Massachusetts Timber Frame House May Be Oldest in North America

Most of the first European settlers to set up shop in the New World did so in what is now Massachusetts. As a result, there is a tremendous amount of history and many "firsts" associated with the Bay State. There are also many things here that are older than anywhere else on the continent.

An example is the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts.

The website for the historic site says the Fairbanks House "is the oldest known timber frame house still standing in North America."

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The site says, "Built circa 1637 for Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks and their six children, it was home to eight generations of the Fairbanks family over the course of 268 years."

The Fairbanks House, now a historic house museum, is on the National Register of Historic Places and was declared a National Landmark in 1961. It is operated by the Fairbanks Family in America, a member-based nonprofit organization.

Jonathan Fairbanks and his wife Grace were Puritan settlers. The original portion of their farmhouse was expanded many times over several centuries.

According to the Genealogy of the Fairbanks Family in America by Lorenzo Sayles Fairbanks, Jonathan Fairbanks came from Heptonstall in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England to Boston, Massachusetts in 1633, he acquired land and settled in Dedham.

The Fairbanks House is believed to be the oldest dwelling house in New England, and the oldest house continuously owned by the builder and his lineal descendants.

According to the Hub History article "Folk Magic and Mysteries at the Fairbanks House," there is evidence that folks in the house used hex magic to ward off witches and other evil spirits.

The Fairbanks House Museum is less than an hour from New Bedford off Route 24 North.

Visit the museum's website for information about tours and other things.