The house in Guilford built in 1639 by Henry Whitfield is the oldest house in Connecticut and the oldest stone house in New England. It was originally one of four stone houses built by the newly arrived English colonists to be part of the settlement’s defenses and to serve as homes for the town’s leaders. Whitfield, the community’s first minister, returned to England in 1651, following the execution of Charles I and the assumption of power by the Parliamentarians. The house has been operated as a state-owned museum since 1899, undergoing an initial restoration in 1903, and further work in the 1930s. Update: Here’s an interesting blog post about the Whitfield House.