History of 666 Colebrook Road

Some of the older houses in town have the dates they were supposedly constructed prominently displayed, usually over the front door. The vast majority have dates that have proven to be accurate, though it seems to be human nature to embellish one’s property, either to enhance its value or as a topic of conversation.In going over Elaine DeLarm’s vast collection of Colebrook information, there were scraps of data concerning the cottage that is two houses removed from the intersection of Sandy Brook Road and Colebrook Road (Route 183), right across the road from 667 Colebrook Road, which we know to have been built in 1772. How old is its across-the-road neighbor?Sixty or so years ago Harold and Jean Phillips owned it, and as far back as I can remember, always had the date “1799” over the front door. Eventually they passed on and the place was left to Jean’s son, Cecil Rodenbaugh. This was followed over the next few years by several owners, each of whom seemed to spend most of their time and effort into remodeling, but as soon as the changes were made, they sold, and the cycle repeated itself. Having watched the whole scenario unfold, I can report that the only remaining component of the original structure is the frame, which, of course, allows us to see the building in its original form, and that in itself is something that seldom remains a constant for more than 200 years for any wooden structure.The attempt to coax the facts of its origin yielded the following: Lot 25, in the third tier, was assigned to the heirs of John Bartlett in 1760, three years prior to the construction of Highway 3, now know as Route 183. Erastus Wolcott acquired the land shortly after when the estate was settled; he then sold it to the brothers Hezekiah and William Simons on June 8, 1768, who kept it (without a dwelling house) until passing it on to James Simons on May 17, 1780. James sold the property to Samuel Chamberlin of Sandisfield on Aug. 31, 1784, with this description: “there being a dwelling house standing on the same.” We will probably never be able to exactly pinpoint the date of construction, but I think that after at least 228 years, what difference does three or four years make? Henry Terrell, who did a great deal of Colebrook research, including a comprehensive listing of Colebrook cemeteries, remembered that the cottage was quite often rented and had many different tenants. He recalled that the cottage was run down in the 1870s. He also remembered the school boys from the nearby Rock School playing baseball in the road in front. That would make sense, as there is no level ground close to the Rock School, and I can tell you from experience, having played baseball in the road in front of the Center School, that it was difficult enough keeping the ball in the road and out of the adjacent property. If an attempt to play ball had been undertaken in front of the Rock School, most of recess would have been used up chasing a ball either north, down the road to Phelps’ flats or down the road to the east to the Sage farm. Either way, it is doubtful that they would have gotten past the second inning!Terrell also remembered a long brown shed alongside the road past the cottage to the south. I don’t recall this, as apparently it was removed to accommodate the garage that now sits to the north of John Wheeler’s store, now the property of Jonathan and Kimberly Crocker.667 Colebrook Road, the farm across the road from the cottage, is one of the earliest surviving of its kind in Colebrook; the barn certainly is, as it dates to 1772, with the solid wall construction employed prior to spacing the studs and adding 45-degree strengtheners. All this shows that the vicinity of the crossroads and the Rock School comprised the nucleus of a neighborhood beginning in the era of Colonial times. The definition of the concept of a neighborhood in rural areas has evolved to the point where today it barely exists. Primarily this is because of our modern transportation network and our ability to cover large distances in perhaps a matter of minutes in vehicles capable of going hundreds of miles on one tank of gas.One of the young inhabitants of the farm at 667 Colebrook Road wrote in the 1870s that she sometimes played with her friends “down in the valley.” Where in the world might that have been? We don’t think of the presence of a valley existing for miles around, but upon further reading, it turns out that the valley she referred to was down at the foot of the hill which today is known as Sandy Brook Road, stretching down the hill to Jon & Sheri Gray’s farm, less than a half mile away. Her world was on top of what she considered a ridge, and it consisted of a crossroad, a school, a store and blacksmith shop and two or three milk producing farms; everything else was populated by “outsiders”; friends certainly, perhaps schoolmates even, but never-the-less not a member of his or her neighborhood. The cottage today is owned by a resident of New Canaan, Conn., and has been totally renovated, inside and out. The only original parts are the frame and some of the flooring (which is rock maple), but as I said before, it no doubt looks much the same as it did over 22 decades ago.Bob Grigg is the town historian in Colebrook.