and 

groove floorboards. No floor covering was mentioned for this room in Richard P. Hunt's 

1856 probate inventory. By 1890, the floor was covered with "36 yds of carpet," "Matting 

under carpet," and "1 rug," according to Jane C. Hunts probate inventory of 1890. Two 

layers of later flooring cover the original floorboards today. Oak floorboards over 

construction paper were installed circa 1920. Over these are new oak floorboards installed 

by the last owners in the early 1990s. This flooring was made by "Bruce Hardwood Floors," 

according to a 1991 brochure found in a closet of the house labeled "Dining Room Floor." 

Baseboards

Original molded baseboards approximately 7+" high trim the lower walls of the room. 

Identical baseboards are also found in the southwest bedroom (Room 202). Later baseboards 

with slightly different molding profile are at the west chimney breast, beneath the window to 

the right of the chimney breast, and at the former doorway opening in the center of the north 

wall. These have been dated circa 1920, based on the findings of the paint analysis. 

 N
108

Walls

The four walls of the dining room are unchanged today from their original configuration. 

The south and west walls are exterior brick walls; the east and north walls are interior woodframed partitions. Plaster is applied directly to the brickwork of the exterior walls and to 

sawn lath at the interior walls. How much original lime plaster remains is unknown because 

the walls are mostly concealed today by plasterboard installed in 1977. Small areas 

uncovered in 2007 reveal both original plaster and later patching (fig. 81). 

Ceiling

The ceiling, like the walls, was finished with lime plaster applied to sawn lath originally. The 

extent of surviving original ceiling plaster in the dining room is unknown because it is 

covered by plasterboard installed in 1977 (fig. 79). 

 

Doorways

There are two doorways in the dining room: one in the east wall connecting to the hall, the 

other in the north wall leading to the kitchen. Both are original doorways that were altered 

circa 1920. The doorways are trimmed with casings with cavetto edge molding and rosette 

corner blocks. Casings of similar style were used in the southwest bedroom above the dining 

room (Room 202). Detailed descriptions of the dining room doorways are provided below. 

East Doorway (Hall)

The doorway connecting with the hall is located at the south end of the east wall (fig. 80). 

This doorway was widened and the existing French door installed circa 1920, based on the 

results of the paint analysis. The casings and jambs of both this doorway and the hall 

doorway to the parlor were disassembled and reinstalled at the enlarged openings. 

Interestingly, no care was taken to correctly match the moldings of the casings and corner 

blocks, so that a mixed assemblage trims doorways today. 

North Doorway (Pantry/Kitchen)

A doorway in the north wall led to a room called the "Dining Room Cupboard" in 1856 and 

the "Pantry off Dining Room" in 1890. The original location of this doorway can be clearly 

ascertained by the patches in the baseboard and corresponding plaster wall above (fig. 83). 

The doorway was moved to the west end of the wall around 1920 when the adjacent room 

was remodeled as a kitchen. The original dimensions of the doorway appear to have been 
109

retained and the casings reused at the new opening. The jambs are modern; there is no door 

(fig. 77). 

West Doorway (Kitchen/West Wing)--Missing

A doorway is believed to have been created on the right side of the chimney breast circa 1841 

to connect with a new west kitchen wing. This wing was removed and the opening 

reconfigured as a window circa 1920. Physical evidence of the missing doorway includes 

brickwork patching below the window on the exterior side of the opening and plaster 

patching on the interior side and a later baseboard (figs. 54 and 76). Paint analysis also 

suggests this window dates to circa 1920. 

Windows 

Three of the four existing windows in the dining room are historic. These are the two 

windows in the south wall (W101 and W102) and one to the left of the chimney breast in the 

west wall (W103)—see figs. 75 and 76. These windows retain their original 9-over-6 sashes 

and casings with cavetto edge molding and rosette corner blocks. Two of the windows, 

presumably at the south wall, were outfitted in 1890 with "2 curtains & cornices, shades & 

fixtures," according to Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory of that year. A fourth window 

(W104), on the right side of the chimney breast, replaced a circa-1841 doorway. Paint 

analysis indicates the window casing dates to circa 1920, while the 9-over-6 sashes were 

reused from some unknown location. Modern window elements include the sash locks and 

spring counterbalances that replaced the original sash cords and weights. 

Chimney Breast

A chimney breast is centered at the west wall of the dining room (fig. 76). This is an original 

feature of the room that was constructed of brick and finished with a coat of plaster. The 

front face undoubtedly had a fireplace opening and mantel, but no physical evidence of 

either remains today. These are thought to have been removed and replaced by the existing 

coating of cement plaster around 1920. This modern plaster definitely existed by 1948, based 

on a penciled note from a local interior decorator of that date (fig. 81). The entire chimney 

breast was later covered by plasterboard panels glued to the plaster in 1977. The lower 

portions of plasterboard only were removed for the architectural investigation, revealing the 

plaster beneath. 
110

Closets 

Built-in floor-to-ceiling closets cover the entire east wall of the dining room on both sides of 

the hall doorway (fig. 80). These closets were installed by the Olmsteads (1976-99). The 

closets are finished with the same vinyl wallpaper as the walls. 

Two closets are missing today. One is the "closet" mentioned in Jane C. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1890. Located in this closet were the following items: "crockery & tin ware, 

majolica dish & 2 Sally Lunn dishes, 1 cut glass sugar bowl, 1 Japanese tea-pot, and 1orange 

marmalade dish." It is not known if this was a built-in closet or a piece of furniture such as a 

corner cupboard. The second missing closet was installed by the Greenwood family to the 

north side of the chimney breast around 1950. A photograph of the dining room taken in 

1968 shows this closet with an accordion-style folding door (fig. 26). The closet was removed 

during the renovation of the room in 1977. 

Light Fixtures 

The dining room was historically lit by oil lamps and candles. Richard P. Hunt's 1856 

probate inventory included "1 pr. Brass candle sticks" in the listing for the "Dining Room." 

Gas lighting was installed sometime between 1856 and 1859, with the dining room later 

equipped with "1 2-light gas fixture & globes," according to Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory 

of 1890. Electric lighting was probably installed around 1920. The existing crystal chandelier 

was installed by the Greenwood family sometime between 1944 and 1968 (figs. 26 and 79). 

Heating Equipment

The dining room was probably heated originally by a fireplace when the house was 

constructed in 1828. A stove had been installed in the fireplace by 1890, according to Jane C. 

Hunt's probate inventory that listed "1 stove & pipe & zinc-in dining room." The mantel was 

removed and the fireplace opening enclosed around 1920. The room is warmed today by a 

furnace in the cellar that vents to the dining room chimney. Two heat grates are located in 

the floor of the dining room: one in the southeast corner of the room, the other in the 

southwest corner. The associated hardware most likely dates to the installation of the 

existing floorboards by the last owners in the early 1990s. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes

The first several paintings of the dining-room woodwork from 1828 to circa 1848 used 

cream-color paints containing lead, according to the findings of the paint analysis. 

Insufficient physical or documentary evidence is available to determine the finishes of the 
111

plaster walls and ceiling, although a typical treatment for the mid-19th century would have 

been to paper the walls and paint the ceiling with calcimine. 

Subsequent paintings of the dining room's woodwork used light shades of cream, white, and 

light yellow over the years. A thick skim coat of white plaster was applied to the walls at 

some later date and painted green: first with a medium green, later with an olive green. This 

appears to have occurred sometime before 1920, since no green paint is on the plaster patch 

of the north doorway that was relocated about that time. We know that O.C. Kidd of 

Waterloo decorated the dining room for the Greenwoods in 1948, thanks to the penciled 

note he left on the chimney breast (fig. 81). Kidd most likely stripped the existing "dark 

yellow wallpaper" remembered by the Greenwood daughters and covered his note with a 

new scenic wallpaper with diamond trellis design printed on a green ground, samples of 

which were later preserved within a closet with folding door to the right of the chimney 

breast (fig. 82). This paper was eventually painted cream, then covered by the same green 

abstract-pattern paper hung in the living room circa 1960s (fig. 82). Plasterboard was applied 

to the wallpapered walls and ceiling in 1977. The walls were finished with a vinyl-foil paper 

with a gridwork of gold and yellow squares and the ceiling was painted white (figs. 75-80). 

This plasterboard and wallpaper remains on the walls today.
112

Figure 75. Room 102: South wall, June 2007.

Figure 76. Room 102: West wall, June 2007. 
113

Figure 78. Room 102: Northeast corner, June 2007. 

Figure 77. Room 102: 

North doorway to 

Room 103, June 2007. 
114

Figure 79. Room 102: Upper east wall and ceiling, June 2007.

Figure 80. Room 102: East wall at doorway to Room 101, June 2007. 
115

Figure 82. Room 102: Northwest 

corner to the right side of the 

chimney breast, August 2007. Note 

the circa-1948 wallpaper (left arrow) 

and circa-1960 wallpaper (right 

arrow) revealed beneath the existing 

plasterboard. This is the former 

location of a closet installed by the 

Greenwoods around 1960. 

Figure 81. Room 102: Detail of 

chimney breast at the west wall 

following partial removal of 

plasterboard, August 2007. 

Penciled writing on the exposed 

plaster wall (below) reads "Oct. 1st

1948, O.C. Kidd, 19 Oak St., 

Waterloo N.Y., Interior 

Decorator."
116

Figure 83. Room 102: Detail of 

the north wall at former 

doorway location, August 2007. 

Note baseboard patch (lower 

arrow) and gray plaster patch 

beneath the existing wallpaper 

(upper arrow) enclosing the 

former doorway opening. 
117

Room 103 (Kitchen)

General Information

The kitchen is located off the dining room in the 

northwest corner of the house. This room 

functioned historically as a pantry. It may have 

been this room that Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory referred to as the "China Closet" and 

"Dining Room Cupboard." Jane C. Hunt's 

probate inventory called the room the "Pantry off 

Dining Room," which then contained a bread 

box, tin pans, a flour barrel, clothes wringer, 

carpet sweeper, and a coffee mill. Assorted dishes 

were also stored in a "closet" in the dining room. 

The room was converted from a pantry to a 

kitchen when the west kitchen wing was 

demolished circa 1920. The north wing was also 

removed at that time, transforming the north wall 

of the room to exterior wall. A large pantry on the east side of the room was removed by the 

Greenwood family and a small bathroom installed in its place around 1950.5

 Construction of 

a new north addition around 1960 once again covered most of the room's north wall. The 

kitchen was most recently remodeled by Joan and Tom Olmstead in the early 1990s. 

Floor

The original floor of this room consists of a single layer of random-width, tongue-and groove 

floorboards. These were later overlaid with several layers of flooring. The floor is presently 

covered with tongue-and-groove floorboards, 3-1/4" wide, that may date to 1920. These 

were overlaid with several layers of sheet flooring, some containing asbestos, which were 

removed by a contractor in 2007. 

Baseboards 

Early baseboards may be concealed behind the existing modern kitchen cabinets; no 

baseboards are visible today. The historic baseboards most likely resembled those in the 

room above (Room 204), which measure 7-1/2 inches high and have a single beaded molding. 

 

5

 Interview at the Hunt House with the Greenwood family, June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at Women's 

Rights NHP. 

 N
118

Walls

The walls of this room have been considerably altered over the years. The south and east 

walls are interior wood-framed partitions; the west wall is an exterior brick wall; and the 

north wall is an interior brick wall. The walls were originally finished with lime plaster 

adhered to lath on the interior walls and applied directly to the brickwork of the exterior 

walls. A layer of cement plaster was later applied to the walls when the room was converted 

to a kitchen circa 1920. Plasterboard was most recently installed by the Greenwoods circa 

1950 and by the Olmsteads in 1977. Each wall is described separately below because of the 

complexity of alterations. 

South Wall

The south wall is an original wood-framed partition. A carrying beam in the cellar beneath 

this wall indicates that its location is unchanged from original construction in 1828. Some 

original lime plaster survives, as indicated at a small area in the southwest corner where later 

plasterboard has been removed (fig. 88). A comprehensive assessment of surviving plaster 

will require complete removal of the later materials. 

West Wall

The west wall is an exterior brick wall. Original plaster would have been adhered directly to 

the bricks. How much, if any, early plaster remains at this wall is unknown because it is 

covered by later plasterboard and cabinets today (fig. 86). 

North Wall

The north brick wall has undergone many changes. This wall originally functioned as an 

interior partition between the pantry and the kitchen in the north wing. The upper portion 

of the wall that is now covered by a counter and cabinets was opened as a large interior 

window to provide additional light to the kitchen after the north addition was built circa 1960 

(fig. 26). The wall to the right (east) of this has been completely removed to create a spacious 

connection between the kitchen and back room (fig. 85). The eastern portion of the north 

wall, now partitioned as Room 105, contains a small niche with wood jambs (fig. 96). Jagged 

bricks at the opening and newer bricks on the exterior side indicate this is not an original 

feature. The opening may have been a milk delivery door that was installed after the kitchen 

was installed in the main house ca. 1920. 
119

East Wall

Most of the original east wall is missing today. The south portion of the wall, which 

comprised the partition for the hall closet, is believed to have been removed circa 1920 when 

the room was converted to a kitchen. The north portion of the wall probably remained in 

place when a toilet room was installed in the northeast corner of the kitchen circa 1950. It 

was not until 1977 that the wall was mostly removed to enlarge the toilet room to a full 

bathroom. Only the upper framing was left in place and concealed above a drop ceiling. The 

existing east wall of the kitchen therefore dates to the earlier installation of the toilet room 

about 1950. The wall is made of plasterboard attached to modern studs. The narrow passage 

to the hall and cellar doorway were also created about this time (fig. 84). 

Ceiling

The original ceiling would have been finished with lime plaster adhered to sawn lath. How 

much, if any, of this ceiling remains today is unknown because it is covered with plasterboard 

installed in 1977. 

Doorways

The existing kitchen has two doorways. One is a historic doorway that has been moved and 

substantially altered; the other is a modern opening dating to circa 1950. This room is 

believed to have had four doorways historically: one in each of the four walls. Casings 

probably matched those of the hall doorway in the room above (Room 204). 

South Doorway (Dining Room)

A doorway connecting with the dining room is at the west end of the south wall (fig. 88). This 

is an original doorway that was moved to its current location in the 20th century. Paint 

evidence in the dining room suggests this occurred around 1920. The original location of the 

doorway in the south wall is clearly visible on the dining room side of the opening, as 

indicated by a baseboard patch and plaster wall patch. The historic casings were preserved 

on the dining room side of the opening but were replaced by modern trim on the 

kitchen/pantry side. There is no door. 
120

East Doorway (Hall Passage) 

The doorway at the south end of the east wall connects with a short passage leading to the 

lower hall (fig. 84). This doorway and passage were created around 1950 when a toilet room 

was installed in the northeast corner of the kitchen. The passage occupies the location of the 

original hall closet, which was removed circa 1920. A doorway in the south wall of the 

passage, with 2-panel door and metal knobs, opens onto the circa-1950 cellar stairway. A 

second doorway in the north wall of the passage, with a hollow-core door, was installed by 

the Olmsteads in 1977 to connect with the enlarged toilet room/bathroom. 

 

West Doorway (Exterior)--Missing 

The window in the west wall of the kitchen (fig. 86) is an original window opening that may 

have been enlarged to a doorway circa 1841. The doorway would have communicated with 

the rear porch or stoop of the west kitchen wing that was constructed about that time. 

Evidence of several episodes of patching below the window on the exterior side is the only 

remaining evidence of this doorway (fig. 55). Additional information may be uncovered 

when the existing sink and cabinets are removed from the interior side at some future date. 

North Doorway (North Wing)--Missing 

A doorway in the north wall of the kitchen/pantry communicated with the now missing north 

wing. This was an interior doorway that originally connected with the kitchen in the north 

wing, and later with the sitting room after the kitchen was moved to the west wing around 

1841. The doorway became an exterior doorway when the north wing was removed circa 

1920, and was remembered by the Greenwood children as a "door with a window." The 

doorway was completely removed when the existing north addition was built around 1960, 

based on Olmstead family photographs. The existing wide passage was created during a later 

remodeling of the kitchen by the Olmsteads in the 1990s (fig. 85). 

East Doorway (Lower Hall)--Missing

A doorway that connected with the hall is believed to have been located in the now missing 

east wall. This doorway was probably removed sometime in the 20th century, possibly as late 

as 1977 when the lower portion of the wall in which the doorway was located was removed 

for the installation of a bathroom. Physical evidence of the missing doorway may be found 

on the floorboards following complete removal of later flooring materials. 
121

Windows

There is one window, labeled W105, in the west wall of the current kitchen (fig. 86). This is 

an original window opening dating to 1828 that has undergone several alterations. The 

window may have been enlarged to an exterior doorway circa 1841 to communicate with the 

back porch or stoop of the new kitchen wing, as suggested by patching evidence below the 

window on the exterior side (fig. 55). The window was probably restored around 1920 when 

the west wing was removed. The opening was later shortened to accommodate a kitchen 

counter and sink at the west wall. All that remains of this historic window is the upper 

portion of the opening. The clamshell casing and vinyl window sashes were installed by the 

Olmsteads (1976-99). 

Light Fixtures

Lighting was historically provided by oil lamps and candles; gas lighting was introduced 

sometime between 1856 and 1859. No remnants of early light fixtures are visible in the room 

today. Modern light fixtures include recessed and track lighting in the ceiling and task 

lighting mounted beneath the overhead cabinets (figs. 84, 86 and 87). 

Heating Equipment

There is no source of heat in the existing kitchen. The room is warmed today by electric 

baseboard heaters in the adjacent north addition (Room 104). 

Plumbing Fixtures

Existing modern plumbing fixtures in the kitchen include a sink and dishwasher at the west 

wall and a small bar sink at the east wall (figs. 85 and 86). Plumbing was probably first 

installed circa 1920 when the room was remodeled as a kitchen. All that is known to remain 

of this early plumbing is a cast iron soil pipe for the second-story bathroom that is concealed 

behind later wall materials in the northwest corner of the room. The pipe was partially 

revealed in 2008 to investigate a leak in this corner, which was caused by a large crack in the 

pipe. 

Plumbing for a small toilet room was also installed in the northeast corner of the kitchen 

circa 1950. This was later upgraded when the toilet room was enlarged to a bathroom in 

1977. See Room 105 for additional information. 
122

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes

The earliest paint finishes observed in paint samples removed from original wall and ceiling 

plaster in the current kitchen consist of deteriorated calcimine paints. These early paints 

were pigmented in shades of mustard yellow/pale orange. It is difficult to say with certainty if 

any of these early layers date to the 1828-1848 time period, since these water-soluble paints 

were typically removed prior to repainting. No early woodwork trim survives in this room 

(such as baseboards, doorway casings, or window casings), so the paint finish on those 

elements is unknown. The walls were later painted with oil-based paints in colors of beigegray, yellow, white and cream-yellow. 

Two layers of paint were identified on the original random-width floorboards preserved 

beneath multiple layers of later flooring installed sometime after 1944. Each paint layer is 

distinctly separated by a heavy accumulation of dirt and soiling. The earliest painted finish is 

gray and the second layer orange. It seems unlikely that any of these paints could date to as 

early as 1828-1848, given the few number of layers. 

Conversion of the pantry to a kitchen circa 1920 included plastering the underside of the 

newly exposed stair and selectively skim coating and repairing the plaster walls with cement 

plaster. The plaster was painted three times between circa 1920 to 1950 in colors of white, 

blue-green, and a high-gloss cream-yellow. A wallpaper border patterned with cherries, 

blueberries and other colorful fruits was coordinated with the last (circa-1940s) creamyellow wall paint. These painted and wallpapered surfaces were covered circa 1950 by 

plasterboard. The plasterboard walls of the newly created toilet room, in the northeast 

corner of the kitchen, were first painted cream. Later, circa 1960, the walls were papered 

with a pattern featuring geometric shapes and flowering tree branches in gold and silver. 

This same wallpaper was hung in the hall and upstairs bathroom (Room 204). New 

plasterboard was installed over the old in 1977 and finished with floral vinyl wallpaper (figs. 

84-86). 
123

Figure 84. Room 103: View looking east, June 2007.

Figure 85. Room 103: Northeast corner, June 2007. 
124

Figure 87. Room 103: North wall, June 

2007. 

Figure 86. Room 103: Northwest corner, 

June 2007. 

Figure 88. Room 103: Detail of upper southwest wall at the doorway to 

Room 102 revealing early plaster beneath plasterboard (at arrow), August 

2007. 
125

Room 104 (Back Room)

General Information 

The "back room" is the name used by the 

Greenwood and Olmstead families for the large 

room on the north side of the house. This room 

was constructed as a brick addition by the 

Greenwoods around 1960. The large space was 

bisected by a north-south partition around 1977 

to create an additional bedroom, according to 

Joan Greenwood Olmstead. It was later restored 

as one large room, and new windows installed, 

sometime between 1984 and 1999 (figs. 89 and 

90). 

Floor

The floor is covered with vinyl tiles installed sometime between 1984 and 1999. 

Baseboards

The lower walls are trimmed with modern wood baseboards that measure 3-1/2" high. 

Walls

The walls are finished with plasterboard panels that are presumably attached to wooden 

studs. 

Ceiling

The ceiling is plasterboard with textured finish. It dates to the remodeling of the north 

addition between 1984 and 1999. 

 N
126

Doorways

There are two doorways in the north addition: one exterior and one interior. A wide passage 

also connects the north addition with the adjacent kitchen. Each doorway is described 

separately below. 

West Doorway (Exterior--D102) 

The west exterior doorway is presumably an original feature of the north addition. The 

metal door and wooden trim date to a later renovation of the room sometime between 1984 

and 1999. A second exterior entrance that existed at the east wall in 1984 (fig. 30) was 

replaced by a bay window sometime between 1984 and 1999. 

South Doorway (Bathroom)

A doorway in the south wall of the back room connects with a bathroom (Room 105) 

installed at the north end of the lower hall in 1977. This doorway has a modern, hollow-core 

door and wood casing. The opening is significant, however, for being the original back 

doorway of the house that opened off the hall. This opening was framed to its present 

smaller size in 1977 when the bathroom was installed; the original frame remains in place in 

the wall. Physical evidence in the brickwork indicates this was a plain doorway with no 

sidelights, fanlight or transom. 

