Deacon Robert Palmer House (1884)

One of Noank‘s most memorable buildings is the grand Victorian residence at 81 Pearl Street. It was erected in 1884 by Robert Palmer, a deacon in the Noank Baptist Church. Robert Palmer (1825-1913) and his brother John developed the Palmer Shipyard (now known as the Noank Shipyard) begun by their father, John Palmer, Sr. Robert Palmer is featured in “The Village Feudists,” one of the stories in Theodore Dreiser’s Twelve Men (1919). After John’s death in 1879, Robert brought his son, Robert, Jr., into the partnership. Robert Palmer, Jr. would run the shipyard until his death in 1914. Deacon Palmer’s house displays a variety of Victorian-era stick-style elements and “gingerbread” trim. The porch’s wood decoration includes a rail and frieze made of panels with geometric cut-outs and the porch screen consists of fifteen panels, each with an intricate design depicting scenes from Aesop’s Fables. The second-floor balcony is also an exuberant example of the woodworker’s art. The house remained in the Palmer family for many years: Deacon Palmer’s granddaughter, Grace Knapp, lived in the house from 1923 until shortly before her death in 1959. She sold it to E. William Gourde and his wife, who had long admired the house. They restored and painted the home for the first time in fifty-five years. The house was sold again in 1970 and in 1992.