Griffin Barn

1968 marked the beginning of our relationship with the Griffin Barn. It was built sometime after 1790 by Revolutionary War veteran and New London pioneer, Jesse Dow. He owned property at the corner of Old Main Street and South Pleasant Street, where he built a home, barn, and blacksmith shop where he worked. Sometime in the 1900s, the house and barn were acquired by Dr, Nathan Griffin, who practiced medicine in New London from 1906 to 1926. (The blacksmith shop had been dismantled by then.) Dr. Griffin had two daughters who, in 1968, offered the historic Griffin Barn to the budding "Old New London" project of the New London Historical Society. Dorothy Griffin Boyne and Elizabeth Griffin offered the barn with the condition that it be moved, reconstructed, and preserved on NLHS grounds. As a memorial to Herbert D. Swift, monies were raised and the barn carefully moved to a foundation adjacent to the Scytheville House.

Once relocated, the barn was adorned with a weathervane depicting Gabriel blowing his horn, donated by Charles Bucklin. Sadly, that weathervane was stolen in 1979. It was replaced through the generosity of Susan Irwin with a running horse, shortly thereafter. That also was stolen. Fortunately, the craftsman who made the original made a duplicate, and the running horse continues to be our logo (with special conditions to prevent theft in the future!)

The ell connecting the Scytheville House to the Barn was constructed by Dan Allen, using materials donated by Randy Merriman of North Sutton, in 1970. These historic materials framed the connection to the barn (as well as hiding a modern bathroom and kitchen area in the ell).