Wide Passage (Kitchen)

A wide opening connects the back room with the kitchen today. This was the probable 

location of the historic interior doorway between the former north wing and the pantry (now 

the kitchen—Room 103). This doorway appears to have been retained as an exterior 

doorway when the north wing was removed circa 1920. Doris Greenwood Depp described 

the circa-1944-1960 appearance of the back kitchen doorway as having a "window on top" 

and as a "door with a window."6

 The doorway was removed when the existing north addition 

was constructed circa 1960. The existing wide passage was created in the 1990s. 

 

6

 Interview with the Greenwood family at the Hunt House June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at Women's 

Rights NHP. 
127

Windows

Modern casement windows are located on the east, north, and west sides of the back room. 

The east window is a projecting bay with window seat. The window bay was installed, and 

all the sashes in the room replaced, during the remodeling of the north addition between 

1984 and 1999. A ceiling skylight was also probably dates to this time. 

Closet

A closet in the southwest corner of the room was added sometime between 1984 and 1999. It 

has bi-fold wooden doors. 

Light Fixtures

The room has nine recessed lights in the ceiling dating to the remodeling of the room 

between 1984 and 1999. 

Heating Equipment

The room is warmed by an electric baseboard heater located at the north wall. It was 

installed between 1984 and 1999. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes

The backroom is finished with dark green wallpaper, a white-painted ceiling, and varnished 

woodwork. The exterior door is painted dark green; the bathroom door is white. No 

analysis was undertaken of the room's painted finishes. 
128

Figure 89. Room 104: View looking east, June 2007.

Figure 90. Room 104: View looking west, June 2007. 
129

Room 105 (Bathroom)

General Information

The bathroom in the first story of the Hunt 

House was enlarged from a circa-1950 toilet 

room in 1977. The latter date was verified by 

Joan Greenwood Olmstead, the last owner of 

the house, and by a penciled note on the hall 

side of the south plasterboard partition (fig. 71). 

The room occupies the north end of the lower 

hall and the northeast corner of the original 

pantry that was converted to a kitchen circa 

1920 and partitioned as a toilet room circa 1950. 

The bathroom was disassembled by the 

National Park Service for the architectural 

investigation in 2007. Physical remnants of the 

circa-1950 toilet room were revealed when the 1977 plasterboard was removed in 2007 (fig. 

97). The toilet room was created by partitioning the northeast corner of the kitchen with 

wood studs and plasterboard. A sink and medicine cabinet were installed at the west wall and 

a toilet at the south wall. The room was accessed through a doorway connecting with the 

hall. The east wall of the toilet room was removed, and new plumbing fixtures installed, 

when the toilet room was enlarged to a full bathroom with shower in 1977. 

Floor

Portions of the original random-width floorboards of the two original rooms (the 

pantry/kitchen and lower hall) now occupied by the bathroom survive beneath multiple 

layers of later flooring. The original floorboards of both rooms are oriented in a north-south 

direction. Considerable damage has occurred to these boards by the installation of the 

plumbing for the toilet room and later bathroom. 

The evolution of the room's later flooring differs because it was two separate rooms until 

1977. The western portion of the room was the northeast corner of the pantry/kitchen and 

later partitioned as a toilet room circa 1950. The original floorboards here are overlaid with 

the same 3-1/4"-wide tongue-and-groove floorboards installed in the kitchen circa 1920, 

which are covered by mustard-color sheet flooring. The eastern portion of the room was 

part of the hall until it was remodeled as the bathroom in 1977. The original floorboards here 

are overlaid with circa-1920 oak flooring, which is covered by circa-1950s black-and-white 

vinyl tiles 9" square (fig. 72). When the bathroom was created in 1977, the two rooms 

became one and the floor was covered with plywood underlayment on strapping that was 

finished with two layers of sheet vinyl by 1999. 

 N
130

Baseboards

The lower walls of the bathroom are trimmed with modern wooden clamshell-style 

baseboards dating to 1977. The original hall baseboard is preserved at the east wall behind 

two plasterboard walls: one installed circa 1945 to conceal heating ducts, the other dating to 

1977. 

Walls 

The walls of the bathroom, like the flooring, are composed of multiple layers of materials. 

The most recent plasterboard installed in 1977 was removed by the National Park Service for 

the architectural investigation in 2007. Each wall is described in detail below. 

North Wall 

The north wall is the exterior brickwork wall of the house that was originally finished with 

lime plaster. This wall was initially divided into two separate rooms by a north-south 

partition, the physical evidence of which is clearly visible as a vertical line of exposed 

brickwork (figs. 95 and 96). The wall on the east side of the partition was the north end of the 

lower hall (Room 101), while the wall on the west side of the partition was in the original 

pantry that was converted to the existing kitchen (Room 103). The east portion of the wall 

remained as part of the hall, which was finished with wallpaper applied directly to the plaster 

walls until 1977. The west portion of the wall became part of the kitchen circa 1920. Cement 

plaster that was applied to the early plaster, and a small wood-framed opening in the brick 

wall (possibly for milk deliveries), most likely date to the circa-1920 kitchen (fig. 96). Uneven 

and broken brickwork around the opening attests to its later installation. This portion of the 

wall was covered with plasterboard when it became part of the toilet room circa 1950. The 

entire north wall was covered with new plasterboard following removal of the north-south 

partition to create the existing large bathroom in 1977. This plasterboard preserved layers of 

wall finishes beneath it including the early wall plaster, later cement plaster, and circa-1950 

plasterboard. 

East Wall 

The east wall is the original wood-framed partition of the lower hall that became part of the 

bathroom in 1977. This wall is believed to retain most of its original lath and lime plaster. 

Later heating ductwork installed at this wall by the Greenwoods circa 1945 is concealed by 

plasterboard finished with two layers of wallpaper (see figure C-1, Appendix C). The entire 

wall, including the ductwork, was most recently covered by new plasterboard in 1977. 
131

South Wall 

The south wall is a modern, wood-framed wall that is divided into two parts: the west portion 

and the east portion. The west portion dates to the circa -1950 construction of a small toilet 

room in the circa-1920 kitchen. This wall was finished with plasterboard circa 1950 and later 

altered with the addition of a doorway in 1977. The east portion of the wall partitioned the 

north end of the lower hall to create the existing larger bathroom in 1977. The entire south 

wall was finished with new plasterboard at that time. 

West Wall

The west wall is a wood-framed wall finished with plasterboard that dates to the creation of 

the toilet room circa 1950. The former location of a medicine cabinet flanked by electric 

lights is clearly evident at this wall based on cutouts in the plasterboard (fig. 97). The entire 

wall was later covered by a new layer of plasterboard in 1977. 

Ceiling

The original ceiling of the hall and adjacent pantry/kitchen is preserved above the low 

plasterboard ceiling of the circa-1950 toilet room and 1977 bathroom (fig. 95). This early 

ceiling is finished with lime plaster adhered to sawn lath. 

Doorways

There are two doorways in the bathroom. One is the original back doorway of the house, the 

other was installed in 1977. Both are described below. 

North Doorway (Back Room/Original Exterior)

The doorway in the north wall of the bathroom connects with the circa-1960 back room. It 

is outfitted today with a modern hollow-core door and clamshell-style casing dating to 1977. 

This doorway is significant for being the original exterior back doorway of the house, the 

frame of which is preserved in the wall (figs. 72, 93 and 95). 
132

South Doorway (Kitchen Hall)

The doorway in the south wall was created in 1977 when the bathroom was installed. It 

opens onto a short hall that connects the kitchen and the lower hall. The doorway has the 

same style hollow-core door and clamshell-style casing as the north doorway, dating to 1977 

(fig. 91). 

Windows 

There are no windows in the bathroom. 

Light Fixtures

The bathroom is illuminated by a single ceiling-mounted light fixture (fig. 94). This fixture 

presumably dates to the 1977 creation of the bathroom. Physical evidence of two earlier 

lights that are missing today can be seen on the circa-1950 plasterboard of the west wall (fig. 

97). These lights, and the medicine cabinet that they flanked, were both removed in 1977. 

Heating Equipment

The bathroom was heated by a ceiling-mounted heat lamp (fig. 94). Other heating equipment 

includes ductwork concealed behind circa-1945 plasterboard at the east wall of the hall, 

which was in turn covered by another plasterboard wall when the bathroom was created in 

1977 (see fig. C-1, Appendix C). 

Plumbing Equipment

The bathroom is equipped with a lavatory and vanity at the north wall, a toilet at the south 

wall, and a shower in the southeast corner of the room (figs. 91-94). The existing fixtures 

replaced earlier bathroom fixtures in 1988. Both the toilet and lavatory were made by 

Kohler. A manufacturing dated of "11/23/87" is stamped on the toilet, and product literature 

for the lavatory faucet has "2/88" written on it. A vinyl liner in the shower was also probably 

installed at this time. Both current and obsolete PVC plumbing is concealed beneath the 

flooring and above the drop ceiling. 
133

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes

A complex layering of wall and ceiling finishes is preserved behind the circa-1945, circa 1950 

and 1977 plasterboard of the bathroom. These finishes, which predate the toilet room and 

bathroom, are discussed in the sections on the lower hall (Room 101) and the kitchen (Room 

103). 

The walls of the toilet room and the bathroom have been finished with paint and wallpaper 

over the years. The upper walls of the toilet room were painted and the lower walls covered 

with "fake grey tile" when the room was created around 1950.7

 The upper walls were later 

wallpapered circa 1960 in a geometric pattern with flowering branches printed in silver and 

gold on a beige ground (figs. 96 and 97).8

 This same wallpaper was also used in the lower and 

upper halls (Rooms 101 and 201) and the upstairs hall bathroom (Room 204). It remained on 

the walls until 1977, when it was covered by the plasterboard walls of the new bathroom. 

The bathroom is currently finished with vinyl wallpaper with a floral pattern and matching 

blue border (figs 91-94).

 

7

 Interview with Doris Greenwood Depp at the Hunt House, June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at 

Women's Rights NHP. 

8

 Ibid. Granddaughter Robin Olmstead Cain remembered that "Grandma and Grandpa put in the 

white wallpaper with the silver and gold sometime in the 1960s ...." 
134

Figure 91. Room 105: Southwest corner, 

June 2007. 

Figure 92. Room 105: North wall, June 

2007. 

Figure 94. Room 105: View of ceiling 

looking east, June 2007. 

Figure 93. Room 105: East wall, June 

2007. 
135

Figure 95. Room 105: View looking northwest following removal of hall 

partition and plasterboard, December 2007. Note original back doorway 

(at arrow). 

Figure 96. Room 105: Detail of north 

wall showing later wall niche (left 

arrow) and circa-1960 wallpaper 

(right arrow), December 2007. 

Figure 97. Room 105: Detail of west wall 

showing locations of circa-1950 medicine 

cabinet (at arrow) and flanking lights, 

April 2008. 
136

Room 106 (Living Room)

General Information

The living room is located on the east side of the 

house in the first story. This was originally two 

smaller rooms called the "Parlor" and the "Hall Bed 

Room," according to Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1856. The back bedroom is believed to 

have been where Richard P. Hunt spent his last days 

and died on November 7, 1856, and may have 

previously served as an office. A partition separating 

the two rooms was later removed, the fireplace was 

relocated farther north, and two windows were 

converted to doorways opening onto a new veranda. 

These alterations may have coincided with the 

weddings of two Hunt children in the early 1860s and 

definitely existed by 1873, according to a Bird's-Eye View that shows the veranda on the east 

side of the house (fig. 15).9

 The four exterior openings of the enlarged "Parlor" were dressed 

with "4 pair lace curtains" by 1890, according to Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory. Other 

changes were made to the room around 1920 by Clifford C. Beare, who also built the twostory columned portico on the front of the house. The hall doorway closest to the front door 

was widened and flanked by columns, the fireplace mantel replaced by the existing mantel, 

and the old floorboards covered with oak flooring. The Greenwood family later added a 

picture window to the back wall and enclosed the doorway to the back hall circa 1960. The 

plaster walls and ceiling were covered with plasterboard by the Olmsteads in 1977. 

 Floor

The original random-width floorboards of the parlor are covered with circa-1920 oak 

flooring, which is overlaid with wall-to-wall carpeting installed by the Olmstead family. 

Historically, the parlor had "30 yds carpeting" in 1856, and "abt. 60 yds. carpet" in 1890, 

according to the probate inventories of Richard P. Hunt and Jane C. Hunt. No mention was 

made of the floor covering in the back hall bedroom in the 1856 inventory, which became 

part of the parlor circa 1860s. 

 

9

 Richard P. Hunt (Jr.) was married about 1861 and Sarah Hunt about 1864, according to genealogical 

records. A date of "circa 1860s" for these alterations is used in this report. 

 N
137

Baseboards

Molded baseboards approximately 8" tall trim the lower walls of the living room. The 

baseboards are similar in style to those in the lower hall (Room 101), the upper hall (Room 

201) and the southeast bedroom (Room 206). A baseboard patch with a different molding 

profile is at the north end of the west wall enclosing a second doorway to the lower hall. This 

patch has been dated circa 1960 based on the paint analysis and photographic documentation 

(fig. 25).10 Noticeably absent are patches in the baseboards in the location of the missing eastwest partition that originally divided the parlor from the back bedroom. The most likely 

explanation for this is that the baseboard from the former partition was salvaged and 

reinstalled at the north end of the room to present an unblemished appearance. This 

assumes that both rooms were trimmed with the same style baseboard and were similarly 

painted, since no difference was observed in the early paint schemes of the baseboards on the 

north and south sides of the room. 

Walls

The living room has four walls dating to 1828. The three walls on the south, east, and west 

sides are exterior walls; the west wall is an interior wall partitioning the living room from the 

lower hall. The original finish of the walls was lime plaster applied directly to the brickwork 

of the exterior walls and to sawn lath at the interior wall. The plaster is covered by later 

wallpaper and plasterboard installed in 1977, which obscures the full extent of surviving 

original plaster. Another interior partition that divided the front parlor from the back 

bedroom is missing today. This partition was supported by a floor beam that is visible in the 

cellar, and which corresponds to a distortion, or "bump," in the plaster of the west wall. The 

wall was removed circa 1860s to create the existing large room. 

Ceiling

The ceiling is covered with plasterboard installed circa 1977. How much, if any, original 

plaster survives above the plasterboard is unknown. 

Doorways

The living room has three doorways today. One is the original parlor doorway that was 

widened and flanked with columns circa 1920. The two other doorways are original 

windows that were enlarged as doorways circa 1860s. Additional details are provided on the 

following page. 

 

10 The baseboard patch has the same number of paint layers as the casing of the circa-1960 picture 

window in the north wall. 
138

West Doorway (Lower/front Hall)

The doorway at the south end of the west wall connects with the lower hall (figs. 68 and 98). 

This is the original parlor doorway that was altered to its present appearance circa 1920. The 

casings of both this doorway and the dining room doorway were removed circa 1920, their 

openings widened, and the casings reinstalled in a haphazard fashion, thus resulting in a 

mixture of molding styles.11 The parlor doorway is distinguished by its flanking Doric 

columns that sit on paneled bases dating to circa 1920. There is no door. 

East Doorways (Exterior/Veranda)

Two original windows in the east wall were enlarged to doorways when the parlor was made 

one large room circa 1860s. These doorways opened onto a new veranda on the east side of 

the house, shown in the "Bird's-Eye View" of 1873 (fig. 15). The doorways were outfitted 

with French doors and trimmed with new casings with rosette corner blocks that did not 

match the existing doorway and window casings. These doorways retain their circa-1860s 

appearance today (fig. 102) 

West Doorway (Lower/back Hall--Missing)

A second doorway at the north end of the west wall originally connected the hall bedroom 

with the lower hall. This doorway was retained when the parlor was made one large room 

circa 1860s. The opening was enclosed one hundred years later, around 1960, with a cement 

plaster patch and later baseboard patch (figs. 25 and 103).

Windows

The historic configuration of the windows during the years 1828 to 1848 consisted of three 

windows in the front parlor and one window in the hall bedroom. Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1856 noted that the windows of the "Parlor" were then outfitted with "3 window 

shades"; no mention was made of the window in the "Hall Bed Room." Sometime between 

1856 and 1873 (circa 1860s), the partition between the two rooms was removed and the two 

east windows were converted to doorways. The openings then had "4 pair lace curtains," 

according to Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory of 1890. A picture window was added to the 

north wall around 1960 (fig. 25). 

 

11 The top casing and right bull's-eye corner block were reinstalled from the dining room, while the 

side casings and left corner block were reused from the parlor or lower hall. 
139

South Windows 

Two windows in the south wall are original parlor windows dating to 1828 (fig. 98). These 

windows retain their historic 9-over-6 sashes and casings with ovolo edge molding and 

rosette blocks. No early hardware remains. Modern window elements include sash locks 

and spring counterbalances that replaced the original sash cords and weights. 

North Window 

The window at the north wall is a picture window installed by the Greenwoods circa 1960 

(figs. 25 and 99). There was no opening in this wall historically. 

 

East Windows (Missing) 

Two doorways in the east wall were enlarged from original windows circa 1860s. The 

opening on the right (south) side of the fireplace was in the parlor, and the opening on the 

left (north) side was in the hall bedroom before the partition between the rooms was 

removed circa 1860s. These missing windows were presumably the same size and had the 

same 9-over-6 sashes as the two original windows in the south wall. The casing of the parlor 

window would have matched that of the existing south windows. The casing of the hall 

bedroom window may have differed slightly, perhaps having mitered corners instead of 

corner blocks similar to the east window in the northeast bedroom above. 

Chimney Breast and Fireplace

A chimney breast and fireplace are centered at the east wall of the living room (fig. 100). This 

placement is a change that was probably made when the room was enlarged to its current size 

circa 1860s. The original location of the chimney breast can be clearly ascertained by the 

position of the chimney base in the cellar and the chimney breast in the room above (Room 

206). Physical evidence may also be preserved in the original floorboards beneath the layers 

of later flooring. The existing wooden mantel is a neoclassical design that appears to have 

been installed circa 1920. Dating of the mantel was accomplished by comparative paint 

analysis, which indicates the mantel is contemporary with the columns and paneled bases of 

the widened west doorway. The existing mantel shelf was installed around 1960, also based 

on the paint evidence. 
140

Light Fixtures

The only known historic reference to lighting of this room is the 1856 probate inventory of 

Richard P. Hunt that listed "2 candle sticks" in the parlor. Gas lighting had been installed in 

the house by the time of Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory of 1890, although no light fixtures 

were listed in this room. No remnants of early light fixtures are visible in the living room 

today, nor are there any hard-wired electric light fixtures. 

 

Heating Equipment 

Heating equipment includes two boxed heat grates, one each at the east and west walls, that 

were installed by the Greenwoods circa 1945. A Honeywell thermostat at the west wall next 

to the hall doorway is probably dates to 1977, when plasterboard was installed on the walls. 

(See figs. 100 and 101.) 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes 

Paint samples were taken from both the south and north sides of the existing living room so 

as to determine the historic (1828-48) paint schemes when the room was partitioned as a 

parlor and hall bedroom. No samples were examined from the floorboards or ceiling plaster 

because these are covered with later flooring and plasterboard. The paint analysis of the 

woodwork determined that the first several paintings of both rooms used a cream-color, oilbased paint containing lead. The plaster walls of the parlor were most likely wallpapered, 

while the walls of the back bedroom appear to have painted with calcimine: first a cream 

color, later a gray-green color. It is difficult to say with certainty if these two layers date to 

1828-1848, since calcimine is a water-soluble that was typically removed prior to repainting. 

No descriptions or scraps of 19th-century wallpaper have yet been found. 

The woodwork of the enlarged parlor was painted circa 1860 with a white unleaded (possibly 

zinc) paint. Wallpaper was undoubtedly hung on the walls to cover the painted walls of the 

former bedroom and unify the room; no samples of this paper have been found. Subsequent 

paintings of the woodwork used white, light gray-green, and sage green-color paints. Lightcolor paints have been applied since circa 1920, including shades of white, light yellow, and 

cream. None of the "dark yellow wallpaper" that was on the walls of the living room in 194412 

remains today. Two existing wallpapers on the plaster walls were most likely hung by the 

Greenwoods circa 1945 and 1960: the first a floral-and-ribbon pattern with wide vertical 

stripes in pink and white (figs. 25 and C-4 in Appendix C), the second a green 

abstract/pebbled pattern that concealed the west door patch (fig. 106). Today, plasterboard 

covers the plaster walls and ceiling. The woodwork is painted cream, the ceiling white, and 

the walls are covered with vinyl wallpaper with a mottled cream-yellow pattern and a swag 

border (figs. 98-102).

 

12 Interview at the Hunt House June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at Women's Rights NHP. 
141

Figure 98. Room 106: View looking south, June 2007.

Figure 99. Room 106: View looking north, June 2007. 
142

Figure 101. Room 106: Detail of doorway to 

Room 101 at the west wall, June 2007. 

Figure 102. Room 106: Detail of French 

doorway at the east wall, June 2007. 

Figure 100. Room 106: Detail of fireplace mantel at the east wall, 

June 2007.
143

Figure 103. Room 106: Detail of west wall at 

former hall doorway, August 2007. The arrow 

delineates the width of the patch enclosing the 

former opening. (Also see fig. 25.) 
144

Room 201 (Upper Hall)

General Information

The upper hall is located directly above the 

lower hall (Room 101). An original stair at the 

north end of the hall provides the only access 

to the second story. Both Richard P. Hunt's 

probate inventory of 1856 and Jane C. Hunt's 

inventory of 1890 referred to this as the 

"Upper Hall." This hall is particularly 

significant for being the least altered space in 

the Hunt House. Four intact doorways 

connect with the four original second-story 

bedrooms. The hall is lit by two original 

windows: one in the south wall, the other in 

the north wall. Later changes made circa 1920 

included the installation of oak floorboards 

over the original random-width boards and slight modification of the stair railing. Modern 

heat ducts were installed by the Greenwoods circa 1945. Plasterboard was applied to the 

walls and ceiling and a folding attic stair was installed in the ceiling in 1977. The existing 

wall-to-wall carpeting and vinyl wallpaper probably also date to this remodeling. 

Floor

There are three layers of flooring in the upper hall: original floorboards, oak floorboards, 

and wall-to-wall carpet. The original floor consists of random-width floorboards. These 

were historically covered by "1 carpet," according to the 1856 probate inventory of Richard 

P. Hunt. By 1890, it was estimated that the upper hall had "abt 20 yds carpet," as recorded in 

Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory. Oak floorboards were nailed to the old floorboards 

around 1920. These were in turn overlaid by wall-to-wall carpeting by the Olmsteads, the last 

private owners of the house. 

