Report on the Garrity House, circa 1980

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(2) the visual border of the Green Early photographs of The Battle Monument on the Green indicate that this was the case at the turn of the century as well (see Figure 1) Beyond the Monument to the right, one' s eyes come to rest on the charming house in many photos If it were not in place, the border of the space would become fuzzy, dissolving into the railroad tracks and undefined woodland beyond The building is necessary to maintain the visual integrity and scenic nature of the Green area as a whole The Buckman Tavern, built in c 1714 by John Muzzey3 was originally the main building of the 50-acre Merriam Estate This estate also included twelve out-buildings, and according to tradition, the Garrity House was first constructed as a dwelling by joining two of these structures In a correspondence with a Dr Tilton in 1913, Abbie Stetson Griffing, heir to the Merriam Estate, recalls that her uncle, Col J P Merriam, was responsible for the construction of the "collage" between 1830 and 1840 4 Structural elements of the two original sections of the house would indicate, however, that they were built individually in the late 18th century The house as it stands today also includes two more recent additions on its north and east sides, which can be dated to c 1859 and c 1880 , according to both family tradition and the dating of various structural components In the following pages there will be a brief orientation to the Garrity House as it stands today The social and architectural history which brought it to its present form will then be described in more detail This information has been gathered L_ through extensive research into written documents as well as