The front section of the house at 7 East Street, facing the Green in Litchfield, was added in 1770 (or 1782) to an older section that possibly dates to the mid-eighteenth century. The land was once part of a homelot that was set aside for Rev. Timothy Collins, minister of the First Congregational Church. The older section of the house is thought to have been Rev. Collins’s house, while the front section was added by his son John to serve as a tavern (although it may not have been used as one). In 1913, with the building’s owners were threatening to demolish the house, local residents formed the Phelps House Corporation to purchase the building in order to protect the historical character of the north side of the Green. Today the house is privately owned.