Baseboards

Original molded baseboards approximately 8" high finish the lower walls of the upper hall. 

Baseboards of identical style are also located in the lower hall (Room 101), the living room 

(Room 106), and the southeast bedroom (Room 206). A plain trim board attached to the 

lower portion of the baseboards is believed to date to the circa-1920 installation of oak 

floorboards. 

 N
145

Walls

The four walls of the upper hall date to the original construction of the house in 1828. Unlike 

the lower hall, the walls of the upper hall appear to be relatively intact and unaltered. The 

north and south end walls are exterior brickwork walls, and the east and west walls are 

wood-framed interior partitions. The walls were finished historically with lime plaster 

applied directly to the brickwork on the exterior walls and to sawn lath on the interior walls. 

How much original plaster remains today is unknown because of a covering of plasterboard 

installed in 1977. That some early plaster remains is evident at the north end of the west wall, 

where the back side of the lath and plaster has been revealed in the adjacent hall bathroom 

(Room 204). 

Ceiling

The ceiling is finished with lime plaster adhered to sawn lath, which is covered by 

plasterboard installed by the last owners in 1977. The extent of surviving historic plaster is 

unknown because only a small area of plasterboard was removed for this architectural 

investigation.

Doorways

Four original doorways open off the upper hall. All four doorways have original 6-panel 

doors and are trimmed with casings featuring ovolo edge molding and rosette corner blocks 

(fig. 107). The doors have recessed panels on both sides, with molded panels on the hall side 

only. Three of the doors retain their original 5-knuckle, closed butt hinges. One door, to the 

hall bathroom, appears to have been reused from some other location based on the paint 

analysis. A mixture of porcelain doorknobs suggests that some, if not all, are later 

replacements; one door has a modern metal knob. Doorway details are summarized in the 

chart below. 

Doorway Door Doorknobs Hinges 

To southwest bedroom 

(Room 202)—fig. 107 

6 panels 

(original) 

Porcelain (white both sides) Closed butt (original) 

To hall bathroom 

(Room 204) 

6 panels 

(reused?) 

Porcelain (hall side black, 

room side white) 

Loose pin 

(patented in 1872) 

To northeast bedroom 

(Room 205) 

6 panels 

(original) 

Porcelain (brown "mineral 

knobs" both sides—patented 

1841) 

Closet butt (original) 

To southeast bedroom 

(Room 206) 

6 panels 

(original) 

Modern metal Closed butt (original) 
146

Windows

There are two original windows in the upper hall: one in the north wall, the other in the 

south wall (figs. 104 and 105). No mention was made of the windows in Richard P. Hunt's 

probate inventory in 1856; Jane Hunt's probate inventory described the windows as fitted 

with "2 curtains & cornices" in 1890. Both windows are trimmed with casings similar to the 

doorways, featuring ovolo edge molding and rosette corner blocks. Both windows also retain 

their original 9-over-6 sashes. Spring counterbalances have replaced the original sash cords 

and weights; there are no sash locks. 

Attic Hatch

A hatch in the ceiling at the north end of the upper hall contains a folding (pull-down) attic 

stair installed by the Olmsteads in 1977 (fig. 106). The attic stair and plasterboard adhered to 

the ceiling are contemporary. 

Light Fixtures

The upper hall was historically lighted by candles and oil lamps. Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1856 listed "1 astrol lamp" in the upper hall that probably sat on the hall "table." 

One "candelabra" was on the table by the time of Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory in 1890. 

This may have been decorative, since gas lighting had been installed in the house sometime 

between 1856 and 1859. Electric lighting was introduced around 1920. No gas lights or early 

electric fixtures remain in the hall today. One modern electric light is mounted to the 

plasterboard ceiling (fig. 106). 

Ceiling Fan

A modern ceiling fan is mounted to the 1977 plasterboard ceiling at the north end of the hall. 

The fan is probably contemporary with the fan/light in the lower hall (fig. 105). 

Stairway Railing

The stairway opening on the northwest side of the upper hall is bordered on the east and 

south sides by a wooden railing (figs. 108 and 109). This is an elegant railing of Federal design 

with simple turned newels and tapered balusters that most likely dates to the original 

construction of the house in 1828. Close examination of the railing reveals, however, that it 

has undergone some alterations. It appears that the railing was removed, trimmed, and 
147

reinstalled closer to the stairway opening. This most likely occurred when oak flooring was 

installed in the hall circa 1920, since former owner Joan Greenwood Olmstead has no 

recollection of this change.13 Physical evidence of the railing's original placement is 

undoubtedly preserved on the original floorboards currently covered by later oak flooring 

and wall-to-wall carpeting. 

Heating Equipment

There are two boxed heat ducts in the upper hall: one in the northeast corner, the other in 

the southeast corner (figs. 104 and 105). Both were installed by the Greenwoods around 

1945. The hall was unheated historically. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes 

Like the lower hall, the first several paintings of the woodwork in the upper hall from 1828 to 

circa 1848 used cream-color paints containing lead, according to the findings of the paint 

analysis. This included the baseboards, doorway and window casings, doors, and sashes. 

The railing at the stairway (handrail and balusters) had a resinous finish. The walls were 

most likely wallpapered historically, based on the smooth texture of the surviving original 

plaster and absence of paint; no remnants of early wallpapers have yet been found. The 

ceiling appears to have been painted with a water-soluble calcimine. No paint was observed 

on the original floorboards, which have a buildup of dirt and a substance that may be wax. 

The hall woodwork continued to be painted in light shades of cream, white, and light yellow 

over the years. Three layers of wallpaper remain on the plaster walls of the upper hall. The 

first is the same circa-1930, brown-leaf design that is preserved within the circa-1945 heatduct boxes at either end of the upper hall. It appears to have been completely removed from 

the hall walls, except within these boxes, prior to application of the second wallpaper--a 

pink-and-white striped design that was hung circa 1945. The third wallpaper is a design of 

geometric forms and flowering branches in gold and silver on a beige ground installed circa 

1960.14 These same wallpapers decorated the walls of the lower hall and Room 204 (see figs. 

C-1 and -3 in Appendix C). The last two layers are preserved behind plasterboard that 

covered the walls in 1977. 

Plasterboard was installed over the wallpapered walls and ceiling in 1977. Vinyl wallpaper 

with a yellow damask design and no border covers the west wall of the stairway and upper 

hall; a grass-cloth patterned wallpaper is on the north, east, and south walls (figs. 104-108). 

The stairway handrail that has a clear resinous finish; all other woodwork and the 

plasterboard ceiling are painted white. 

 

13 Interview at the Hunt House June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at Women's Rights NHP. 

14 Ibid. This wallpaper was remembered by Robin Olmstead Cain as having been hung by her 

grandparents, Irving and Marie Greenwood, in the 1960s. 
148

Figure 104. Room 201: View looking south, June 2007.

Figure 105. Room 201: View looking north, June 2007. 
149

Figure 106. Room 201: Detail of ceiling 

looking north, June 2007. Folding attic stair is 

at ceiling hatch (at arrow). 

Figure 107. Room 201: Detail of doorway to 

Room 202, June 2007. 

Figure 108. Room 201: Detail of stair railing, June 2007. Figure 109. Room 201: Detail of 

railing newel posts, June 2007. 
150

Room 202 (Southwest Bedroom)

General Information

The southwest bedroom is located in the 

southwest corner of the house above the 

dining room. The room was referred to as the 

"Front Chamber" in Richard Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1856. It was later called the "Bed 

room, Upstairs South West," in Jane Hunt's 

probate inventory of 1890. This appears to 

have been the bedroom used by Jane Hunt, as 

suggested by the presence in the room of 

"clothing of the deceased other than 

specifically bequeathed" in the 1890 

inventory. The room is unchanged in general 

configuration from its appearance as 

constructed in 1828. Most alterations appear 

to have been made in the 20th century. The 

fireplace mantel was removed and the original 

floorboards covered with oak flooring around 

1920. A large closet was installed in 1944-45 

and a doorway connecting with the adjacent bathroom added around 1950. Collapse of the 

ceiling plaster sometime between 1944 and 1976 resulted in the installation of the existing 

ceiling tiles. The most recent remodeling in 1977 added two small closets and covered the 

walls and ceiling with plasterboard. Wall-to-wall carpeting was installed over the oak 

floorboards and new wallpaper covered the walls. The room was most recently occupied by 

the last owners of the house, Joan and Thomas Olmstead. 

Floor

There are three layers of flooring in the southwest bedroom: original floorboards, oak 

floorboards, and wall-to-wall carpet (fig. 117). The original flooring consists of randomwidth floorboards. These were historically covered by "28 yds carpeting," according to the 

1856 probate inventory of Richard P. Hunt. By 1890, the room had "1 Large red Rug," as 

recorded in Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory. A more permanent installation of oak 

floorboards was nailed to the old floorboards circa 1920. These were in turn overlaid by 

wall-to-wall carpeting by the Olmsteads, the last owners of the house, in 1977. 

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151

Baseboards

Original molded baseboards approximately 7+" high finish the lower walls of the southwest 

bedroom. These are identical style to the baseboards in the dining room below (Room 102). 

A later baseboard of slightly different style is attached to the front of the chimney breast. 

Paint analysis suggests this baseboard dates to circa 1920, most likely when the fireplace 

mantel was removed. A plain trim board was also applied to the lower baseboards about this 

time, which was most likely in conjunction with installation of the oak floorboards. 

Walls

The four walls of the southwest bedroom date to the original construction of the house in 

1828. The south and west walls are exterior brickwork walls finished with lime plaster 

adhered directly to the bricks. The north and east walls are wood-framed partitions finished 

with lime plaster adhered to sawn lath. The walls are mostly covered today with plasterboard 

installed in 1977, except where it is exposed within three closets on the east and west sides of 

the room. Complete removal of the plasterboard is necessary to ascertain the extent of the 

room's surviving early plaster. 

Ceiling 

The ceiling is covered today with acoustical ceiling tiles installed by the Greenwoods 

sometime between 1944 and 1976, except in the large closet at the east wall where the painted 

plaster ceiling is exposed. The story behind the tiles was relayed in 2008 by daughters Joan 

Olmstead and Doris Depp: 

They were all watching television downstairs and they heard a huge 

crash. When they came upstairs the ceiling (plaster and lath) had fallen 

in on the bed. They were glad their parents hadn't been in the bed.15

How much, if any, early ceiling plaster remains above the acoustical tiles is unknown. The 

original ceiling plaster consisted of lime plaster adhered to sawn lath. 

Doorways

There are two doorways in the southwest bedroom: one dating to 1828, the other added circa 

1950. Both are described on the following page. See "Closets" for a description of the three 

closet doorways. 

 

15 Interview at the Hunt House June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at Women's Rights NHP. 
152

East Doorway

The doorway at the south end of the east wall is an original opening that connects with the 

upper hall (fig. 110). This doorway retains its original casing and 6-panel door. The casing, 

featuring cavetto edge molding and rosette corner blocks, matches the casings of the 

windows and those in the downstairs dining room. The closed-butt hinges of the door are 

original. Less certain is the white-porcelain doorknob, which may have replaced an earlier 

latching mechanism. 

North Doorway

The doorway at the west end of the north wall is a later opening dating to circa 1950 that 

leads to the northwest bathroom (fig. 114). Although the bathroom was installed circa 1920, 

this room was originally accessed from the upper hall. This was changed circa 1950 when a 

second bathroom was installed in the second story (Room 204), requiring a new doorway for 

the existing bathroom. The existing plain-board trim, hollow-core door, and modern 

hardware appear to be later alterations that most likely date to the renovation of the room in 

1977. 

Windows

There are three original windows in the southwest bedroom: two in the south wall and one in 

the west wall (figs. 111-113). These windows were described in the 1856 probate inventory 

of Richard P. Hunt as outfitted with "3 window curtains." Jane C. Hunt's inventory of 1890 

was more specific, noting "3 sets lace curtains." The windows retain their original casings, 

featuring cavetto edge molding and rosette corner blocks (fig. 113).16 These resemble the 

casings in the dining room (Room 102). The nine-over-six sashes also appear to be original 

and unaltered, except for the spring counterbalances that replaced sash cords and weights. 

There are no sash locks. 

Chimney Breast

The projecting chimney breast at the west wall is an original feature of the room that was 

covered by plasterboard in 1977 (fig. 112). Removal of the plasterboard from the baseboard 

up to 6-feet high in 2007 revealed brickwork construction finished with a combination of 

original lime plaster and later cement plaster applied directly to the bricks. A later gray 

 

16 An 1828 date of installation for the window casings in Room 202 was verified by removing one of the 

corner blocks in November 2008 to examine the nails attaching it. These were found to be an early 

machine-cut type with round points commonly made between 1815 and 1835. See Appendix C for 

additional details. 
153

plaster enclosed the former fireplace opening on the front face and also delineated the 

missing fireplace mantel (figs. 115 and 116 ). This mantel measured approximately 4'-2" wide 

by 4'6" high, not counting the upper shelf that extended beyond the body of the mantel. The 

mantel still existed in 1890, as indicated by the probate inventory of Jane C. Hunt that listed 

"1 mantel lambrequin" (a decorative scarf) in the southwest bedroom. The mantel is believed 

to have been removed, and the fireplace opening enclosed, around 1920. It was missing by 

the time the Greenwoods purchased the house in 1944, according to Joan Greenwood 

Olmstead. 

Closets

There are three closets in the southwest bedroom: one large closet at the east wall and two 

smaller closets in the southeast and northwest corners (figs. 110 and 112). The large closet 

appears to have been installed by the Greenwoods in 1944-45 and the smaller closets by the 

Olmsteads in 1977. This is based on the closet ceilings, which consist of exposed plaster in 

the large closet and later acoustical ceiling tiles in the small closets. All three closets appear 

to have been updated with new plain-board casings and louvered doors during the 1977 

remodeling of the room. 

Light Fixture

A modern ceiling light with glass shade is probably contemporary with the acoustical ceiling 

tiles (1944-76). The room was historically lit by "1 pr. Plated candle sticks," according to 

Richard P. Hunt's probate inventory of 1856. By 1890, the probate inventory of Jane C. hunt 

listed a "Candelabra" and "1 gas fixture." Physical evidence of the gas fixture may be found 

beneath the plasterboard covering the walls. 

Heating Equipment

A metal heat register is located at the lower north wall (fig. 114). Although the exact date of 

this register is not known, a gray plaster patch around it is indicative of its later (circa-1920-

45) installation. The room was historically warmed by the fireplace, and possibly by a castiron stove in later years. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes 

Analysis of the painted finishes in the southwest bedroom found that the room's woodwork 

elements have always been painted in shades of cream and white. Oil-based paints 

containing lead were used in the early years until around 1920, while the most recent 
154

applications used latex paints. The wooden floorboards were found to have a heavy buildup 

of dirt and a substance that may be wax. This was covered by one layer of mustard-yellow 

paint applied sometime before oak floorboards were installed around 1920. Less information 

is available on the historic treatment of the walls and ceiling. Original plaster exposed on the 

chimney breast at the west wall has a smooth finish and displays no evidence of painted 

finishes; the exposed plaster walls in the closets are finished with later paint. This suggests 

that the walls were wallpapered, as confirmed by small scraps of wallpaper observed on the 

chimney breast. These remnants are of insufficient size to reveal either pattern or colors. 

The plaster ceiling has not yet been examined. The existing plasterboard walls installed in 

1977 are covered with textured wallpaper resembling grass cloth in colors of brown, gold and 

cream; the ceiling is painted white (figs. 110-115).
155

Figure 110. Room 202: East wall, June 2007.

Figure 111. Room 202: South wall, June 2007. 
156

Figure 112. Room 202: West wall, June 2007.

Figure 113. Room 202: 

Detail of window casing at 

west window, June 2007. 
157

Figure 115. Room 202: Original plaster revealed beneath the 

plasterboard at the chimney breast, August 2007. The brown lines are 

adhesive residue from the plasterboard. (Compare with pre-demolition 

photograph at fig. 112.) 

Figure 114. Room 202: North wall, June 2007. 
158

Figure 117. Room 202: Original floorboards (at arrow) uncovered beneath 

the later oak flooring in the southeast closet, August 2007. 

Figure 116. Room 202: 

Detail of the chimney breast 

showing plaster patch (at 

arrow) that preserves the 

outline of the missing 

fireplace mantel, August 

2007. 
159

Room 203 (Northwest Bathroom)

General Information

The small room called the "northwest 

bathroom" in this report has undergone a 

number of alterations over the years. It is 

believed to have been one of two small rooms 

in the northwest corner of the second story 

that opened off the upper hall. These rooms 

were described in Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1856 as a "Bed Room" with 

"Entry." It was referred to several times in 

Jane C. Hunt's inventory of 1890 as the "Bed 

Room (Will's Room)," the "No. West 

Bedroom," and "Will's Room & Hall 

adjoining." Conversion of the room to a 

bathroom is believed to have occurred around 

1920, when the north wing containing the 

original bathroom was demolished. The room was slightly reduced in size at this time by 

relocating the east partition approximately ____ to the west. This was the only bathroom in 

the house when it was purchased by the Greenwoods in 1944.17 It was upgraded with the 

existing plumbing fixtures and shower around 1950, the same time a new hall bathroom was 

installed in the east adjoining entry (Room 204). The doorway in the east wall was enclosed 

at this time and a new doorway created in the south wall. The room was most recently 

redecorated by the Olmsteads in 1977.

Floor

Two types of flooring cover the floor of the northwest bathroom today. Brown wall-to-wall 

carpet is in the main room, and sheet flooring with a black marbled design is exposed in the 

linen closet. It has not yet been determined if the original random-width floorboards survive 

beneath these modern flooring materials. The sheet flooring could be as early as 1950, while 

the carpeting was installed sometime after that. 

Baseboards

If any historic baseboards remain in the northwest bathroom, they are covered by later 

materials. Remnants of the room's early baseboards do survive, however, in the east adjacent 

 

17 Interview with the Greenwood family at the Hunt House June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at Women's 

Rights NHP. 

 N
160

room (Room 205). These were preserved at the north and south walls when the east partition 

was relocated ____ to the west. These baseboards are approximately 7-1/2" high with a 

simple bead at the top edge (figs. 124 and 125). 

Walls

Three of the room's original four walls survive today on the north, west, and south sides. The 

north and west walls are exterior brick walls and the south wall is a wood-framed partition. 

Lime plaster was originally adhered directly to the brickwork of the exterior walls and to 

sawn lath on the interior wall. Some of this early plaster survives on the south wall today; it 

appears to have been completely replaced by later (circa-1920) plaster at the west wall (figs. 

122 and 123). A full assessment of the plaster cannot be made until the existing plasterboard 

is completely removed from the walls. 

The existing east wall replaced an earlier wall circa 1920 when the bathroom was first 

installed. This is a wood-framed partition finished with cement plaster. The original east 

wall was located approximately ____ to the east, based on physical evidence on the north and 

south baseboards in the east adjacent room (figs. 124 and 125). All four walls of the room 

were covered with the existing plasterboard when the bathroom was remodeled by the 

Greenwoods around 1950. 

Ceiling

The original plaster ceiling on sawn lath is preserved above the existing circa-1950 

plasterboard ceiling. The full extent of surviving early plaster cannot be ascertained until the 

existing modern ceiling is completely removed. 

Doorways

The two existing doorways date to the remodeling of the northwest bathroom by the 

Greenwoods circa 1950. The room's one original doorway was demolished around 1920. All 

three doorways are described below. 

South Doorway 

The south doorway connects with the southwest bedroom--Room 202 (figs. 118 and 121). 

This opening, with plain-board casing, was created around 1950. The flush-panel door is a 

later replacement installed by the Olmsteads in 1977. 
161

East Doorway (Closet)

The doorway to the linen closet is located at the south end of the east wall (fig. 120). Both the 

closet and its doorway, with plain-board casing and 2-panel door, date to circa 1950. 

Missing Doorways

An original doorway connecting with an extension of the hall, called the "entry," was located 

in an earlier (now missing) east wall. This wall was replaced by the existing relocated east 

wall circa 1920. This wall also had a doorway, the outline of which is still visible on the 

Room-204 side of the opening (fig. 132). The casing and door of the doorway were removed, 

and the opening covered with plasterboard, when the bathroom was remodeled circa 1950. 

Although no physical evidence appears to remain of the original doorway, we can make an 

educated guess as to its appearance based on the surviving doorways in two other back rooms 

of the house: Rooms 204 and 205. The casing most likely resembled the doorway in Room 

204, with mitered corners and cavetto edge molding (fig. 128). The doors of both rooms have 

6 panels, as no doubt did the door to Room 203. Hinges would have been a closed-butt type, 

similar to the unaltered hinges on the door in Room 205. 

Windows

The room has one original window opening in the west wall (fig. 122). The opening is all that 

remains of this historic window. Both the casing and sashes are later replacements. The 

casing is made of plain boards that most likely date to the remodeling of the bathroom in 

1950. The sashes are a vinyl casement type installed sometime between 1977 and 1999 by the 

Olmsteads. The original sashes would have been 9-over-6, double-hung type, similar to the 

other windows in the house. 

Linen Closet

A built-in linen closet is located in the southeast corner of the room. It has five tiers of 

wooden shelving and a two-panel door (fig. 120). The linen closet dates to the remodeling of 

the bathroom circa 1950. 

Light Fixtures

The room's existing light fixtures include two strips of vanity lights, one on either side of the 

medicine cabinet, and one recessed ceiling light (fig. 118). Both are modern fixtures installed 
162

in 1950 or later by the Greenwoods and/or the Olmsteads. No candles, oil lamps, or gas 

fixtures were mentioned in this room in the probate inventories of Richard P. Hunt in 1856 

and Jane C. Hunt in 1890. 

Heating Equipment

The only source of heat in the bathroom today is a ceiling-mounted heat lamp (fig. 118). The 

room appears to have been unheated historically, lacking a chimney for either a fireplace or 

stove. 

Plumbing Fixtures

The bathroom has a lavatory, toilet and shower (figs. 118-120). The arrangement of these 

fixtures dates to the remodeling of the bathroom by the Greenwoods circa 1950. It had 

previously been configured with a claw-foot bathtub in the southwest corner of the room,18

most likely installed by Clifford Beare around 1920. 

