Alson Barber House (1839)

The house at 150 Barbertown Road in Canton was built in 1839 by Alson Barber (1792-1880) to replace an earlier house built for him at the time of his marriage in 1814 to Hannah Humphrey by his father, Reuben Barber. As described by lawyer Sylvester Barbour in his Reminiscences (1908):

The family of Alson Barber is the most remarkable I have known, and seems to me worthy of special mention. He was born May 6, 1792, and died April 5, 1880. He was brother to Sadosa (their father, Reuben, being the first person buried in the Center cemetery), and first cousin to my father, Henry Barbour. His wife, Hannah Humphrey (born December 4, 1796, died April 19, 1877), was a sister to the Rev. Heman Humphrey, D.D., [. . .] and sister to my mother, thus producing double relationship between the children of the two families. John Brown, the martyr, was first cousin to these sisters and brother. Alson and Hannah were married November 16, 1814, and the following named twelve children were born to them: Luther Humphrey, Maria, Nelson, Harriet, Sarah, Gaylord, John, Jennette, Lemuel, Mary, Hannah and Martha. All of these children lived to adult years, all were married, and excepting the first named, had children of their own. [. . .] All because members of the church in their youth and lived exemplarily. The parents lived together most happily more than 62 years, and celebrated their golden wedding and the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage. At the former celebration eleven of their twelve children were present, and at the latter nine were present. Thirty-five grandchildren were living at the time of the former celebration, and all the children were living at the sixty-second anniversary of the parents’ marriage.


Alson’s son, Gaylord, later ran the farm and erected barns on the property.

Dan Case Tavern (1786)

A rare example in Connecticut of an eighteenth century stone house is located at 30 Lawton Road in Canton. The gambrel-roofed house, initially used as a tavern, was erected in 1786 by Dan Case (1761-1815). He was the son of Lt. Dudley Case, who the first proprietor of what would become known as the Hosford Tavern. Dan Case later moved to Ohio. The house has an arched third-floor hall. From 1797 to 1799, Masonic meetings were held there by Village Lodge No. 29.

David Adams, Jr. House (1770)

The house at 4 West Simsbury Road in Canon was built c. 1760 or 1770 (the latter date is indicated by a sign on the house) by David Adams, Jr. (1740-1834). For many years, the house, located along a stagecoach line, was used as a tavern operated by Gen. Ezra Adams (1751-1836), who built a house nearby. He was also a leather-worker, making boots, saddles and harnesses. Ezra and George Adams ran a store in a small building connected to the main house. This building also served as a post office after George’s brother, Oliver Adams, was appointed postmaster in 1842. The building was removed in 1906 and the mail was moved to the main house, which had two front doors at the time. The last postmaster was Mary Vining Adams (wife of Henry H. Adams), who ran the post office from 1923 to 1937. For many years, the role of postmaster was shared back and forth with members of the Weed family (in 1826, Dr. Benjamin Weed became the first first postmaster in North Canton).

The property was later owned by Louis Diehms, who used the house as an antiques shop. In 1953, Mary and Whitney Jennison purchased the house, which they restored. They discovered evidence that the house once had a gambrel roof. On November 8, 1962, the restored house was one of five old houses in Canton opened to the public as part of a house tour to benefit a landscaping project at the Cherry Brook Elementary School. An article announcing the tour and focusing on the Jennison House appeared in the Hartford Courant on Sunday, October 28, 1962.

Dr. Benjamin Weed House (1820)

The precise construction date for the house at 9 West Simsbury Road in Canton is uncertain, but town Assessor’s records give it a date of 1820. The house once retained its original stone sink, with a spout to drain the water outside. There was also once a small building on the northwest side of the house that was used as an office by the property’s owner, Dr. Benjamin Weed, Jr. (1789-1846). A surgeon in the War of 1812, Dr. Weed practiced medicine and was also the first postmaster to be appointed (in 1826) for what was then called New Canton. He also served as Justice of the Peace. He moved to Bloomington, now Muscatine, Iowa in 1839 with other members of his family.