My touring companion, Nancy Swartz, and I left Town Hall and drove up the hill to the Asa Douglas House on County Route 5. Asa Douglas, along with William Warner, was an early settler in Canaan. The house predates the American Revolution. The architectural style is Georgian. Local history has it that dangerous Tory neighbors were incarcerated in the Douglas House garret. We didn’t see the garret, but we did see Barbara Fischer volunteering her docent skills in the extraordinary wide center hall.  Outside we admired the lovely gardens and gorgeous pond.

Next on the itinerary was Tyson’s Shanty. The “shanty” dates from the 1780s or 90s. The original two-room building served as a church and schoolhouse down the hill at the Canaan Four Corners. The building was moved up the hill to the Johnson Farm, where it served as the farm manager’s house. Mrs. William Berry purchased the building in 1901. In 1921, Mrs. James Wood Tyson III inherited the “shanty,” and it has served as a summer home for the Tyson family ever since. Outside and up on a hilly slope is a charming red cottage with extensive Canaan views, which is used for summer visitors.

The Hiram Solomon Johnson House dates from 1825 and was originally the center of the 200-acre Staples Farm. Paul Leyden and Paul Murphy, who run the Ghent Playhouse, are the current owners. How fitting that the song” Old Queechy” was written in their home.  The house is beautifully decorated and furnished. The guest room on the top of the stairs on the second floor has signs of a hidden closet which suggests the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The pool house and creek side gardens are truly elegant.

William Warner settled in Canaan Center and opened Warner’s Tavern. It was in that tavern on July 24, 1776, that Canaanites met to select delegates to the Provincial Congress. The group voted unanimously that its delegates inform the Provincial Congress that the King’s District, the original name for Canaan, “chooses to have the United American Colonies independent of Great Britain.”

William Warner was the father of sixteen children. He and seven of his sons served in the Revolutionary War. Three of his sons’ homes were open for the tour.

The Jason Warner House, originally built in 1792 and given an Adams style façade in the 1830s, was the summer home of Susan and Anna B. Warner. The publication of Susan Warner’s book Queechy in 1852 inspired the name change from Whiting’s Pond to Queechy Lake. It’s a charming old house.

The Daniel Warner House began as a small farm house in 1770. It was expanded in 1788, and the final Georgian style main house was added in 1814. Canaan 250 Committee member Kathleen Irish guided us through the house. The house boasts a huge horse barn and a sumptuous pool area.

The John Warner House was built one door away from his father’s tavern in the late 1700s. The tavern and John Warner’s house flanked the former Presbyterian Church, now the Canaan Historical Society. This Warner house appears typical of a Georgian four room per floor plan. 

Turning Leaf, a beautiful Adams style home, dates from the 1790s. The house has a commanding Palladian front window as well as 12 over 12 windows with original glass panes. Canaan New York 250 volunteers Connie and Joe Mondel and Mitzi Lobdell greeted us at the door.

The Bradley House on New Concord Road was next on our tour. The Greek Revival home was build around 1810. Inside in the new kitchen addition is a charming family portrait done by New Concord artist, Sue Anderson, of David and Anne Pearce’s family and home. 

The Squire Hiram Ford House, a Greek Revival house dating from around 1845, is the most imposing house in the hamlet of Red Rock. The Squire, who originally had his law office in the house, was a descendent of Jonathan Ford, believed to be the first settler of Red Rock. The delightful day and Historic House Tour came to an end at 5:00 p.m.

This summer, Canaan with celebrate its 250th Anniversary with a big Community Day on August 1, from noon until 6:00 p.m. There will be an historical exhibit at the Town Hall, craft demonstrations, an 18th-century wigwam, activities for all ages, music, dancing, and hometown cooking. Joyce Goldstein of the Joyce Goldstein Gallery in Chatham is organizing an art exhibit at the Stoddard Field as part of the Community Day. The residents of Canaan Center, Canaan Four Corners, Flat Brook, Queechy Lake, Red Rock, and East Chatham invite you to join in the Canaan 250 Celebration!