Lavatory 

A pink lavatory with two chrome legs and attached towel bars is mounted to the north wall 

beneath a mirrored medicine cabinet (figs. 118 and 119). It is identical in style to the yellow 

lavatory in the adjacent hall bathroom; both were presumably installed at the same time. 

Manufacturing information stamped on the back side of the yellow lavatory identifies it as 

having been made by the "Standard" company on May 6, 1949. An installation date of "circa 

1950" is therefore used in this report. 

Toilet

A brown toilet sits in the northeast corner of the bathroom (fig. 119). This is a later toilet 

manufactured by the "Kohler" company in 1977, based on dates stamped on the toilet tank 

and lid. 

 

18 Interview at the Hunt House with Doris Greenwood Depp, June 2, 2008. Transcript on file at 

Women's Rights NHP. 
163

Shower

A built-in shower with glass door is centered at the east wall, between the toilet and linen 

closet (fig. 120). The shower is presumably contemporary with the remodeling of the 

bathroom circa 1950. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes

Although little remains of this room's original elements, it was possible to determine some 

early finish treatments by analyzing the paint on the surviving baseboards in the adjacent east 

room (Room 204). It was assumed that the missing woodwork elements, such as doorway 

and window casings, would have been painted the same as the baseboards. The woodwork 

was found to have been painted only four times between 1828 and circa 1920. The earliest 

two paintings used a cream-color oil paint that contained lead, similar to the other rooms of 

the house. The next painting of unknown date grained the woodwork on a cream-color base 

to imitate wood in a technique known as "graining." The graining could have remained 

exposed for many years, thus explaining the few number of paint layers. The last painting 

before 1920 lightened the woodwork with a thick application of white paint. The earliest 

surviving paint observed on the walls appears to date to 1920. Paint layers applied between 

1920 and 1950 are white, light blue, light blue-green, white, and yellow with a high gloss. 

A complete remodeling of the bathroom circa 1950 installed plasterboard over the plaster 

walls and ceiling and replaced all the old woodwork. A pink color scheme prevailed, with 

pink-color plumbing fixtures coordinating with the pink-and-black plastic tiles on the lower 

walls. The room was most recently updated by the Olmsteads in 1977 with pink-painted 

woodwork and patterned foil wallpapers applied to the walls and ceiling (figs. 118-121).
164

Figure 118. Room 203: North wall, June 

2007. 

Figure 120. Room 203: East wall, June 

2007. 

Figure 121. Room 203: Southwest corner, 

June 2007. 

Figure 119. Room 203: Northeast 

corner, June 2007. 
165

Figure 122. Room 203: West wall with pink-tiled plasterboard of 1950 

vintage partially removed to reveal circa-1920 plaster, August 2007. 

Figure 123. Room 203: South 

wall of linen closet with circa1950 plasterboard partially 

removed to reveal original lath 

and plaster, August 2007. 
166

Figure 124. Room 204: Remnant 

of Room 203 baseboard (at arrow) 

preserved at the north wall of 

Room 204, April 2008. Note the 

area of missing paint on the lower 

baseboard formerly covered by 

the missing east partition, which 

was preserved beneath a lower 

trim board installed circa 1920. 

Figure 125. Room 204: Remnant 

of Room 203 baseboard (at arrow) 

preserved at the south wall of the 

closet in Room 204, April 2008. 

Note the baseboard patch in the 

location of the original east 

partition. 
167

Room 204 (North Bathroom)

General Information

The small room called the "north bathroom" in 

this report appears to have been constructed 

originally as an extension of the upper hall that 

led to the northwest bedroom (Room 203). The 

passage also functioned as a storage area and 

was the location of the steep attic stair. A 

doorway connecting with the north wing was 

added when the wing was heightened to two 

stories around 1841. The room was referred to 

in Richard P. Hunt's probate inventory of 1856 

as the "Entry" off the northwest "Bed Room." 

Items listed in the entry that were presumably 

stored in a closet were "1 Trunk," "2 Carpet 

Bags," and "1 Galvanic Battery." The room was 

later mentioned in Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory of 1890 as the "Hall adjoining" the 

northwest bedroom, then called "Will's Room." Alterations made around 1920 coincided 

with the removal of the north wing and the installation of a bathroom in the adjacent 

northwest room (Room 203). The doorway connecting with the wing was converted to a 

window and the room slightly enlarged by relocating the west partition. The partition of the 

south closet also appears to have been rebuilt at this time. The room was remodeled as a 

bathroom about 1950, based on the manufacturing date "K49 [1949], May 6" stamped on the 

back side of the existing lavatory. The west doorway was then enclosed with plasterboard 

and a bathtub installed at the west wall. The ceiling was lowered and the room last 

redecorated in 1977. Modern sheet flooring, plasterboard on the walls, and plumbing 

fixtures were partially removed by the National Park Service for the architectural 

investigation in 2007. 

Floor

Removal of several layers of sheet flooring in 2007 revealed the room's original randomwidth floorboards beneath. Some loss and damage has occurred to the floorboards by the 

installation of plumbing fixtures (figs. 132 and 134). 

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168

Baseboards

The lower walls of the room are trimmed with baseboards that are a mixture of original, 

reused, and later elements. Some of these were preserved behind later plasterboard walls 

installed circa 1950. The baseboards are described in detail below. 

Original Baseboards (1828) 

Baseboards that appear to be unmoved from their original locations are at the north and 

south walls. These are approximately 7-1/2 inches high and have a simple bead molding at 

the top edge. This includes the entire length of baseboard at the south wall and most of the 

baseboard at the north wall except the patch beneath the window. In addition, the 

baseboards in the west adjacent room were incorporated into this room when the west 

partition wall was relocated farther west, as indicated by physical evidence of the missing 

wall on the baseboards. A shadow of the missing partition is evident on the north baseboard, 

and a corresponding patch is in the south baseboard (figs. 124 and 125). 

New and Reused Baseboards (Circa 1920)

New plain and beaded baseboards were installed, and beaded baseboards from unknown 

locations were reused, when the west wall was moved around 1920. This was determined 

based on the physical appearance of the boards and paint analysis. Reused beaded 

baseboards are located at the west partition and on the room side of the south closet 

partition. A beaded baseboard of circa-1920 vintage infills the former doorway opening at 

the north wall and is located on the closet side of the south partition. A plain baseboard at 

the west end of the closet was probably also installed at this time. The baseboards on the 

room side only were finished with a trim board applied to the lower portion of the boards 

circa 1920. These trim boards are missing today but their former locations are indicated by 

paint ghosting and paint lines. 

Baseboard Alterations (Circa 1950 and 1977) 

The baseboards at the west end of the room were covered by the existing bathtub when the 

bathroom was installed about 1950. A board trimming the lower portions of the baseboards 

was also removed about this time. The beaded baseboard at the north end of the east wall, 

beneath the lavatory, appears to have been installed here from some other location circa 

1950. 

Other work undertaken in 1977 covered the interior walls of the closet, and most of its 

baseboards with plasterboard and plain-board baseboards 3-3/4" high, except at the east wall 
169

where the baseboard was removed. These modern materials were removed from the closet in 

2007. 

Walls

Several alterations have been made to the room's walls over the years. The existing walls date 

from three periods: 1828, circa 1920 and circa 1950. These are described below. 

Original surviving walls are located on the north, east, and south sides of the room. The 

north wall is an exterior brickwork wall; the east and west walls are wood-framed partitions. 

The exterior wall was finished historically with plaster applied directly to the brickwork, and 

the partitions with plaster applied to sawn lath. Much of the original plaster at the north and 

east walls appears to have been replaced with later cement plaster most likely dating to circa 

1920; all plaster and some lath has been removed from east wall south of the doorway. The 

plaster of the south wall inside the closet is by contrast remarkably intact. 

Of the room's original west partition, nothing remains except physical evidence on the 

baseboards. This includes a patch at the south closet baseboard and an unpainted ghost line 

at the north baseboard, which were preserved beneath a trim board circa 1920 and by the 

bathtub circa 1950 (figs. 124 and 125). This wall is believed to have been demolished and 

rebuilt farther west, in its existing location, circa 1920. Also missing is the original partition 

of the south closet, which was rebuilt in its present location circa 1920 and 1950. Ghosted 

outlines of the earlier wall, which was in approximately the same location, are preserved on 

the original floorboards beneath later layers of sheet flooring (fig. 134) and on the plaster 

ceiling. 

Ceiling

A plaster ceiling on sawn lath is concealed above a lowered plasterboard ceiling installed in 

1977 (fig. 131). The full extent of original surviving lime plaster cannot be ascertained until 

the plasterboard ceiling is completely removed. 

Doorways

Four doorways are believed to have opened off this room historically—one in each of the 

room's walls. Of these, only the hall doorway remains today. A wide closet doorway is a later 

alteration installed in 1977. These doorways, and evidence of the three missing historic 

doorways, are described on the following page. 
170

East Doorway (Hall)

The existing doorway in the east wall connects with the upper hall (fig. 128). This is an 

original opening dating to 1828. The unaltered casing features cavetto edge molding and 

mitered corners. The 6-panel door, while old and similar in style to the three other hall 

doors, appears to have been reused in this doorway. This is based on the paint analysis that 

identified paints not matching the room's painted finishes. In addition, shims attached to the 

north jamb and to the door itself indicate the door was refitted for this doorway. Remnants 

of screw holes on the north edge of the door also indicate the door was originally hinged on 

this side. The existing loose-pin hinges were patented in 1872 and therefore post-date 1848. 

The existing white ceramic door knobs are also later.

South Doorway (Closet—Existing and Missing)

A wide doorway opening onto the south closet is a later alteration dating to circa 1950 (fig. 

129). The widening of this doorway was probably prompted by the installation of a washer 

and dryer in the closet. The casing consists of plain boards; the door is an accordion type 

made of vinyl. Close examination of ghosting on the original floorboards may pinpoint the 

location of an earlier doorway. 

North Doorway (North Wing—Missing)

A doorway was once located in the exterior north wall, based on physical evidence of a 

brickwork patch beneath the existing window. This doorway connected with the now 

missing north wing. A likely date for the doorway is 1841, based on invoices of that date that 

suggest the north wing was enlarged at that time. The doorway was probably converted to a 

window when the wing was demolished circa 1920. See "Windows" for additional 

information. 

West Doorway (Northwest Bedroom—Missing) 

A doorway in the original (now missing) west partition led to the northwest bedroom (Room 

203). No physical evidence of this doorway remains today, although a patch and ghosting in 

the north and south baseboards are indicative of the missing wall's location. Floorboards 

that may have retained an imprint of the doorway's former threshold have unfortunately 

been removed from this area. 

A doorway was also installed in the new partition when it was constructed farther west circa 

1920. The doorway opening was preserved in the wall beneath a covering of circa-1950 

plasterboard (fig. 132). Other doorway elements, including the frame, casing, and door, were 

removed at that time. Interestingly, the casing appears to have corner blocks, unlike the 
171

original casing at the hall doorway that has mitered corners. An explanation for this may be 

that a casing removed from one of the demolished wings was reused at this doorway circa 

1920. 

Windows

This room is believed to have had no window when it was constructed in 1828. Natural light 

would have been provided by windows in the adjacent hall and the northwest bedroom. The 

existing window in the north wall appears to have been converted from a doorway when the 

north wing was demolished circa 1920 (figs. 126 and 127). The plain-board window casing 

dates to this time, as does the baseboard patch beneath the window, according to the results 

of the paint analysis. The vinyl casement sashes are modern, installed in 1977 or later. 

Closet

It is assumed that an early closet was located in this room based on the 1856 inventory of 

Richard P. Hunt that described "1 Trunk," "2 Carpet Bags," and "1 Galvanic Battery." The 

closet appears to have occupied the same location as the existing closet on the south side of 

the room, as indicated by ghosted images of the missing partition preserved on the original 

floorboards. The wood-framed partitions of the existing closet date to circa 1920. A wide 

doorway with vinyl accordion door was installed around 1950 when the room was converted 

to a bathroom, and the closet partition in the vicinity of the doorway was replaced by 

plasterboard (figs. 128 and 129). 

Attic Stair

A small ceiling hatch in the southeast corner of the closet historically provided access to the 

attic (fig. 157). The hatch is framed with wood and enclosed with a board-and-batten door 

with closed-butt hinges and wrought-iron hooks. The hatch opening measures 3 feet long by 

2 feet 3-1/2 inches wide. The hatch was reached by means of a permanently installed ladder 

stair. Although the stair is missing today, its ghosted image is clearly outlined on the south 

closet wall and floorboards (fig. 133). The stair measured approximately 2 feet wide. The 

hatch became inaccessible when a lower plasterboard ceiling was installed in 1977. The 

hatch and its attached stair were replaced by a folding attic stair installed in the ceiling of the 

upper hall (fig. 106). 
172

Light Fixtures

Remnants of gas-light piping installed sometime between 1856 and 1859 are preserved 

beneath the floorboards of the room. Lighting is provided today by modern electric ceiling 

lights installed in 1977: one in the main room (fig. 130), the other in the closet. A horizontal 

strip of vanity lights is also located above the medicine cabinet at the east wall (figs. 127 and 

128). 

Heating Equipment

An electric heat lamp in the lowered plasterboard ceiling dates to the remodeling of the 

bathroom in 1977 (fig. 130). There is no other source of heat in this room. 

Plumbing Fixtures

This room was converted to a bathroom by the Greenwood family after their purchase of the 

house in August 1944, according to daughters Joan Olmstead and Doris Depp. Joan recalled 

that this occurred "during the war" (circa 1944-45), although a manufacturing stamp of May 

K49" on the back side of the lavatory indicates the date was sometime after May 1949 ("circa 

1950" is used in this report). The existing yellow plumbing fixtures were made by the 

Standard Company. These are described in detail below. 

Lavatory

A yellow lavatory is mounted to the wall below a mirrored medicine cabinet at the north end 

of the east wall (figs. 127 and 128). As noted above, a manufacturing stamp embossed on the 

back (wall) side identifies it as having been manufactured on May 6, 1949 (fig. 135). Also 

stamped on the back is "F125 20 01" and "Made in USA." It is identical in style to the pink 

lavatory in the northwest bathroom (Room 203). 

Toilet

A yellow toilet made by the Standard company sits at the north wall beneath the window 

(figs. 126 and 127). The light-brown tank and cover are later replacements. 
173

Bathtub

A yellow cast-iron bathtub with full apron made by the Standard Company occupies the west 

end of the room (fig. 126). A fiberglass liner at the upper walls was probably installed in 1977. 

The bathtub blocks an earlier doorway that was enclosed when the bathtub was installed 

circa 1950. A small doorway to access the plumbing of the bathtub is located in the lower 

north wall of the adjacent closet. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes 

The woodwork of this room, like the rest of the house, was originally finished with a cream, 

lead-based paint containing lead, according to the findings of the paint analysis. The walls 

appear to have been painted in the early years in shades of cream-yellow, white, cream, and 

yellow. The woodwork was next given a grained finish on a cream-yellow ground, except for 

the attic ceiling hatch that was simply painted with the ground coat. The exact date of this 

graining is unknown. The graining in the closet was lightened with white paint sometime 

before 1920, but it was retained in the main room. 

The room was remodeled circa 1920 with a new window and rebuilt partitions; the 

woodwork was painted white and wallpaper was most likely hung on the walls, although no 

samples survive today. A striped pink-and-white wallpaper with coordinating border, also 

used in the upper and lower halls, is believed to have been installed by the Greenwoods 

shortly after they purchased the house in 1944 (figs. 132 and C-3 in Appendix C). This 

wallpaper appears to have been retained when the room was converted to a bathroom circa 

1950. It was later covered by gold-and-silver wallpaper featuring a geometric pattern with 

tree branches around 1960, which was also installed in the halls and downstairs toilet room 

(fig. 131). The room was most recently updated in 1977 with a lowered ceiling and geometric 

wallpaper in pastel colors applied to the walls and ceiling (figs. 126-130). Ceramic tiles may 

have replaced existing circa-1950 plastic tiles in 1977. The woodwork has been painted 

various shades of white and cream since 1920. 
174

Figure 126. Room 204: Northwest 

corner, June 2007. 

Figure 128. Room 204: Doorway to Room 

201 at east wall, June 2007. 

Figure 129. Room 204: Southeast corner at 

closet, June 2007. 

Figure 127. Room 204: Northeast corner, 

June 2007. 
175

Figure 130. Room 204: Ceiling looking north, June 2007.

Figure 131. Room 204: East plaster wall and ceiling above existing 

plasterboard ceiling, June 2007. Note circa-1960 wallpaper (at arrow). 
176

Figure 132. Room 204: Early doorway 

(at arrow) enclosed with later studs and 

plasterboard uncovered at the west wall 

of the former bathtub enclosure, April 

2008. (Compare with pre-demolition 

photograph at fig. 126.) 

Figure 134. Room 204: Original floorboards 

revealed beneath later sheet flooring, view 

looking north, April 2008. 

Figure 135. Room 204: Back side of the 

lavatory embossed with the date of 

manufacture, "K49, May 6" (at arrow), April 

2008. (See intact lavatory at fig. 127.) 

Figure 133. Room 204: Shadow of the 

missing attic stair on original plaster (at 

arrow) discovered beneath later 

plasterboard at the south wall, southeast 

corner, April 2008. (Compare with predemolition photograph at fig. 129.) 
177

Room 205 (Northeast Bedroom)

General Information

The northeast bedroom is located in the 

northeast corner of the second story. The 

room was referred to in Richard P. Hunt's 

probate inventory of 1856 as the "North East 

Bed Room," and in Jane C. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1890 as the "Bed Room, North 

East." No information has yet been found on 

which Hunt family member(s) occupied this 

room. Few alterations appear to have been 

made until the 20th century. A closet was 

added to the south wall in 1944-45 and a 

window installed in the north wall around 

1960. Ceiling tiles were applied to the ceiling 

by the Greenwoods sometime between 1944 

and 1976. The room was most recently remodeled in 1977 with new closet doors and 

plasterboard applied to the walls. 

Floor 

There are three layers of flooring in the northeast bedroom: original floorboards, oak 

floorboards, and wall-to-wall carpet. The original floor consists of random-width 

floorboards. These were historically covered by "1 carpet," according to the 1856 probate 

inventory of Richard P. Hunt. No mention of carpeting was made in Jane C. Hunt's probate 

inventory of 1890. A more permanent installation of oak floorboards was nailed to the old 

floorboards circa 1920. These were in turn overlaid by wall-to-wall carpeting around 1977. 

The floor of the north closet, installed in 1944-45, was originally part of the southwest 

bedroom (Room 206). 

Baseboards

The room retains most of its original baseboards. These are approximately 7+" high (as 

measured from the existing floor height), with simple bead detail at the top edge. A plain trim 

board attached to the lower portion of the baseboards is believed to have been installed about 

1920, at the same time as the oak floorboards. A section of baseboard was removed circa 

1944-45 for the closet doorway. The closet interior has two plain baseboards (with no 

molding) on the south and west walls that are contemporary with the closet. The original 

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178

baseboard at the east wall of the closet matches that of the adjacent southeast bedroom 

(Room 206), in which it was originally located (fig. 141). 

Walls

The four original walls of the northeast bedroom are mostly intact today. The north and east 

walls are exterior brickwork walls; the south and west walls are interior wood-framed 

partitions. The exterior walls were finished with lime plaster applied directly to the 

brickwork, and the interior walls with plaster applied to sawn lath. A portion of the south 

wall was removed in 1944-45 to create a doorway for the existing closet. The partitions of 

this closet are finished with plasterboard. The walls of the room were most recently covered 

with plasterboard in 1977. A complete assessment of the original surviving plaster will 

require removal of the plasterboard. 

Ceiling

The ceiling was originally finished with lime plaster applied to sawn lath. Today, the plaster 

ceiling is concealed by ceiling tiles attached to wood battens installed by the Greenwoods 

(1944-76)—fig. 140. How much of the original ceiling plaster remains cannot be determined 

until the ceiling tiles are removed. The exposed plaster ceiling in the closet was once part of 

the southwest bedroom (Room 206). 

Doorways

The northeast bedroom has one original doorway in the west wall that connects with the 

upper hall (figs. 136 and 142). This doorway retains its original casing with ovolo edge 

molding. The casing is similar to those in the parlor and hall, except that the corners of the 

bedroom casing are mitered (with no corner blocks). The 6-panel door is hung on closedbutt hinges and also appears to be unaltered, except for the door latch with mineral knobs 

(patented 1841). See "Closet" for a description of the closet doorway. 

Windows

There are two windows in the northeast bedroom: one in the east wall, the other in the north 

wall. Of these two windows, only the east window is historic; the north window is a later 

opening installed around 1960. 
179

East Window

The window in the east wall is an original opening dating to 1828 (fig. 138). This window 

retains its historic casing with ovolo edge molding, mitered corners, and 9-over-6 sashes. 

Spring counterbalances have replaced the original sash cords and weights; there is no sash 

lock hardware. 

North Window

The window in the north wall was installed by the Greenwood family circa 1960. This 

window has a plain-board casing and 8-over-8 sashes (fig. 137). 

Closet

A closet with wide doorway is located at the north wall of Room 205 (figs. 139 and 141). The 

closet was created in 1944-45 by partitioning space in the adjacent southeast bedroom (Room 

206) and removing a large portion of the original wall to make a wide doorway. The interior 

south and west walls of the closet are plasterboard; the east wall and ceiling are painted 

plaster. The baseboard on the east closet wall matches the original baseboards in the 

adjacent southeast bedroom, while plain boards dating to 1944-45 trim the south and west 

walls. The closet doorway appears to have been updated in 1977 with new plain-board 

casing and louvered doors, based on the findings of the paint analysis. 

Light Fixtures

One electric light fixture with glass shade is mounted to the ceiling of the northeast bedroom 

(fig. 140). It is identical in style to the ceiling light in the southeast bedroom (Room 206). No 

candles, oil lamps or gas fixtures were mentioned in this room in the probate inventories of 

Richard P. Hunt in 1856 and Jane C. Hunt in 1890. 

