Nehemiah Royce House

The Nehemiah Royce House is named after Nehemiah Royce, a Connecticut settler and one of Wallingford’s founders in the latter half of the 1600s. He purchased the land directly from Mantowese, son of the great sachem at Mattabesitt, and Sunk Squa, daughter of the great sachem of the Quinnipiacs. He was a blacksmith, carpenter, and joiner who was elected as a deputy representing Wallingford to the Court of the Connecticut Colony. He built the house in 1672, and it has become a prime example of the American Colonial Saltbox architectural style. The house stayed in the Royce family for over 200 years. George Washington visited the house twice, once in 1775, stopping nearby for some gunpowder, and again in 1789 to give a speech to the local townsfolk. The house was relocated to its current site in the 1920s. Kronenberger & Sons performed a complete exterior envelope restoration including new siding, roofing, and painting. We used period-appropriate materials including wooden clapboard siding, cedar shake roofing, and reproduction handmade nails. The Nehemiah Royce House is #98000966 on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the oldest houses in Connecticut.