The Joseph Blakeslee House, built in 1780, is a small Colonial post-and-beam dwelling of one story, three bays, central entrance, and central chimney. The small house at 1211 Barnes Road, located in what was formerly known as the North Farms area of Wallingford, historically was part of a multi-house farmstead associated with the Blakeslee family. Rectangular in plan, the Blakeslee House measures 36' 6" long by 28' 4" deep. The front (east) elevation is elevated behind a stone wall and terrace, contemporary with the house, running parallel with a driveway in front that formerly was the road. The central front door of the house, originally under a now missing six-light transom, probably showed four raised panels on the exterior with horizontal beaded sheathing on the interior surface, which is an appropriate configuration given the date and character of the building. The present front door is a ca.1920s glazed-and-paneled replacement. Flanking windows are six-over-six, as they are on the side elevations of the house. The front sill has started to roll, indicating deterioration and a need for replacement. Clapboards with an exposure of 4 1/2" are secured with wire nails. Corners are finished with plain boards, Above, the roof's simple boxed cornice forms an overhang of about 12". The central chimney is brick above the roof line. [NR]

Architecture, Archeology: The Joseph Blakeslee House is significant architecturally because it is a representative example of a small late-18th-century post-and-beam house. In addition to its essential character-defining components, which survive, it has three unusual features: the absence of summers, two fireplaces with bake ovens, and an odd structural timber in the south front room. The house is outstanding for its two sophisticated paneled fireplace walls and the use of brownstone for foundation and chimney (Criterion A). It is significant archaeologically because the site has the ability to yield information important to history (Criterion D). [NR]

[1] Historic property information retrieved from the town website http://www.town.wallingford.ct.us/.
[2] Joseph Blakeslee House, Historic Properties Study Report, Wallingford, 1998, SHPO library, Hartford.
[NR] Ransom David F., Reviewed by Herzan John F., Joseph Blakeslee House, Wallingford, National Register Nomination Number- 98000362 NRIS, National Park Service, 1998. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/98000362.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/photos/98000362.pdf.