Heating Equipment

This room appears to have had no source of heat historically, lacking both a chimney and 

fireplace. Warm air is supplied to the room today through a metal grate at the west wall 

north of the hall doorway (figs. 136 and 142 ). This is supplemented by an electric baseboard 

heater in the southwest corner of the room that is controlled by a Honeywell thermostat 

mounted to the south wall east of the closet (fig. 139). The metal grate is thought to have 

been installed by the Greenwoods around 1945 and the electric heater by the Olmsteads 

around 1977. 
180

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes

The original woodwork elements of the northeast bedroom were first painted with a creamcolor oil paint containing lead, similar to the rest of the house, according to the findings of 

the paint analysis. These included the baseboards, doorway and window casings, 6-panel 

door, and window sashes. At some unknown date the woodwork was given a grained finish 

on a yellow base coat to imitate wood graining. This grained finish appears to have been 

exposed for some time, based on the poor adhesion of the later painted finish (figs. 142 and 

143).19 The graining was later lightened with a white, lead-based paint sometime before 1920. 

Subsequent paintings of the woodwork were in shades of white, cream, and pale yellow. The 

woodwork is painted white today. 

Less information is available on the early finishes of the walls and ceiling. The walls were 

most likely finished with wallpaper in the 19th century, since the earliest wall paint was 

applied in 1920 or later.20 The walls were first painted green, followed by two layers of white, 

then two layers of light yellow. Former owner Joan Olmstead recalled that the walls were 

yellow when she and her husband moved back to the house to care for her mother in 1976. 

The walls were covered with plasterboard and finished with the existing floral wallpaper in 

1977 (figs. 136-139). 

The northwest corner of the ceiling, where a small area of tiles was removed, was found to 

have a modern gray-cement plaster with white skim coat and one layer of cream-color paint. 

The rest of the ceiling remains covered with the ceiling tiles installed by the Greenwoods 

(1944-76). Complete removal of the later tiles is required to determine if any original plaster 

and painted finishes survive in the northeast bedroom. 

 

19 The graining was partially exposed on the door of the northeast bedroom in 2007 by shearing off the 

later paint layers with the blade of an X-Acto knife. 

20 Red fluorescence exhibited by the paint layers under ultraviolet light is indicative of titanium 

dioxide, which was used in paints beginning around 1920. 
181

Figure 136. Room 205: West wall, June 2007.

Figure 137. Room 205: Northwest corner, June 2007. 
182

Figure 138. Room 205: East wall, June 2007.

Figure 139. Room 205: South wall, June 2007. 
183

Figure 141. Room 205: 

Interior of closet at south 

wall, June 2007. Detail of 

the baseboard at the east 

wall of the closet (at arrow), 

which was originally in 

Room 206. 

Figure 140. Room 205: Ceiling looking west, June 2007. 
184

Figure 143. Room 205: Detail 

of graining exposed on the 

lower panel of the west door, 

August 2007. 

Figure 142. Room 205: West 

doorway showing graining 

partially exposed on the lower 

door panels, August 2007. 
185

Room 206 (Southeast Bedroom)

General Information

The southeast bedroom is located in the 

southeast corner of the second story. It was 

called the "Bed Room over Parlor" in Richard 

P. Hunt's probate inventory of 1856, and the 

"Bed Room, South East" in Jane C. Hunt's 

probate inventory of 1890. This room, like the 

southwest bedroom, was originally equipped 

with a fireplace. The fireplace and mantel 

were removed and the original floorboards 

covered with oak flooring around 1920. 

Plasterboard partitions for two closets (one 

for Room 205) were installed at the north wall 

in 1944-45. Collapse of the ceiling plaster in 

the southwest bedroom prompted the 

installation of ceiling tiles in several 

bedrooms, including this one, sometime between 1944 and 1976. The most recent 

remodeling in 1977 covered the plaster walls with plasterboard and the floor with wall-towall carpeting. The room was most recently occupied by Tom Olmstead, son of Joan and 

Thomas Olmstead. 

Floor 

There are three layers of flooring in the northeast bedroom: original floorboards, oak 

floorboards, and wall-to-wall carpet. The original floor consists of random-width 

floorboards. These were historically covered by "1 carpet," according to the 1856 probate 

inventory of Richard P. Hunt. Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory of 1890 recorded "2 floor 

mats" and a "carpet" in this room. A more permanent installation of oak floorboards was 

nailed to the old floorboards circa 1920. These were in turn overlaid by wall-to-wall 

carpeting around 1977. 

Baseboards

Original molded baseboards approximately 8+" tall finish the lower walls of the room (fig. 

149). These baseboards are identical in style to baseboards in the parlor (Room 106) and the 

lower and upper halls (Rooms 101 and 201). A later baseboard that is similar, but not 

identical, in style is attached to the front of the chimney breast at the east wall. It most likely 

dates to the removal of the fireplace mantel circa 1920. Plain trim boards attached to the 

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186

lower baseboards were most likely installed at the same time as the oak floorboards, also 

around 1920. The baseboard at the north plasterboard wall, installed in 1944-45, is a plain 

board with no lower trim board. 

Walls

The four original walls of the southeast bedroom are mostly intact today. The south and east 

walls are exterior brickwork walls; the north and west walls are interior wood-framed 

partitions. The exterior walls were finished with lime plaster applied directly to the 

brickwork, and the interior walls with plaster applied to sawn lath. A plasterboard partition 

was installed on the north side of the room to create two closets in 1944-45: one for this 

room, the other for the adjacent northeast room (Room 205). A portion of the original north 

wall was also removed at this time to create a doorway for a closet in Room 205. The 

remaining east, south, and west walls were later covered with plasterboard in 1977. A 

complete assessment of the room's original plaster walls will require removal of the 

plasterboard. 

Ceiling 

The ceiling was originally finished with lime plaster applied to sawn lath. Today, the plaster 

ceiling is concealed by ceiling tiles attached to wooden battens installed by the Greenwoods 

(1944-76), except in the closets of Rooms 205 and 206 where painted plaster is exposed. A 

small section of tiles was removed in 2007 in the center of the room to reveal the painted 

plaster (fig. 148). The entire extent of remaining plaster cannot be determined until the 

ceiling tiles are completely removed. 

Doorways

The northeast bedroom has one original doorway in the west wall that connects with the 

upper hall (fig. 144). This doorway retains its original casing with ovolo edge molding and 

rosette corner blocks. The casing is identical to those in the parlor (Room 106) and the lower 

and upper halls (Rooms 101 and 201). The 6-panel door is hung on original closed-butt 

hinges. The metal door knobs and latch are modern. See "Closet" for a description of the 

closet doorway. 

Windows 

There are three original windows in the southeast bedroom: two in the south wall and one in 

the east wall (figs. 146 and 147). These windows were referred to in the 1856 probate 

inventory of Richard P. Hunt as outfitted with "3 window curtains." Jane C. Hunt's 
187

inventory of 1890 was more specific, describing "4 lace curtains, cornices (1 not up)," and "3 

window shades & fixtures." The windows retain their original casings, featuring ovolo edge 

molding and rosette corner blocks, which resemble the window casings of the parlor (Room 

106) and halls (Rooms 101 and 201).21 The nine-over-six sashes also appear to be original and 

unaltered, except for the spring counterbalances that replaced sash cords and weights. There 

are no sash locks. 

Chimney Breast 

The projecting chimney breast at the east wall is an original feature of the room that was 

covered with plasterboard in 1944-45 or1977 (fig. 146). Removal of the plasterboard from 

the baseboard up to 6-feet high in 2007 revealed brickwork construction finished with a 

combination of original lime plaster and later cement plaster applied directly to the bricks. 

The later gray plaster enclosed the former fireplace opening on the front face and also 

delineated the missing fireplace mantel (fig. 150). This mantel measured approximately 4' 7-

1/2" high; the width could not be determined because of the later closet partition installed on 

the north side in 1944-45. The mantel is believed to have been removed, and the fireplace 

opening enclosed, around 1920. It was missing by the time the Greenwoods purchased the 

house in 1944, according to Joan Greenwood Olmstead. 

Closets 

New closets for the southeast and northeast bedrooms were created by installing new 

plasterboard partitions at the north wall of the southeast bedroom circa 1944-45 (fig. 145). 

These are side-by-side closets, with the closet for this room (Room 206) located in the 

northwest corner. A portion of the room's north wall was removed at this time to create a 

wide doorway for the northeast bedroom closet (Room 205). The doorway for the Room-206 

closet is in the plasterboard partition. The south and east walls of this closet are 

plasterboard; painted plaster remains exposed at the north and west walls and ceiling. 

Likewise, the east plaster wall and ceiling of this room are exposed in the closet of the 

northeast bedroom (Room 205). Early baseboards were also retained in the two closets (figs. 

141 and 149). The closet doorways appear to have been modernized in 1977 with new plainboard casings and louvered doors, based on the findings of the paint analysis. 

 

21 An 1828 date of installation for the window casings in Room 206 was verified by removing one of the 

corner blocks in November 2008 to examine the nails attaching it. These were found to be an early 

machine-cut type with round points commonly made between 1815 and 1835. See Appendix C for 

additional details. 
188

Light Fixtures

One electric light fixture with glass shade is mounted to the ceiling of this room (fig. 148). It 

is identical in style to the ceiling light in the northeast bedroom (Room 205). No candles, oil 

lamps, or gas fixtures were mentioned in this room in the probate inventories of Richard P. 

Hunt in 1856 and Jane C. Hunt in 1890. 

Heating Equipment

A metal heat register is located at the lower west wall (fig. 144). This appears to be a modern 

register installed by the Greenwood family around 1944-45. The room was historically 

warmed by the fireplace, and possibly by a cast-iron stove in later years. 

Paint and Wallpaper Finishes 

The original woodwork elements of the southeast bedroom were first painted with a creamcolor oil paint containing lead, similar to the rest of the house, according to the findings of 

the paint analysis. These included the baseboards, doorway and window casings, 6-panel 

door, and window sashes. At some unknown date the woodwork was given a grained finish 

on a cream base coat to imitate wood graining. This graining appears to have been exposed 

for some time, based on the poor adhesion of the later painted finishes.22 The graining was 

later lightened with a white, lead-based paint sometime before 1920. Subsequent paintings of 

the woodwork were in shades of white and cream. The woodwork is painted yellow today. 

The walls were presumably wallpapered historically, lacking physical evidence of paint on 

the original plaster of the chimney breast. Paint on the exposed plaster walls of the closets is 

contemporary with the closet installation of 1944-45. The room itself appears to have been 

wallpapered by 1953 with a basket-weave pattern, based on a photograph of that date in the 

album of Joan Olmstead (fig. C-5 in Appendix C). The room's existing plasterboard walls are 

finished today with two different wallpapers dating to 1977. A yellow grass- cloth pattern is 

on the west, south, and east walls, and a thematic wallpaper is on the north wall and chimney 

breast (figs. 144-147). 

The plaster ceiling appears to have been painted with a water-soluble calcimine historically, 

based on the results of the paint analysis. Ten layers of paint were observed in the one paint 

sample removed from the plaster ceiling. Of these, the first nine were water-soluble 

calcimine paints. Most of these layers were white, except the second painting that was 

pigmented pink and the fifth painting that was yellow. No definite date could be assigned to 

these colored paint layers. The most recent white paint was applied sometime before 

installation of the ceiling tiles by the Greenwood family (1944-76). 

 

22 The graining was partially exposed on the door of the northeast bedroom in 2007 by shearing off the 

later paint layers with the blade of an X-Acto knife. 
189
190

Figure 144. Room 206: West wall, June 2007.

Figure 145. Room 206: North wall, June 2007. 
191

Figure 146. Room 206: East wall, June 2007.

Figure 147. Room 206: South wall, June 2007. 
192

Figure 148. Room 206: Ceiling looking east, June 2007.

Figure 149. Room 206: Interior of north closet, June 2007. Detail of the room's original baseboard in 

the northwest corner of the closet is shown above (at arrow). The lower trim board was applied circa 

1920. 
193

Figure 150. Room 206: Detail of the chimney breast beneath later 

plasterboard, August 2007. Note the cement-plaster patch (at arrow) that 

preserves the outline of the missing fireplace mantel. 
194

Attic

General Information

The attic is a historic feature of 

the Hunt House. Physical 

evidence preserved at the east and 

west end walls indicates the roof 

was raised approximately 2 feet 

and that the brickwork originally 

extended above the level of the 

roof, most likely in "stepped" 

fashion. This alteration is 

thought to have occurred around 

1841 to enable the installation of a 

wide, Greek-Revival style 

cornice. Original, unaltered 

elements in the attic include wide 

floorboards, a floor hatch, roof 

framing members, and roof 

sheathing boards. A folding stair was installed by the Olmsteads in 1977. Two layers of new 

pink fiberglass insulation were laid on the floor by the National Park Service in 2007. 

Floor

The floor of the attic is framed by two north-south floor beams that support floor joists 

oriented in an east-west direction. These are covered by a single layer of floorboards of 

variable width, from 12" to 16" wide (figs. 156 and 157). The floorboards are nailed to the 

floor framing and oriented in a north-south direction. They are plain boards with no tongueand-groove interface on the sides. As mentioned above, the floorboards were covered with 

two layers of pink fiberglass insulation by the National Park Service in 2007. 

Walls

The brickwork walls of the attic were constructed in 1828 and circa 1841. The east and west 

end walls of the attic date to the original construction of the house in 1828 (figs. 151 and 153). 

They are particularly significant for the physical evidence they retain of the building's 

original features. Early lime plaster applied directly to the brickwork remains today, which 

clearly delineates the original lower roof height. Metal straps that secured the two roof 

purlins remain embedded in place the walls (fig. 152), made obsolete by repositioning of the 

Early 

Floor 

Hatch 

False 

Chimney 

False 

Chimney 

Existing 

Stairway 

Hatch 

 N

Chimney Chimney
195

purlins when the roof was raised to its present height around 1841. It is also evident from the 

surviving brickwork that the walls originally extended above the height of the roof, possibly 

in a "stepped" fashion. 

The lower brickwork walls on the north and south sides of the attic are later, dating to the 

raising of the roof circa 1841. Close examination of these walls reveals they are butted to, not 

integral with, the original east and west end walls. There is no plaster finish on these later 

walls, which are covered on the exterior side by a wide, Greek-Revival style cornice. 

Doorways (Floor and Roof Hatches)

Original access to the attic was through a small hatch in the floor (fig. 157). The opening of 

this hatch, which remains today, measures approximately 3-feet long by 2-feet 3-1/2 inches 

wide. It has a deep wooden frame and a board-and-batten door made of two wide boards. 

Door hardware includes two early wrought-iron hooks (one on the attic side, the other on 

the room side) and two closed-butt hinges. The hatch was located in the ceiling of the entry 

off the northwest bedroom (Room 204) and had a steep ladder-style stair. It was closed off by 

a plasterboard ceiling in 1977. In its place was installed the existing large opening in the 

ceiling of the upper hall, equipped with a built-in folding stair (fig. 156). A hatch near the 

peek of the roof on the back (north) side also enables access to the roof from the attic. The 

date of this opening is not known.

Windows

There are two windows in the attic: one in the east wall, the other in the west wall (figs. 151 

and 153). These appear to be original and unaltered, judging by the early wall plaster that 

abuts the wood framing of the openings. Two pairs of 6-over-6 sashes, one for each window, 

are stored in the attic. The through-mortise construction of these sashes and the style of 

their muntins suggest that these too are original, dating to 1828. 

Ceiling (Roof)

The ceiling of the attic consists of the exposed framing and sheathing boards of the roof (fig. 

155). These elements appear to date to the construction of the house in 1828, including two 

hand-hewn purlins and reciprocal-sawn rafters and sheathing boards. The sheathing boards 

are of variable sizes, ranging in width from 12 to 16 inches. The roof has been raised 

approximately 2 feet, according to physical evidence of the original roof preserved at the east 

and west end walls (figs. 151 and 153). This consists of intact original plaster that clearly 

outlines the position of the original roof. Heightening of the roof is believed to have 

occurred during a remodeling of the house in 1841 to accommodate the existing wide cornice 

in the Greek-Revival style. 
196

Chimneys

Four chimneys are located in the attic: two each at the east and west end walls (figs.151 and 

153). The chimneys are constructed of brick and covered with plaster up to the level of the 

original (lower) roofline. Of these four chimneys, only the two on the front (south) side of 

the house are functional. The two chimneys on the back (north) side are false, not extending 

below the level of the attic floorboards. That all four chimneys are original is certain, based 

on their coating of early plaster that predates the raising of the roof. 

Light Fixtures

A single exposed light bulb in a porcelain base is mounted to a rafter in the center of the attic 

(fig. 154). Natural light is provided by the two windows in the east and west end walls. 

Attic Fan

A large attic fan sits in the lower half of the east window (fig. 151), which is operated by a 

switch in the upper hall. Although the exact date of this fan is unknown, it was most likely 

installed during the ownership of the Olmsteads (1976-99). Contemporary with the fan are 

louvers in the lower half of the west window that are thermostatically operated (fig. 153). 

Painted Finishes

The only painted finishes in the attic are found on the detached 6-over-6 window sashes. 

There are no painted finishes on the floorboards, roof framing, sheathing boards, plaster, or 

exposed brickwork. This suggests the attic was not occupied as a living space but was used to 

store items that could fit through the small floor hatch. 
197

Figure 151. Attic: 

View looking east, 

June 2007. Note the 

white plastered wall 

and line of the 

original lower roof 

(at upper arrow). 

Figure 152. Attic Details: 

Left: Southeast corner 

showing the original reused 

roof purlin and the iron strap 

that formerly supported it (at 

arrow). 

Below: Indentation in the 

floorboard beneath the iron 

strap (at arrow) is evidence of 

an early post that supported 

the purlin.
198

Figure 153. Attic: View looking west, June 2007.

Figure 154. Attic: View looking north, June 2007. 
199

Figure 155. Attic: Roof framing, view looking west, June 2007. 
200

Figure 156. Attic: Modern 

hatch with folding stair, 

view looking north, June 

2007. The original wide 

floorboards can be seen to 

the left of the hatch. 

Figure 157. Attic: The original attic 

hatch (right) retains its early 

hardware, including wrought-iron 

hook (above) and closed-butt hinges 

(below). June 2007. 
201

UTILITIES 

Gas Lighting

Gas light fixtures had supplemented candles and oil lamps in the Hunt House sometime 

between 1856 and 1859, according to documentation provided by the probate inventories of 

Richard P. Hunt. Distribution of gas was administered by the "Seneca Falls and Waterloo 

Gas Co.," listed at 165 Main Street, Waterloo, in the local directory for 1862-63. The Hunt 

House was only a short distance from the "Gas Reservoir," which was housed in a round 

building shown on the south side of Main Street on the Bird's-Eye View map of 1873. No gas 

light fixtures survive in the house today, although the gas piping that supplied the fixtures 

remains concealed beneath the floorboards and within the plaster walls. 

Electrical

Electric lighting is thought to have been first installed in the house around 1920 by Clifford 

Beare. The last owner of the house, Joan Greenwood Olmsted, recalled in an interview on 

June 2, 2008, that "when we got here [in 1944] , there was just one light hanging from the 

center of each ceiling and no outlets." The electrical system has been completely upgraded 

since that time. Electrical service enters the Hunt House at the southwest corner of the 

house. The main electrical panel is in the southwest corner of the cellar. A secondary panel 

for the circa-1960 back addition and outbuildings is at the north wall of the cellar. The back 

room and the northeast bedroom (Rooms 104 and 205)are warmed with electric baseboard 

heat. All light fixtures have been replaced and electrical outlets installed in every room since 

1944. 

Heating 

The Hunt House was probably warmed in 1828 by heat provided by the four fireplaces in the 

front rooms of the house and by the cooking fireplace and/or stove in the rear kitchen wing. 

Stoves were noted as being "in and about the residence" by 1856, according to the initial 

probate inventory of Richard P. Hunt undertaken in December of that year. These were 

more specifically described in a subsequent probate inventory dated September 12, 1859, as 

"1 cooking stove & furniture" and "2 air-tight stoves." A cook stove was in the kitchen and 

another stove was in the dining room by 1890, as noted in the probate inventory of Jane C. 

Hunt dated February 7 of that year. There may also have been a furnace for central heating 

of the house by this time, judging by the large amount of coal (five tons) then stored in the 

cellar. Its omission from the inventory would not have been surprising since it was most 
202

likely considered to be a built-in component of the house. A loose cast iron door that may 

have been from this early furnace, cast with the name "Richardson, Boynton & Co., New 

York," is stored in the cellar today.23

The daughters of Irving and Marie Greenwood remember that the house was heated by a 

coal-fueled furnace when they moved there in 1944. The Greenwoods later changed the fuel 

to oil, installed new ductwork, and finally converted to natural gas. A new gas furnace was 

most recently installed by the National Park Service in 2007. 

 

Plumbing

It is not known exactly when plumbing was installed in the Hunt House. Letters written by 

sisters Mary and Sarah Hunt to their brother Richard Hunt in 1852 reported the "bathroom" near the nursery had been newly outfitted with a mahogany "Bath Contrivance" to 

hold the tin washtub.24 The bathroom was not mentioned in Richard P. Hunt's probate 

inventory in 1856, perhaps because it contained no items of notable value. Four of the 

bedrooms were, however, noted as each having a "wash stand ewer [pitcher] & basin." The 

"Bath Room" was finally listed in Jane C. Hunt's probate inventory of 1890. Its placement in 

the inventory suggests it was located adjacent to the nursery in the first story of the north 

wing, which was demolished around 1920. No plumbing fixtures were described in the 

bathroom, which appears to have had a closet for cleaning supplies and other items including 

"3 Brushes; 1 Carpet stretcher; 1 Camp chair; [and] 1 workbasket, whisk broom & dust pan." 

Interestingly, the bedroom north of the sitting room was still furnished in 1890 with "1 

washbowl, cup & tray," the northeast bedroom with "1 commode," the northwest bedroom 

with "1 washstand," and the southwest bedroom with "1 washstand marble top" and "1 

towel rack." 

No information has yet been found to indicate when plumbing was introduced to provide 

running water to the bathroom and kitchen. A well that is paved over today was located in 

the back yard, according to recent interview with the former owners of the house.25 "Water 

plants" were available in Waterloo by 1903, and a sanitary sewer system had been completed 

in 1915, but it is not known when the Hunt House was connected to these services.26

The earliest plumbing in the main house was most likely installed by Clifford Beare circa 

1920, when the northwest corner room was remodeled as a kitchen and a bathroom was 

 

23 Trade catalogs for "Richardson, Boynton & Co." and advertisements dated 1863, 1885, 1886, 1900, 

1913, and 1931, indicate the company's name changed to "Richardson & Boynton Co." sometime 

between 1863 and 1885. 

24 Letters from Mary and Sarah Hunt to Richard Hunt, Jr., April 4, 18[52?], cat. #50.4; and Aug. 31, 

1852, cat. #41.1. The Hunt Family Papers, Women's Rights NHP.

25 Interview with members of the Greenwood family at the Hunt House June 2, 2008, on file at 

Women's Rights NHP. 

26 "Grip's" Historical Souvenir of Waterloo, N.Y (New York: 1903), p. 2; and Becker, History of the 

Village of Waterloo, 1949, p. 448. The 2008 "Property Inventory Summery" for 401 E. Main St., Town 

of Waterloo, indicates the house is connected to public water and sewer. 
203

installed in the room above it. This bathroom was renovated around 1950 by the 

Greenwoods, who also created a new toilet room off the kitchen and installed a second 

bathroom off the upper hall. The toilet room was later enlarged by the Olmsteads to a full 

bathroom in 1977. This room and the second-story hall bathroom were partially 

disassembled by the National Park Service in 2007 for the architectural investigation. Water 

to the circa-1920 bathroom was turned off in 2008 after discovery of a large crack in the waste 

pipe in the northwest wall of the kitchen. 
204

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205

IV. CONCLUSIONS 
206

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207

EXISTING INTEGRITY 

for 1847-49 

Introduction

One of the goals of this historic structure report was to ascertain the extent of surviving 

historic architectural fabric at the Hunt House for the defined period of significance: 1847-

49. How much of the historic Hunt House remains is an important consideration in the 

determination of treatment options. To that end, an attempt is made here to summarize that 

information. For more details, see the "Physical Descriptions" section of this report. 

Exterior Elements

Of the multiple structures that comprised the Hunt family's "homestead farm," all that 

remains is the main portion of the home known today as the Hunt House. The house was 

built in 1828 and was updated and enlarged circa 1841. Missing components of the house 

include a 1-1/2 story wing on the west side and a 2-story wing on the north side. Also missing 

are the farm's barns and other outbuildings that were situated to the northeast of the house, 

fences, and landscape elements. The 145-1/2 acres of land on which the buildings sat has 

been reduced to 2.74 acres. 

Surviving historic components of the existing house include the exterior brick walls, three of 

the four brick chimneys, and roof. Some mortar joints still retain the original lime mortar 

with which they were laid, distinguished by its pink-beige hue and white lime inclusions. 

Doorway and window openings in the front façade remain remarkably unaltered: the 

doorway with its flanking sidelights and semi-circular fanlight with lead cames, and the 

windows with their marble window sills and 9-over-6 sashes. The 6-panel front door, 

although a later replacement, is a close replica of the missing original. Alterations have 

occurred to the historic openings in the side and rear elevations, although three intact 

windows and sashes remain in the east wall, one in the north wall, and three in the west wall. 

The exterior cellar doorway with its stone steps appears to be original, as does the framed 

opening of the doorway in the back hall. The original gable roof was raised to its present 

height, and the existing wide cornice with integral gutters, installed around 1841. Physical 

evidence of the historic roofing may survive on the early sheathing boards beneath the 

existing asphalt roofing shingles. Paint analysis indicates the exterior wooden elements of 

the house were historically painted with a cream color oil paint containing lead. 
208

Interior Elements

Inside, the Hunt House retains its historic layout of center stair hall with rooms opening off it 

on the east and west sides. Most rooms are intact in the first and second stories, with the 

notable exceptions of the parlor that was enlarged to its present size sometime between 1856 

and 1873, and the northwest corner rooms that were modernized as a kitchen and bathrooms 

in the 20th century. The stair connecting the first and second stories appears to be original, 

although the second-story railing was slightly altered around 1920. The steep ladder stair to 

the attic is missing, but its shadow is clearly preserved on the adjacent wall and floor of the 

closet in the existing hall bathroom. Accretions of later materials preserve the original 

random-width floorboards on the floors and the plastered walls and ceilings. Although the 

extent of surviving plaster is not yet known, selected removal of later plasterboard has 

revealed early lime plaster with hair binder applied directly to the brickwork of the exterior 

walls and to sawn lath on the interior walls and ceilings. Like the early mortar used to lay the 

exterior bricks, the original interior plaster is a pink-beige color with white lime inclusions. 

Molded woodwork that presumably dates to 1828 trims the lower walls, doorways, and 

windows. Moldings of similar style were used in the center hall and the rooms on the east 

side of the house, with a different style used in the west rooms. Bull's-eye corner blocks 

adorn the doorway and window casings in the center hall and front rooms, and simple 

mitered corners are found in the back rooms. No unaltered doorways remain in the first 

story and only three survive in the second story. These three doorways, all located in the 

upper hall, retain their historic 6-panel doors and closed-butt hinges; the existing door 

latches and knobs are later. One other 6-panel door to the hall bathroom has been reused in 

its present doorway and two old 6-panel doors from unknown locations are stored in the 

cellar. Of the four original fireplaces and fireplace mantels, none remain today. Three of the 

four fireplace openings were enclosed and their mantels removed around 1920. The one 

existing fireplace in the parlor was moved and rebuilt sometime between 1856 and 1873 and 

its mantel replaced around 1920. 

Like the exterior, all the interior woodwork trim was painted historically with a cream-color 

oil paint containing lead, according to the findings of the paint analysis. The floorboards 

were either unfinished or waxed. Ceilings appear to have been painted with water-soluble 

calcimine. The walls were most likely wallpapered, based on the smooth texture of the 

original plaster and absence of paint. No samples of historic wallpapers were found during 

the architectural investigation, having been removed prior to hanging of the existing 20thcentury wallpapers. 
209

CHARACTER-DEFINING 

FEATURES 

Definition

"Character-defining features" (CDFs), are explained in the National Park service's D.O./NPS28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline as follows: 

A prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic of a 

historic property that contributes significantly to its physical 

character. Structures, objects, vegetation, spatial relationships, views, 

furnishings, decorative details, and materials may be such features.1

By this definition, a CDF can date from any period in the history of the property. In the case 

of the Hunt House, this could span the time period from its date of construction in 1828 to 

the present day. 

A more restrictive explanation is cited in The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the 

Treatment of Historic Properties, in which CDFs are tied to the "historic character" of a 

building or structure: 

Character-defining features ... [are] those architectural materials and 

features that are important in defining the building's historic character 

.... The character of a historic building may be defined by the form 

and detailing of exterior materials, such as masonry, wood and metal; 

exterior features, such as roofs, porches, and windows; interior 

materials, such as plaster and paint; and interior features, such as 

moldings and stairways, room configuration and spatial relationships, 

as well as structural and mechanical systems.2

"Historic character" is thereby tied to historical significance, which D.O./NPS-28 defines as 

"the meaning or value ascribed to a structure, landscape, object, or site based on the National 

Register criteria for evaluation. It normally stems from a combination of association and 

 

1 D.O./NPS-28, Cultural Resources Management Guideline, Release No. 5 (U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 

National Park Service, History Division, 1997), Appendix A, p. 178. 

2 Kay E. Weeks and Anne E. Grimmer, The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of 

Historic Properties, with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic 

Buildings (U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resource Stewardship and 

Partnerships, Historic Preservation Services, 1995), p. 63. 
210

integrity."3

 The aspects of integrity include location, design, setting, materials, 

workmanship, feeling, and association.4

Hunt House Character-Defining Features

The following have been identified as historic character-defining features (CDFs) of the Hunt 

House at Women's Rights National Historical Park. These are architectural materials and 

features that are important in defining the building's historic character, which is tied to its 

1847-49 period of significance. Therefore, although the existing 2-story portico could be 

considered a character-defining feature, it does not qualify because it was installed circa 1920 

and therefore does not contribute to the historic character of the building. 

Exterior CDFs 

- House siting on the north side of a major east-west highway, historically called the 

"Turnpike road," now designated "Route 5 & 20" or "East Main Street." 

- South orientation of the main house with its front doorway facing the road and the 

back doorway opening onto the back yard of the former "homestead farm." 

- Symmetrical massing of the 2-story main house with its gable roof, 5-bay façade, 

center doorway, and four end chimneys. 

- Masonry construction materials including a stone foundation, red brickwork 

walls, and marble water table, door sills, and window sills. 

- Wide, Greek-Revival style cornice with integral gutters dating to circa 1841. 

- Classical front doorway with 6-panel door flanked by sidelights and crowned by a 

semi-circular fanlight, both glazed with clear glass held by decorative lead cames. 

- Numerous window openings in the south façade and east and west side elevations 

that brightened the interiors with natural light, including small openings in the 

cellar story and large openings in the upper stories. The original 9-over-6 sashes 

in the first and second stories, and 6-over-6 sashes in the attic story, are CDFs. 

The comparatively few number of historic window openings (one) in the north 

(rear) elevation is also a CDF. 

- Cream-color paint on the woodwork trim, doors, and sashes, as identified by paint 

analysis. 

 

3 D.O./NPS-28, Appendix A, p. 193. 4 National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation (U.S. Dept. of 

the Interior, National Park Service, Interagency Resources Division, 1990, revised 1991), pp. 44-45. 
211

Interior CDFs 

- Interior configuration of full cellar, two principal stories of living space, and attic. 

- Spatial arrangement in the first and second stories of rooms opening off a center 

stair hall. The stairway connecting the two stories, with simple Federal-style 

railing, is also a CDF. 

- Hierarchy of the rooms' finish carpentry, with the finer baseboards and casings in 

the front rooms on the south side of the house, and the less formal woodwork in 

the back rooms on the north side of the house. 

- Placement of storage and multifunctional spaces in the northwest corner of the 

house in both the first and second stories . 

- Attic access via a hatch in the ceiling formerly equipped with a steep ladder stair. 

- The use of random-width, tongue-and-groove floorboards, one board thick, in all 

the rooms. 

- Finishing of the walls and ceilings with lime plaster with hair binder, applied 

directly to the brickwork of the exterior walls and to sawn lath on the interior 

walls. 

- Doors with six panels hung on closed-butt hinges (see fig. 107). 

- The presence of chimney breasts for working fireplaces in the front rooms only. 

- Cream-color paint on all the woodwork trim throughout the house, except the 

stair railing, as identified by paint analysis. 

Missing CDFs 

- The most significant missing features of the Hunt House are its two wings that 

were removed around 1920. One was located on the west side of the house, the 

other on the back (north) side. Both were important visual and functional 

components of the building for the 1847-49 period of significance. The west wing 

housed the kitchen and the back wing several rooms including a sitting room, 

nursery, bedrooms, and a bathroom. 

- One of four chimneys is missing from the northwest corner of the house. This was 

a false chimney that provided symmetry to the roof. 

- All four historic fireplace mantels are missing from the front rooms of the house. 
212

- Historic partitions are missing from three areas: 1. the parlor/back bedroom 

(Room 106), 2. the kitchen pantry (Room 103), and 3. the northwest 

bedroom/entry/closet (Rooms 203 and 204). 

- Most original doorways and their doors are either missing, or have been 

considerably altered, in the first-story rooms of the house. 

Additional CDFs, 1849-62 

A revised National Register nomination for "Women's Rights Historic Site" is currently in 

progress, which recommends an expanded period of significance to include the years 1815 to 

1862. If this nomination is accepted, the following additional features would be considered 

as character-defining. 

- Gas lighting was installed in the Hunt House sometime between 1857 and 1859—

the date "circa 1858" is used in this report. Although no gas light fixtures remain 

today, gas piping remains embedded within walls and floor of the house. These 

pipes, even though they are not visible, are considered as CDFs. 

- Two French doorways on the east side of the house were enlarged from original 

window openings to open onto a verandah that is missing today. The exact date of 

this alteration is not known, but may have been instigated by the marriages of two 

Hunt children: one in 1861, the other in 1864. A date of "circa 1860s" is used in 

this report. The verandah definitely existed by 1873, based on the Bird's-Eye View 

of that date. 

- The existing large parlor is contemporary with the French doorways and nowmissing verandah. The parlor achieved its present size with the removal of the 

north partition wall. 

- The position of the chimney breast at the east wall of the parlor is also a CDF. The 

chimney breast was centered between the French doorways when the parlor was 

enlarged circa 1860s. 
213

TREATMENT OPTIONS 

 [To be written following a charrette on the Hunt House to be held at Women's Rights NHP.]
214

[Blank Page] 
215

APPENDIX A 

Paint Analysis 
216

[Blank Page] 
217

Introduction

Paint analysis was undertaken at the Hunt House for two reasons. First, to obtain additional 

information that would help in interpreting the physical evolution of the house. Second, to 

determine how the house was painted during the historic period of significance, 1847-49. 

Methodology

One hundred eighty five (185) paint samples were removed from the exterior and interior 

painted elements of the Hunt House by Architectural Conservator Barbara Yocum in August 

2007 and April 2008. Prior to sampling, site notes were made recording existing painted 

finishes and photographs were taken. Small samples of paint were then extracted from 

representative room elements using an X-Acto knife fitted with a No.-18 blade. Each sample 

was placed in a separate coin envelope labeled with the sample location. Paint-sample 

locations were also recorded on floor plans, which are included in this appendix. Analysis of 

the samples was undertaken at the Historic Architecture Program of the Northeast Region, 

National Park Service, in Lowell, Massachusetts. 

In Lowell, each sample was assigned a log number derived from the center's "Integrated 

Research Organization System" (IROS). This system provides a three-part code that 

identifies the site, the building from which the sample was taken, and the sample number. 

The first sample removed for this study, for example, was assigned log number "WORI 07 

P001" "WORI" signifies Women's Rights National Historical Park, "07" is the park's 

structure number for the Hunt House, the letter "P" indicates that the sample is paint, and 

the number "01" denotes that this is the first paint sample removed from the building. 

Selected paint samples were mounted in petrie dishes filled with microcrystalline wax and 

microscopically viewed using two binocular microscopes. The samples were first examined 

with reflected tungsten light at 10 to 63 times magnification with a Nikon sMZ-2T 

microscope. The were next viewed under long-wave ultraviolet light with an Olympus BX-40 

microscope. 

Certain characteristics of each paint layer were noted and recorded, such as paint color and 

paint type. Paints containing lead were identified by a spot chemical test using a solution of 

sodium sulfide and water, in which a positive reaction turns a paint layer brown or black. 

Paints containing calcium carbonate, such as calcimine, were identified by their 

characteristic chalky appearance and positive reaction to a spot chemical test using diluted 

hydrochloric acid. Finish layers were distinguished from primer layers by the presence of 

dirt and/or poor adhesion between paint layers. Chromochronology charts summarizing the 

paint layers for the exterior and for each room are included in this report. 

Dating of the paint layers was achieved by removing paint samples from room elements of 

known date of installation. Much of the woodwork trim for example appears to date to the 

original construction of the main house by Richard Hunt. The first paint layer on these 
218

elements was therefore dated "1828." A remodeling was carried out in 1841 that enlarged the 

north wing; the parlor was enlarged and two windows converted to doorways sometime 

between 1856 and 1873 ("circa 1860" is used in this report); and the wings were demolished 

and the existing large front portico constructed around 1920. Comparison of painted 

elements associated with these alterations with earlier elements enabled approximate dating 

of the later paint layers. 

Paint Sample Locations

Exterior Samples

WORI 07 P01 Paint on bricks above front doorway (D101), south elevation 

WORI 07 P02 Doric column shaft, south elevation 

WORI 07 P03 Casing of D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P04 Six-panel door of D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P05 Casing of left sidelight panel of D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P06 Sash of left sidelight panel of D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P07 Lead came of left sidelight of D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P08 Transom casing above D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P09 Transom sill above D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P10 Transom sash above D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P11 Lead came of transom sash above D101, south elevation 

WORI 07 P12 Window casing of W111, south elevation 

WORI 07 P13 Window sash of W111, south elevation 

WORI 07 P14 Window casing of W104, west elevation 

WORI 07 P15 Window sash of W104, west elevation 

WORI 07 P16 Window casing of W105, west elevation 

WORI 07 P17 Window casing of W109, north elevation 

WORI 07 P18 Window sash of W109, north elevation 

WORI 07 P19 Doorway casing of D103 (French doorway), east elevation 

WORI 07 P156 Painted mortar joint between windows, west elevation 

WORI 07 P157 Painted mortar joint, south side of west elevation (pink mortar) 

WORI 07 P158 Painted mortar joint, east side of north elevation 

WORI 07 P159 Painted mortar joint between windows, east elevation 

Interior Samples

Room 101 

WORI 07 P20 Floorboards beneath later flooring, southeast corner 

WORI 07 P21 Baseboard at east wall 

WORI 07 P22 Baseboard at former doorway, east wall 
219

WORI 07 P23 Baseboard at chase for heat duct, southeast corner 

WORI 07 P24 Six-panel door of front doorway (D101), hall side 

WORI 07 P25 Casing of D101 

WORI 07 P26 Casing of transom above D101 

WORI 07 P27 Sash of transom above D101 

WORI 07 P28 Casing of west sidelight of D101 

WORI 07 P29 Sash of west sidelight of D101, covered by storm window 

WORI 07 P30 French doors, west doorway to Room 102 

WORI 07 P31 Side casing of west doorway to Room 102 (concave molding) 

WORI 07 P32 Top casing of west doorway to Room 102 (convex molding) 

WORI 07 P33 Bull's-eye corner blocks, west doorway to Room 102 

WORI 07 P34 Base of columned doorway to Room 106 

WORI 07 P35 Column shaft at doorway to Room 106 

WORI 07 P36 Side casing of east doorway to Room 106 (convex molding) 

WORI 07 P37 Top casing of east doorway to Room 106 (concave molding) 

WORI 07 P38 Bull's-eye corner blocks, west doorway to Room 106 

WORI 07 P39 Casing of west doorway beneath stairs 

WORI 07 P40 Two-panel door, cellar doorway 

WORI 07 P41 Casing of cellar doorway 

WORI 07 P42 Casing of north bathroom doorway 

WORI 07 P43 Stair tread 

WORI 07 P44 Stair riser 

WORI 07 P45 Stair baluster 

WORI 07 P46 Stair hand rail 

WORI 07 P47 Plaster ceiling beneath later plaster board at northwest corner 

WORI 07 P160 Painted woodwork reused as lath nailer beneath main stair (former 

 closet) 

WORI 07 P161 Ditto (different piece) 

WORI 07 P162 Later sloped plaster ceiling beneath main stair (former closet) 

Room 102 

WORI 07 P48 Baseboard at south wall 

WORI 07 P49 Baseboard at west chimney breast 

WORI 07 P50 Baseboard beneath W104 (former doorway) 

WORI 07 P51 Baseboard at former north doorway 

WORI 07 P52 French doors, east doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P53 Left-side casing (concave) of east doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P54 Right-side and top casing (convex) of east doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P55 Bull's-eye corner blocks of east doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P56 Casing of north doorway to Room 103 

WORI 07 P57 Casing of west window, W103 

WORI 07 P58 Sash of west window, W103 

WORI 07 P59 Casing of west window (former doorway), W104 

WORI 07 P60 Sash of west window (former doorway), W104 

WORI 07 P61 Plastered chimney breast 

WORI 07 P62 North plastered wall adjacent to former doorway 
220

Room 103 

WORI 07 P63 Upper north plaster wall beneath plasterboard 

WORI 07 P64 South plaster wall beneath later plasterboard 

WORI 07 P163 Original floorboard beneath later flooring 

Room 105 

WORI 07 P164 Original floorboard on west side of room beneath later flooring 

WORI 07 P165 North doorway frame beneath later plasterboard 

WORI 07 P166 Wooden jamb of north wall niche formerly concealed by plasterboard 

WORI 07 P167 North plaster wall (original plaster) beneath plasterboard 

WORI 07 P168 North plaster wall (later plaster) beneath plasterboard 

WORI 07 P169 Plaster ceiling above plasterboard 

Room 106 

WORI 07 P65 Baseboard at south wall 

WORI 07 P66 Baseboard at west wall north of doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P67 Baseboard at west wall at former doorway 

WORI 07 P68 Baseboard at north wall 

WORI 07 P69 Side casing (convex molding) of doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P70 Top casing (concave molding) of doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P71 Bull's-eye corner blocks at doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P72 Paneled base of columned doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P73 Column shaft at doorway to Room 101 

WORI 07 P74 Casing of French doorway, D104 

WORI 07 P75 French doors at D104 

WORI 07 P76 Casing of south window, W113 

WORI 07 P77 Sash of south window, W113 

WORI 07 P78 Casing of picture window, W109 

WORI 07 P79 Pilaster base of fireplace mantel 

WORI 07 P80 Pilaster capital of fireplace mantel 

WORI 07 P81 Molded trim beneath shelf of fireplace mantel 

WORI 07 P82 Backboard of fireplace mantel, left side 

WORI 07 P83 Shelf support of fireplace mantel 

WORI 07 P84 Shelf of fireplace mantel 

WORI 07 P85 Painted plaster wall, northwest corner 

WORI 07 P170 Baseboard, at north end of west wall 

Room 201 

WORI 07 P86 Floorboards beneath later flooring, northeast corner 

WORI 07 P87 Baseboard at east wall between doorways 

WORI 07 P88 Board applied to lower baseboard (for telephone cord?) 

WORI 07 P89 Casing of doorway to Room 206 

WORI 07 P90 Six-panel door of doorway to Room 206 

WORI 07 P91 Casing of south window, W201 
221

WORI 07 P92 Sash of south window, W201 

WORI 07 P93 Stair baluster and railing 

WORI 07 P94 Floor edging at balusters 

WORI 07 P95 Plastered ceiling beneath plasterboard at attic hatch 

WORI 07 P96 Wood trim at attic hatch 

WORI 07 P97 Heat register box, northeast corner 

Room 202 

WORI 07 P98 Floorboards beneath later flooring in southeast closet 

WORI 07 P99 Baseboard at south wall 

WORI 07 P100 Baseboard at east wall of later northeast closet 

WORI 07 P101 Baseboard on room side of later northeast closet 

WORI 07 P102 Baseboard at west chimney breast 

WORI 07 P103 Casing of doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P104 Six-panel door of doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P105 Casing of later doorway to Room 203 

WORI 07 P106 Casing of doorway at later northeast closet 

WORI 07 P107 Casing of doorway at later southeast closet 

WORI 07 P108 Casing of west window, W204 

WORI 07 P109 Sash of west window, W204 

WORI 07 P110 Heat register at north wall 

Room 203 

WORI 07 P111 Upper south plaster wall within later closet 

WORI 07 P112 Upper east plaster wall beneath later plasterboard 

WORI 07 P113 Lower west plaster wall beneath later plasterboard 

Room 204 

WORI 07 P114 Baseboard at north wall 

WORI 07 P115 Baseboard at west wall, covered by tub enclosure 

WORI 07 P116 Baseboard at south partition, covered by tub enclosure 

WORI 07 P117 Baseboard at closet partition, closet side 

WORI 07 P118 Baseboard at south wall of closet 

WORI 07 P119 Casing of doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P120 Six-panel door of doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P121 Casing of wide doorway at closet 

WORI 07 P122 Casing of window W206 

WORI 07 P123 Upper east wall (plaster) above later drop ceiling 

WORI 07 P124 Plaster ceiling of closet above later drop ceiling 

WORI 07 P125 Ghost of former east-west partition on ceiling above later drop ceiling 

WORI 07 P126 Wood framing of attic hatch in closet concealed by later drop ceiling 

WORI 07 P172 Six-panel door of doorway to Room 204 

WORI 07 P173 Original floorboards beneath later flooring, south side of room 

WORI 07 P174 Baseboard, north wall at northwest corner (original unmoved?) 

WORI 07 P175 Ditto, lower portion near floor 

WORI 07 P176 Baseboard at north wall, northeast corner 
222

WORI 07 P177 Baseboard at east wall, northeast corner 

WORI 07 P178 Baseboard at south wall, formerly covered by ladder stair 

WORI 07 P179 Baseboard at south wall to left (east) of partition patch 

WORI 07 P180 Baseboard at south wall at partition patch 

WORI 07 P181 Baseboard at south wall to right (west) of partition patch 

WORI 07 P182 Side trim pieces added to hang existing hall door 

WORI 07 P183 Baseboard at south wall, southeast corner 

WORI 07 P184 South plaster wall formerly covered by ladder stair 

WORI 07 P185 West plaster wall, overlap of paint from former door casing 

Room 205 

WORI 07 P127 Baseboard at north wall 

WORI 07 P128 Baseboard at south wall of later south closet 

WORI 07 P129 Casing of doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P130 Six-panel door of doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P131 Casing of doorway at later south closet 

WORI 07 P132 Casing of east window, W209 

WORI 07 P133 Sash of east window, W209 

WORI 07 P134 Casing of north window, W208 

WORI 07 P135 Sash of north window, W208 

WORI 07 P136 Lower north plaster wall beneath later plasterboard 

WORI 07 P137 Upper north plaster wall beneath later plasterboard 

WORI 07 P138 Plaster ceiling beneath later plasterboard 

Room 206 

WORI 07 P139 Floorboards in later north closet beneath later oak flooring 

WORI 07 P140 Baseboard at south wall 

WORI 07 P141 Baseboard in later north closet 

WORI 07 P142 Baseboard at later north partition 

WORI 07 P143 Baseboard at east chimney breast 

WORI 07 P144 Casing at doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P145 Six-panel door at doorway to Room 201 

WORI 07 P146 Casing at later north closet 

WORI 07 P147 Casing at east window, W210 

WORI 07 P148 Sash at east window, W210 

WORI 07 P149 Plaster ceiling beneath plasterboard 

Samples from Detached Doors in Cellar

WORI 07 P150 Door #1, six recessed panels, chrome doorknob one side (former 

 bathroom?), lift hinges (88 3⁄4" high x 35 1⁄4" wide x 1 1⁄4" thick) 

WORI 07 P151 Door #1, opposite side with flush panels 

WORI 07 P152 Door #2, six recessed panels, white glass doorknobs, lift hinges (87" 

 high x 35 3⁄4" wide x 1 3/8" thick) 
223

WORI 07 P153 Door #2, opposite side with flush panels 

WORI 07 P154 Door #3, later with two panels 

WORI 07 P155 Door #3, opposite side 
224

SOUTH ELEVATION 

 W102 W111 W110 W101 P03 

W203 W201 W212 W2111 W202 

D101 

P01 

P02 

P04 

P05 

P06 

P07 

P08 

P09 

P10 

P11 

P12 

P13
225

WEST ELEVATION

W104 W103

W105

W205 W204

W301

W106 

D102 

P14

P16 P15 

W002 W001

P156 P157 
226

NORTH ELEVATION

W205

W207

W208 

W107

D001 

W109 

P17 

P18 

P158 
227

EAST ELEVATION

W108

D104 D103

P19

W210 

W302

W004 W003

W209

P159
228

FIRST FLOOR PLAN 

W102 W101 

W103 

W104 

W105 

W106 

W107

W108

W109 

D001 

D102 

D101

D103

D104

W111 W110 

P20

P21

P22

P24

P25

P25

P26

P27 

P28

P29

P30

P31 

P32 

P34, P35

P36, P37, 

P38 

P39

P40

P41

P42

P43, P44, 

P45, P46 

P47

P48 

P49 

P51 

P52

P53 

P54 

P55 

P56 

P57 

P58 

P61 

P50, 

P59, P60 

P62 

P63 

P64 

P65 

P66

P67

P68 

P69

P70 

P71 

P72 

P73 

P66

P75

P76, P77

P78

P79, P80, 

P81, P82, 

P83, P84, 

P85

101

102 

103 

104

105

106 

Three Detached 

Doors in Cellar: 

1. P150, P151 

2. P152, P153 

3. P154, P155 

P160

P161

P162

P163 

P164

P165

P166

P167

P168

P169

P170
229

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

201

202

203 204 

205 

206 

W203 W202 W201

W204 

W205

W206 W207 W208

W209

W210

W212 W211

P86

P87

P88

P89

P90

P91, P92

P95, 96

P93

P94

P98 P97

P99 

P100

P101 

P102 

P103

P104

P105 P106 

P107 

P108 

P109 

P110 

P111 

P112 

P113 

P114 

P115 

P116 

P117 

P118 

P119

P120

P121

P122

P123

P124 

P125 

P126

P127

P136

P128 

P129

P130

P131

P132

P133

P137 P134, P135 

P138

P139

P140 

P141

P142 

P143 

P144, P145

P146

P147

P148

P149

P171

P172 

P182 

P173 

P174 

P112 P175 P176, 177

P181P180 P178 P179

P183, 184 

P185 
230

Summary of Paint Chromochronologies

Exterior 

Date Woodwork 

and Sashes 

French 

Doorways 

Front 

Portico 

Front Door Brick Walls 

1828 Cream* 

Cream* 

Cream* 

Cream* 

Circa 1860 Cream* Cream 

White White 

White* 

Gray 

White-Gray* White-Gray* 

White-Gray 

White* White* 

White* White* 

White* White* 

White* 

Circa 1920 Cream Cream Red 

Cream White 

Cream Cream 

Cream White 

Circa 1960 Cream Cream White White 

Beige Beige White 

White White White White 

White White White White 

 

KEY: * Paint contains lead.
231

Room 101 ( Lower Hall) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

& Stair 

Risers 

Stair 

Treads 

Stair 

Balusters 

1828 Dirt and 

wax-like 

substance 

[Wallpaper?] [White**?] Cream* Cream* Brown 

Resinous 

(Varnish?) 

 Yellow** Cream* Cream* 

 White** Cream* Cream* 

 White** White White 

 White 

 White 

Ca. 1920 Oak 

flooring 

 White White* 

Lt. Yellow* 

Varnish 

Ca. 1930 Wallpaper 

(brown 

leaves) 

Lt. yellow Cream-lt. 

yellow 

 

Ca. 1945 Wallpaper 

(pink and 

white 

stripes) 

White White 

Ca. 1960 Vinyl tiles 

(blackand-white) 

Wallpaper 

(gold and 

silver) 

 Beige Brown 

Varnish 

White 

Beige 

 Cream 

1977 Vinyl tiles 

(marble 

design) 

Plasterboard

Wallpaper 

(yellow) 

Plasterboard

White 

Cream Cream 

 Cream Brown Cream 

 Cream Cream 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
232

Room 102 (Dining Room) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 [No sample] [Wallpaper?] [No sample] Cream* 

 Cream* 

 Cream* 

 White* 

 White 

 Yellow* 

Varnish 

("Graining") 

 White* 

 Green* White 

 Olive green White-Cream 

Ca. 1920 Oak flooring [Wallpaper?] Cream-yellow* 

Ca. 1930 Wallpaper 

(dark yellow) 

 White* 

1948 Wallpaper 

(scenic) 

Cream paint 

 White 

Ca. 1960 Wallpaper 

(green abstract) 

 White 

1977 Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

(foil type) 

Plasterboard 

White 

White 

1991 Hardwood 

flooring 

 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
233

Room 103 (Kitchen) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 [No samples] [No samples] 

 Mustard yellow** 

(multiple layers) 

 

 Beige-gray 

 Yellow 

 White 

Gray Cream-yellow 

Orange White 

Ca. 1920 T&G flooring White 

Ca. 1930 Blue-green 

Ca. 1945 Sheet flooring Yellow (glossy) 

Ca. 1950 Plasterboard? 

Wallpaper 

Plasterboard? 

Ca. 1960 Sheet flooring 

1977 

1990s Sheet flooring Wallpaper White 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
234

Room 105 (Bathroom) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

 

1828 Cream-white** Cream** 

 Orange** Orange** 

 Pale orange** Pale orange** 

 Orange** Orange** 

Orange Orange0red** Orange-red 

Orange Mustard yellow* Mustard yellow* 

Gray Buff pink* Buff pink* 

Orange Light gray 

Ca. 1920 T&G flooring 

Gray-white* 

(Later plaster) 

Cream 

(Later wall niche 

frame) 

White 

Ca. 1930 Gray-green Light Green 

Ca. 1945 Sheet flooring 

(mustard yellow) 

Cream-yellow 

(glossy) 

Cream-yellow 

(glossy) 

White 

Light Yellow* 

Ca. 1950 Plasterboard 

Cream 

Plasterboard 

[Painted?] 

(New woodwork 

trim) 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
235

Room 106 (Living Room) 

Date Floorboards Walls 

South Side 

of Room 

Walls 

North Side 

of Room 

Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 [No sample] [Wallpaper?] Cream** [No sample] Cream* 

 Gray-Green** Cream* 

 Cream* 

Ca. 1860 [Wallpaper?] [Wallpaper 

paste] 

 White 

 White* 

 Gray-Green 

 Sage 

Ca. 1920 [Wallpaper?] [Wallpaper?] White 

Lt. Yellow* 

Ca. 1930 Wallpaper 

(dark yellow—

missing) 

Wallpaper 

(dark yellow—

missing) 

 Lt. Yellow* 

Ca. 1945 Wallpaper 

(pink & white) 

Wallpaper 

(pink & white) 

 Cream 

Ca. 1960 Wallpaper 

(green 

abstract) 

Wallpaper 

(green 

abstract) 

 White 

Beige 

1977 Carpet Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

(Beige + 

border) 

Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

(Beige + 

border) 

Plasterboard 

White 

White 

 Cream 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint.
236

Room 201 (Upper Hall) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork Stair 

Balusters 

1828 Dirt and wax-like 

substance 

[Wallpaper?] Cream* Brown 

resinous 

(varnish?) 

 Cream* 

 White* 

 White** White 

 

Yellow** 

White* 

Lt. Yellow 

 Lt. yellow 

 White 

Ca. 1920 Oak flooring Cream Cream 

Ca. 1930 Wallpaper 

(brown leaves) 

 White 

Ca. 1945 Wallpaper 

(pink and 

white) 

 White White 

Ca. 1960 Wallpaper 

(gold and 

silver) 

 Cream Beige 

Cream 

1977 Carpet Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

Plasterboard 

White Cream Cream 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
237

Room 202 (Southwest Bedroom) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 Dirt and wax-like 

substance 

[Wallpaper?] [No samples] Cream* 

 Cream* 

Mustard yellow Cream* 

 Cream* 

 White* 

 White 

Ca. 1920 Oak flooring White* 

Cream-yellow* 

Ca. 1930 White 

Ca. 1945 White 

Ca. 1960 Ceiling tiles White 

1977 Carpet Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

(faux grass cloth) 

 White 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
238

Room 203 (Northwest Bathroom) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

[Baseboard, 

now Room 204]

1828 [No samples] [No samples] Cream* 

 Cream 

 Cream-yellow 

Varnish 

("Graining") 

 White 

Ca. 1920 White 

Light blue** 

 [East partition 

moved ca. 1920] 

 Light blue-green** 

Ca. 1930 White 

Ca. 1945 Yellow (glossy) 

Ca. 1950 Vinyl flooring 

(black marbled 

pattern exposed 

in closet) 

Plasterboard 

Lower walls: pink 

plastic tiles 

Upper walls: 

Wallpaper? 

Plasterboard 

1977 Brown carpet Wallpaper 

(foil type) 

Wallpaper 

(foil type) 

Pink 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
239

Room 204 (North Bathroom, North Side) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 [No sample] Cream* 

 White-yellow Cream* 

Varnish 

("Graining") 

 White 

 Cream 

 Yellow 

 White 

 Cream 

Ca. 1920 (New plaster 

partitions) 

[Missing wallpaper?] 

 White* 

Light Yellow* 

Ca. 1930 [Missing wallpaper?] White 

Ca. 1945 Wallpaper 

(pink and white) 

 White 

Ca. 1950 Vinyl flooring? Plasterboard (at tub) 

Lower walls: plastic 

tiles? 

Upper walls: paint? 

 White 

Ca. 1960 Wallpaper 

Lower walls: tiles? 

 Upper walls: 

wallpaper (gold & 

silver) 

 Cream 

Ca. 1977 Plywood 

Vinyl flooring 

(green & yellow 

pebbled pattern) 

Plasterboard 

Lower walls: ceramic 

tiles 

Upper walls: 

Wallpaper 

(multicolor squares) 

 Cream 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 

Note: Much of the woodwork in this room consists of pieces that were reused circa 1920 

from some unknown location—most likely the north wing or west wing that were both 

demolished at this time. Many of the baseboards and the hall door were identified by the 

paint analysis as having early paint layers that do not fit the paint history of this room.
240

Room 204 (North Bathroom, South Side—Closet) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 Cream* 

 Cream 

 Cream-yellow 

Varnish 

("Graining") 

Yellow 

Wax or varnish 

White White-cream** 

White* White White-cream** 

Ca. 1920 Yellow* White Yellow** White* 

Yellow* 

Ca. 1930 

Ca. 1945 Sheet flooring Yellow 

Ca. 1950 

Ca. 1960 

Ca. 1977 Sheet flooring Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

(multicolor 

squares) 

Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

(multicolor 

squares) 

White 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint.
241

Room 205 (Northeast Bedroom) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 [No sample] [Wallpaper?] Cream* 

 Cream* 

 Yellow 

Varnish 

("Graining") 

 White* 

 White-gray (x2?) 

 Cream-white 

Ca. 1920 Oak flooring White* 

Light yellow* 

Ca. 1930 White 

Ca. 1945 Plasterboard (at 

closet) 

 White 

Light yellow 

 Light green (Gray plaster with 

white skim) 

Cream 

White 

 [Lt. green, trace] 

 White 

Light yellow 

 White 

Ca. 1960 White 

Light Yellow 

Ceiling Tiles White 

1977 Carpet Plasterboard 

Wallpaper (floral) 

 White 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
242

Room 206 (Southeast Bedroom) 

Date Floorboards Walls Ceiling Woodwork 

1828 [Wallpaper?] White** Cream* 

 Pink** Cream* 

 White** Cream 

Varnish 

("Graining") 

 White** 

 Yellow** 

 White** 

 White** 

 White** White 

Ca. 1920 Oak flooring White** Cream-yellow* 

Ca. 1930 White** Cream-white* 

Ca. 1945 Plasterboard at 

North Wall for 

Closets 

[Wallpaper—seen 

in 1953 photo] 

White Cream 

Ca. 1960 Ceiling Tiles Cream 

1977 Carpet Plasterboard 

Wallpaper 

(yellow & 

thematic) 

 White 

 Yellow 

KEY: *Paint contains lead; **calcimine paint. 
243

Conclusions

The earliest painted finishes observed on both the exterior and interior woodwork of the 

Hunt House was a cream-color paint containing lead. This paint scheme was repeated 

several times and undoubtedly existed during the historic period of 1847 to 1849. A similar 

finding was also made at the circa-1835 M'Clintock House in Waterloo, New York. The 

cream-color paints were color matched to Munsell 2.5Y 9/2. 

Wallpaper appears to have finished the walls of the center hall and the front rooms in the first 

and second stories historically, based on the smooth texture of the walls and absence of 

painted finishes. The walls of the back rooms may have been painted with water-soluble 

calcimine paints, based on surviving remnants identified by the paint analysis. It is difficult 

to know if any of these paints date to the 1847-49 period of significance, however, since it was 

common practice to remove calcimine paints prior to repainting. The ceilings of all the 

rooms were most likely finished with calcimine, which was also common in the 19th century. 

Traces of calcimine were identified by the paint analysis in ceiling samples with original 

plaster substrates. 
244

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245

APPENDIX B

Mortar and Plaster 
246

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247

Original Mortar and Plaster

Mortar was used at the Hunt House to lay the stone foundation and brick walls in 1828. 

Plaster finished the walls and ceilings of the interior rooms in the first and second stories. 

The plaster was applied directly to the brickwork at the exterior walls of the rooms and to 

sawn lath at the wood-framed partition walls and ceilings. It was observed that the original 

lime mortar and plaster could be easily identified by its characteristic pink color with white 

lime inclusions (figs. B-1 and B-2). The plaster only has hair binder. Mortar and plaster both 

used fine beige-color sand, which was separated from selected mortar and plaster samples 

using diluted hydrochloric acid. Sand samples can be made available to the park for the 

purpose of preparing replication mortar/plaster mixes. 

Figure B-1. 

Hunt House: Detail of 

exterior brickwork with 

original lime mortar. 

Note the pink-beige 

color of the mortar and 

white lime inclusions. 

Remnants of red paint 

date to circa 1920. 

Photograph by Barbara 

Yocum, June 2007. 

Figure B-2. 

Detail of original plaster 

on the south side of the 

chimney breast in the 

southwest bedroom 

(Room 202). Note the 

pink-beige color of both 

the first scratch coat 

and the smooth finish 

coat. Photograph by 

Barbara Yocum, August 

2007. 
248

Later Mortar and Plaster

Repairs were made to the exterior brickwork of the Hunt House when the west and north 

wings were removed around 1920 (fig. B-3). This later mortar can be easily distinguished 

from the original mortar by its characteristic hardness and gray color. Inside, later 

plasterwork dating to circa 1920 is a white color and has visible gray pebbles. It was also 

found to contain wood-fiber binder upon dissolution in diluted hydrochloric acid. A circa1960 doorway patch in the parlor used a hard gray plaster (fig B-4). 

Figure B-3. 

Hunt House: Detail of 

exterior brickwork with 

gray repointing mortar 

(at arrow). Photograph 

by Barbara Yocum, 

April 2008. 

Figure B-4. 

Circa-1960 snapshot of 

the living room (Room 

106) showing gray 

plaster patch at the 

former hall doorway. 

Photograph courtesy of 

Joan Olmstead. 
249

Mortar and Plaster Samples

The following mortar and plaster samples were taken from the Hunt House for the 

architectural investigation in 2007 and 2008. The same numbering system was used for the 

mortar samples as for the paint samples, except that "M" for mortar was substituted for "P" 

for paint. Sand samples were obtained by grinding the samples with a mortar and pestle and 

swirling them in diluted hydrochloric acid. 

Sample Number Type Location Date 

WORI 07 M01 Mortar Brick mortar, sample obtained from interior west wall, 

Room 203 

1828 

WORI 07 M02 Plaster Room 101: Ceiling beneath main stair Ca. 1920 

WORI 07 M03 Plaster Room 106: West wall next to doorway patch 1828 

WORI 07 M04 Plaster Room 106: West wall at doorway patch Ca. 1960 

WORI 07 M05 Plaster Room 202: Plaster on south side of chimney breast 1828 

WORI 07 M06 Plaster Room 204 closet: South wall at former attic stair 1828 

WORI 07 M07 Plaster Room 204: West wall and closet partition Ca. 1920 

Restoration Mortar and Plaster

Sand samples of historic Hunt House mortar and plaster are available from the Historic 

Architecture Program for use in creating historic mortar mixes. 
250

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251

APPENDIX C 

Wallpaper 

Investigation 
252

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253

Methodology

Information on the wallpapers of the Hunt House was gleaned from three sources: the 

physical architectural investigation, interviews with Joan Greenwood Olmstead and her sister 

Doris Greenwood Depp, and family photographs generously loaned to the park by Joan 

Olmstead. 

Wallpaper Findings

As mentioned in Appendix A, it appears the walls of the center hall and the front rooms in the 

first and second stories of the Hunt House were papered during the years 1847-49, the 

historic period of significance. This is based on the smooth texture of the original plaster and 

the absence of painted finishes. Unfortunately, no remnants of historic wallpapers were 

found during the architectural investigation undertaken for this Historic Structure Report. 

The earliest (circa-1930) wallpaper was discovered on the east wall of the lower and upper 

halls (fig. C-1). This paper was concealed behind chases for heating ductwork installed by 

the Greenwood family shortly 

after their purchase of the house 

in 1944. The pattern is a subdued 

design of brown leaves on a beige 

ground. It was most likely hung 

by the previous owner, Roy 

Brewster, who owned the house 

from 1930 to 1944. There appears 

to be only one layer of this 

wallpaper adhered to the plaster 

wall. A "dark yellow wallpaper," 

remembered by Joan Olmstead 

and Doris Depp as being in the 

dining room and living room 

when they moved to the house in 

1944, was later removed by the 

Greenwoods. 

Figure C-1. Circa-1930 

wallpaper discovered behind a 

circa-1945 chase for heating 

ductwork at the east wall of the 

lower hall (at arrow). The 

gold-and-silver wallpaper on 

the left is dated circa 1960. 

Photograph by Barbara Yocum, 

April 2008.
254

The Greenwood family continued the tradition of wallpapering the walls during their 

ownership from 1944 to 1976. They initially followed the recommended practice of stripping 

the plaster walls of all existing papers before hanging new wallpaper. Most rooms were 

papered twice by the Greenwoods: first in the 1940s (circa 1945 and 1948) and again around 

1960. Photographs of selected patterns follow. 

Figure C-2. 

Two wallpapers hung in the 

dining room by the 

Greenwoods: the diamondpattern on the left in 1948, 

and the abstract pattern on 

the right around 1960. The 

earlier paper is documented 

by a penciled note on the 

chimney breast dated Oct. 1, 

1948, by O.C. Kidd of 

Waterloo, "Interior 

Decorator." The later paper 

is shown in a photograph of 

the room dated August 1968 

(fig. 26 in the main report).

Photograph by Barbara 

Yocum, August 2007. 

Figure C-3. 

Striped wallpaper with 

narrow border hung circa 

1945 in the second-story 

room that was later 

remodeled as a bathroom 

(Room 204). This 

wallpaper covered the 

new ductwork chases 

installed in the lower hall 

circa 1945 (fig. C-1). 

Photograph showing the 

southwest corner of 

Room 204 by Barbara 

Yocum, April 2008. 
255

Figure C-4. 

Remnants of this circa1945 pink-and-white 

striped wallpaper were 

found adhered to the 

plaster walls of the living 

room. New wallpaper 

was applied over the old 

around 1960--an abstract 

pattern similar to the one 

hung in the dining room 

(fig. C-2). Photograph 

dated 1953 showing the 

northwest corner of 

Room 106 is courtesy of 

Joan Olmstead. 

Figure C-5. 

Photograph dated 1953 

showing basketweavepatterned wallpaper at the 

east wall of the southeast 

bedroom (Room 206). No 

samples of these papers 

have yet been found, since 

the walls are still mostly 

covered by plasterboard 

installed in 1977. 

Photograph courtesy of 

Joan Olmstead. 
256

The walls of all the rooms, except the kitchen and the southeast bedroom, had been finished 

with wallpapers by 1976, when the house was sold to daughter Joan Olmstead and her 

husband Tom. The following year the new owners undertook an extensive remodeling, 

covering the plaster walls and ceilings throughout the house with plasterboard and hanging 

new vinyl wallpapers. Most of these wallpapers remain on the walls today. Photographs of 

the wallpapers can be seen in this report in the section entitled "Physical Descriptions."

Figure C-6. Wallpaper hung circa 1960 in the center hall, downstairs toilet room, 

and hall bathroom. This photograph shows the north end of the upper east wall of 

the lower hall, where the wallpaper was concealed above a drop ceiling installed in 

1977. Joan Olmstead's daughter, Robin, remembers that her grandparents hung 

this wallpaper "sometime in the 1960s." Photograph by Anne Derousie, September 

2007. 
257

APPENDIX D:

Interior Woodwork Casings 
258

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259

Original or Later Casings?

One of the intriguing questions at the Hunt House was whether or not the interior woodwork 

trim was original to the construction of the house in 1828. It had been thought likely by the 

authors of the 2006 "Conditions Assessment Report" for the Hunt House, John G. Waite 

Associates, Architects, that the trim and detail work of the house had been altered in the 

1840s. Physical evidence clearly indicates that the roof had been raised to accommodate a 

wide cornice in the Greek Revival style about that time. However, evidence for the complete 

replacement of the interior trim is less certain. Information was therefore sought to more 

clearly date this important feature of the house. To that end, the 19th century publications of 

Asher Benjamin were consulted and the corner blocks of two window casings removed to 

enable a better understanding of the woodwork and its installation. 

Findings

Asher Benjamin

Asher Benjamin was a carpenter-builder 

who authored seven books on the details 

of constructing buildings in the first half of 

the 19th century. These were published in 

1797, 1806, 1814, 1830, 1833, 1839, and 

1843. The first book that included 

illustrations of casings with corner blocks 

appeared in the 1830 publication The 

Practical House Carpenter. Two styles 

were shown: one of a plain block, the 

other of a block with a square interior 

motif. It was not until 1833 that Benjamin 

included a "block ... with a turned rosette 

in its centre" in his book the Practice of 

Architecture (fig. D-1). The rosette design 

is similar to the corner blocks found in the 

front rooms of the Hunt House. We can 

therefore conclude that the technology to 

make these rosette blocks, most likely on a 

lathe, was available by 1833. Figure D-1. Plate 42 from Asher Benjamin's 

1833 book Practice of Architecture. 
260

Nails

Two corner blocks were temporarily 

removed from the window casings of the 

front bedrooms by Guy ("Sparky") Hock, 

Jr., Maintenance Mechanic with Women's 

Rights NHP, in November 2008. The 

window casings and their corner blocks 

are of two different styles, with a covetto 

molding used at the perimeter of the 

casings in the southwest bedroom (Room 

202 and an ovolo molding in the southeast 

bedroom (Room 206). See figures D-2 and 

D-3. 

Figure D-2. Room 202: Detail of 

south window casing in the southwest 

bedroom. Photograph by Barbara 

Yocum, June 2007. 

Figure D-3. Room 206: 

Detail of south window 

casing in the southeast 

bedroom. Photograph by 

Barbara Yocum, June 2007. 
261

The corner blocks were found to be attached with machine-cut nails of a type typically 

manufactured from about 1815 through the 1830s. These nails have round points, as 

opposed to nails manufactured after 1840 that have flat, or sheared, points (fig. D- 4). 

Furthermore, no evidence was seen of previous nailings in the wood framework to which the 

casings and their corner blocks are attached. These wooden frames, also called plaster 

grounds, are original and unaltered, judging by the original lime plaster that abuts them (fig 

D-5). 

Conclusions

The documentary evidence as found in Asher Benjamin's publications indicates the 

technology for making turned-rosette corner blocks, similar to those at the Hunt House, was 

available by 1833. The physical evidence further indicates that the wooden frame and corner 

blocks of the window casings are unaltered features of the original house, which was 

constructed in 1828 according to an invoice for labor. Since the other woodwork trim in the 

house is similar in style to these casings, it appears that the trim and detail work of the 

interior was not altered in the 1840s, but rather dates to the construction of the house in 1828.

Figure D-5. Room 206: 

Detail showing the wooden 

frame, or plaster ground, to 

which the corner block was 

nailed in the southeast 

bedroom. Note the 

proximity of the original 

lime plaster to the right. 

Photograph by Anne 

Derousie, November 2008. 

Figure D-4. Room 206: Nail 

removed from south window 

corner block in the southeast 

bedroom. Note the round 

point, a feature of nails 

manufactured from circa 1815 

through the 1830s. Photograph 

by Anne Derousie, November 

2008. 
262
263

BIBLIOGRAPHY 
264

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265

Books

 

Becker, John. A History of the Village of Waterloo, New York and Thesaurus of Related Facts. 

Waterloo: Waterloo Library and Historical Society, 1949, p. 90. (www.ancestry.com.) 

Benjamin, Asher. Practice of Architecture. Boston: 1833; reprinted by Da Capo Press of New 

York, 1972. 

______. The Practical House Carpenter. Boston: 1830; reprinted by Da Capo Press of New 

York, 1972. 

Blatch, Harriot Stanton, and Theodore Stanton (eds.). Elizabeth Cady Stanton as Revealed in 

Her Letters, Diary and Reminiscences. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1922. 

"Dr. Delafield's Survey of Seneca County." Proceedings of the Seneca County Agricultural 

Society. New York: 1850. (www.ancestry.com.) 

Manning, F. L. "Grip's Historical Souvenir of Waterloo, N.Y (Historical Souvenir Series No. 

16). New York: 1903. (www.ancestry.com.) 

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. Eighty Years and More (1815-1897): Reminiscences of Elizabeth 

Cady Stanton. New York: European Publishing Company, 1898. 

(http://books.google.com.) 

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady; Anthony, Susan B.; and Gage, Matilda Joslyn Gage (eds.). History of 

Woman Suffrage, Vol. 1, 1848-1861. Salem: Ayer Co. Publishers, Inc., 1985 Reprint. 

Wellman, Judith. The Road to Seneca Falls. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2004. 

Willers, Diedrich, and Gridley, Rev. S.H. The Centennial Celebration of General Sullivan's 

Campaign "Against the Iroquois in 1778, Held at Waterloo, September 3rd, 1879, to 

which is Prefixed a Sketch of the Waterloo Library and Historical Society. Waterloo: 

the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, 1880. (www.ancestry.com) 

Willers, Diedrich. Centennial Historical Sketch of the Town of Fayette, Seneca County, New 

York. Geneva,: Press of W.F. Humphrey, 1900. (www.ancestry.com.) 

Reports & c.

Becker, John. "Some of the Former Citizens of Waterloo Who Have Helped Make the Village 

Greater and Better." Waterloo: Waterloo Historical Society, draft handwritten 

manuscript, 1948, for the typewritten manuscript "Some Waterloo Citizens of 

Yesterday," 1950. 
266

Cramer, Alma H. "Notes on the Van Tuyl Family." Washington, D.C., 1959. (Typewritten; 

posted on www.ancestry.com.) 

Mooney, Robert and David L. Uschold. "Hunt House Cultural Landscapes Inventory, 

Women's Rights National Historical Park, National Park Service,"2003. 

"In Memoriam—Richard Pell Hunt." Waterloo Observer, Jun. 21, 1876. 

Kuttner, Hans, and Anne Ackerson, Consultants. "Women's Rights Historic Sites," National 

Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. NR #80000358, Aug. 29, 

1980. 

Pearson, Barbara E. (now Yocum). "Architectural Survey: Women's Rights National 

Historical Park, Seneca Falls, New York." Boston: North Atlantic Historic 

Preservation Center, National Park Service, Mar. 1984. 

Randl, Chad Garrett. "Richard P. Hunt, Leader in Waterloo Real Estate and Business." 

Prepared for Women's Rights NHP, National Park Service, Dec. 15, 1999. 

Rosentel, Corey R., Lonetree Archeology. "Hunt House Electrical Pole Archeological 

Investigation." Women's Rights NHP, 2003. 

______. "Hunt House Property UST [Underground Storage Tanks] Removal Archaeological 

Monitoring, End of Field Letter, Waterloo, N.Y." Women's Rights NHP, April 2002. 

Waite, John G. Associates, Architects (PLLC); and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (LLP). 

"Hunt House: Conditions Assessment Report." National Park Service Contract No. 

1443CX2000040700, Task Order T2000040712, Dec. 2006. 

Warren, Tanya L. "The Family of Richard Pell Hunt of Waterloo, NY." Waterloo: Waterloo 

Historical Society, nd. (Unpublished; genealogical information.) 

Weber, Sandra A. "Special History Study, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seneca 

Falls, New York." U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Sept. 1985. 

Walter Gable (ed.). "Stories from Discovering the Underground Railroad, Abolitionism, and 

African American Life in Seneca County, 1820-1880," by Judith Wellman and Tanya 

Warren. A Cultural Resources Survey sponsored by the Seneca County Historian's 

Office, 2007. 

Wellman, Judith. "Jane Hunt." Seneca Falls, NY: Women's Rights National Historical Park, 

n.d. (www.nps.gov/work/historyculture/richard-p-hunt.htm) 

Wellman, Judith. "Richard P. Hunt." Seneca Falls, NY: Women's Rights National Historical 

Park, n.d. (updated Nov. 9, 2006). (www.nps.gov/work/historyculture/richard-phunt.htm) 
267

Newspaper Articles

(Articles are listed in roughly chronological order.) 

Seneca Farmer 

 August 16, 1826 to July 23, 1829 (Waterloo Historical Society) 

Morgan, Charles D. "Paper read before the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, by 

Charles D. Morgan, on February 7th, 1878." Unidentified newspaper clipping from 

"Scrapbook #2, 1875 – 19__," of the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, pp. 15-

17. The original paper was entitled, "Early Business Men of Waterloo." 

"Division Finally Made of the Hunt Estate." Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Apr. 28, 

1890. (Waterloo Historical Society) 

Syracuse Herald-Journal (posted on www.ancestry.com) 

 "[Irving] Greenwood Named Head of Chamber." Nov. 23, 1946, p. 3. 

 "J.B. Souhan is Returned as Mayor; Waterloo Elects Irving Greenwood." Mar. 16, 

 1949, p. 3. 

 "Waterloo to Install Curb Meters." [Project of Mayor Irving Greenwood.] Jan. 7, 

 1950, p. 2. 

 "F.A. Mitchell Heads Waterloo Chamber." Nov. 17, 1950, p. 3. 

 "600 at Seneca Falls Hear Dr. Fishbein Tell Need of Community Hospital." Apr. 18, 

 1955, p. 2. 

 "Industrialist Elected President of Seneca County United Fund." Jan. 30, 1959, p. 3. 

Syracuse Herald-American (posted on www.ancestry.com) 

 "Contests Due to Spur Vote in Waterloo." Mar. 15, 1953, p. 34. 

 "Waterloo Picks Gerlach for Mayor." [Irving Greenwood defeated in run as trustee.] 

 Mar. 18, 1953, p. 3. 

 "Firm [Home Style Food Products Co.] Adopts Bonus Plan." July 5, 1953, p. 32. 

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle 

"Market for Hunt House Heats Up," Dec. __, 1999. 

 "Family Loses Chance on Hunt House," Dec. __, 1999. 
268

 "History Up for Auction," Dec. 17, 1999. 

 "Hunt House Sold: Buyer Giving it to Park Service, Dec. 18, 1999. 

"In the Hunt," Preservation News, Mar./Apr. 2000. 

Gable, Walter. "History of the Waterloo Library and Historical Society." n.d. 

(www.co.seneca.ny.us/dpt-genserv-historian-seneca.php) 

Directories

1862-63. Brigham's Geneva, Seneca Falls and Waterloo Directory and Business Advertiser 

for 1862 and 1863; including The Towns of Phelps, Flint Creek, Seneca Castle and 

Stanley Corners, with Histories of the Towns from their Earliest Settlement. Geneva: 

A. DeLancey Brigham, 1862. (Seneca Falls Historical Society.) 

1867-68. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Seneca County, N.Y., for 1867-8. Syracuse: 

Hamilton Child, 1867. (www.ancestry.com.) 

1874-75. Seneca Falls and Waterloo Village Directory, 1874-5. Syracuse: William W. Evans 

and Wesley W. Crofoot, 1874. (Seneca Falls Historical Society.) 

1881-82. Seneca County 1881-2 Directory Containing the General Directories of Seneca Falls 

and Waterloo, the Business Directories of all other Villages in Seneca County, the 

Farmers' Directory, and other Miscellaneous Information. Rochester: Land Bros. and 

Erastus Darrow, 1881. (Seneca Falls Historical Society.) 

1894-95. Child, Hamilton (ed.). Reference Business Directory of Seneca County, N.Y., 1894-

'95, with Map. Syracuse: E.M. Child, 1894. (Waterloo Historical Society.) 

1902-03. Seneca Falls and Waterloo Directory, 1902-3, Containing also a Classified Business 

Directory and a Record of the State, County, Town and Village Government. 

Corning: Charles J. Reiser, 1902. (Waterloo Historical Society.) 

1906-07. Vick's Standard Directory and Reference Book of Seneca Falls and Waterloo. 

Rochester: Vick Publishing Co., 1906. (Waterloo Historical Society.) 

The Hunt Family Papers

1816- 1858. Hunt family correspondence, invoices, and receipts are in a collection called 

"The Hunt Family Papers" at Women's Rights National Historical Park. These papers had 

been stored in the attic of Helen Hunt Durling of Waterloo, NY, great-granddaughter of 

Richard P. Hunt. They were obtained by Mr. William Sigrist as a gift from Mrs. Durling 

before her death in 1994. The collection spans the years 1816 to 1858, although the bulk of 
269

materials dates from 1824 to 1854. It was acquired by the National Park Service from Mr. 

Sigrist in 2008. 

The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection

Another collection of papers relating to the Hunt family is in the Waterloo Historical Society. 

"The Richard Pell Hunt Family Collection" includes genealogical information, account 

books for Richard Hunt's general store (an incomplete set of four "Day Books," covering the 

years 1823 to 1828), deeds, maps, probate records, legal rulings and obituaries. Note that 

some account books of Richard P. Hunt and family photographs are still in the possession of 

Hunt family descendants. 

Probate Records

1856, Nov. 17. "Probate of the last Will and Testament of Richard P. Hunt, Deceased, 

Recorded the 17th day of November, A.D. 1856." (Probate File #592, Surrogate 

Court Office, Seneca County Courthouse, Waterloo, NY; and The Richard P. 

Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 

1857, Jan. 1. "Inventory of the Real & Personal Estate of Richard P. Hunt Deceased 

owned by him at the time of his death Nov. 7, 1856, made by Sterling G. Hadley 

and Walter Quinby Executors and Trustees of the last will & testament of said 

deceased – made January 1, 1857." 

(Probate File #592, Surrogate Court Office, Seneca County Courthouse, Waterloo, 

NY; and The Richard P. Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 

1859, Sept. 12. "Inventory of the Real & Personal property of Richard P. Hunt, decd, 

made by Sterling G. Hadley & Walter Quinby Trustees of said Estate 

September 12th 1859." (Probate File #592, Surrogate Court Office, Seneca 

County Courthouse, Waterloo, NY; and The Richard P. Hunt Family 

Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 

 

1882, Mar. 14. "Opinion in the matter of the estate of Richard P. Hunt, late of 

Waterloo, deceased," by H.L. Comstock." (The Richard P. Hunt Family 

Collection, Waterloo Historical Society.) 

1889, Nov. 28. "Inventory and Appraisement of the Personal Estate of Jane C. Hunt." 

(Probate File #2214, Surrogate Court Office, Seneca County Courthouse, 

Waterloo, NY; and The Richard P. Hunt Family Collection, Waterloo 

Historical Society.)
270

Deeds

All deeds are at the Seneca County Registry of Deeds in the Seneca County Building in 

Waterloo, New York. Copies of selected deeds are also in The Richard Pell Hunt Family 

Collection, Waterloo Historical Society. 

401 East Main Street

1827 Deed Book T, p. 86 

1850 Deed Book W2, p. 188 

1856 Deed Book 58, pp. 118 and 337 

1859 Deed Book 62, p. 346 (estate partition) 

1890 Deed Book 105, p. 330 

1908 Deed Book 127, p. 495 

1919 Deed Book 144, p. 126 

1919 Deed Book 143, pp. 354 and 355 

1928 Deed Book 157, p. 77 

1930 Deed Book 160, pp. 566, 567, and 587 

1944 Deed Book 187, p. 590 

1976 Deed Book 373, p. 230 

2000 Deed Book 600, p. 139 

2001 Deed Book 633, p. 103 

Commercial Block

1823 Deed Book P, page 484 
271

Maps

Ca. 1827. "Map of part of lot 98 Junius for Richard B. Hunt." (Hunt Family Papers, 

Waterloo Historical Society) 

1833 "Map of the Village of Waterloo, Seneca county and the Land adjacent thereto 

belonging to the Estate of Elisha Williams (Decd), Surveyed Octr 1833 by John Ewin, 

Jr., City Surveyor and Civil Engineer, New York." 

1836 "Map of the North part of the Village of Waterloo (and Lands Adjoining), Seneca 

County, NY; Made for John Sinclair and Co. by John Burton, Surveyor, Sept. 1836." 

Copied by Frank Caplan, Jr., Jan. 1948; Lith. By Taker, 8 Wall St., N.Y. 

1850 "Waterloo, Organized as a Town March 26, 1829." 

1852 "Plan of Waterloo, 1852." 

1855 "Map of the Town of Waterloo, Seneca County, N.Y.: Illustrated Plat-Book from the 

Cadastral, from actual surveys." Philadelphia: J.H. French, 1855. Reprinted by W.E. 

Morrison and Co., Ovid, N.Y., n.d. 

1855 "Map of the Village of Waterloo, Seneca County, N.Y.: Illustrated Plat-Book from the 

Cadastral, from actual surveys." Philadelphia: J.H. French, 1855. Reprinted by W.E. 

Morrison and Co., Ovid, N.Y., n.d. 

1873 "Bird's Eye View of Waterloo, Seneca County, New York, 1873," drawn by Aug. Koch, 

published by J.J. Stoner. 

1886 "Waterloo, New York." New York: Sanborn Map and Publishing Co., July 1886. 

1893 "Waterloo, New York." New York: Sanborn-Perris Map Co., Ltd., Dec. 1893. 

1904 "Waterloo, New York." New York: Sanborn Map Co., Apr. 1904. 

1911 "Waterloo, New York." New York: Sanborn Map Co., Mar. 1911. 

1918 "Insurance Maps of Waterloo, New York." New York: Sanborn Map Co., Oct. 1918. 

1948 "Insurance Maps of Waterloo, New York." New York: Sanborn Map Co., Oct. 1918, 

corrected to 1948. 

1958 "Insurance Maps of Waterloo, New York." New York: Sanborn Map Co., Oct. 1918, 

corrected to 1958. 

1999 "Survey Map of the Premises of Thomas H. and Joan K. Olmstead, Village and Town 

of Waterloo, County of Seneca, State of New York, Map No. W9903-12R, Map Drawn 

Dec. 3, 1999, Based on Instrument Survey of Nov. 12, 1999." 
272

Tax Assessment Records

All tax books for the Town of Waterloo are in the storage area of the Treasurer's Office, 

Seneca County Building, Waterloo, New York. 

1891, 1900-1905, and 1915 to present. 

"Property Inventory Summary for Current Year File 1008, Parcel ID: 12-1-13.11 [401 E. Main 

St.]." NYS-Real Property System, County of Seneca, Town of Waterloo, Village of 

Waterloo. (Copy obtained from the Tax Assessor's Office, Town of Waterloo.) 

United States Census Records

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. (Records posted on www.ancestry.com.) 

Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA), 1830. M19, 201 rolls. 

Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1840. M704, 580 rolls. 

 

Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1850. M432, 1,009 

rolls. 

Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1860. M653, 1,438 rolls. 

Ninth Census of the United States, 1870. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1870. M593, 1,761 rolls. 

Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1880. T9, 1,454 rolls. 

Eleventh Census of the United States, 1890. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1890. M407, 3 rolls. 

(The census for Waterloo, New York, was destroyed by fire in January 1921.) 

Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. 

Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1910. T624, 1,178 

rolls. 

Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1920. T625, 2,076 

rolls. 

Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1930. T626, 2,667 

rolls.