LHD boundaries as described are approximate and subject to change. Consult the LHD Study Report on file with the relevant local district commission or municipal authority to verify district boundaries and whether a specific property, particularly one in proximity of a boundary line, is within the district. Also note that LHD boundaries may differ from those of State or National Register Districts.
Morehouse Jennings House represents an important transitional step between the New England saltbox house and the porticoed temple-form structures usually associated with the Greek Revival. In the sophistication of its plan and architectural detailing, it is remarkable, particularly for a building so modest in scale and so distantly removed from the town's mercantile center. As viewed from Maple Lane, the house appears indistinct from the typical 18th century side-gable saltbox, three bays wide with a center chimney, save for its non-existent center entry. [2]
The farmhouse built by Morehouse Jennings on Maple Lane, at a locality known historically as Greens Farms, dates from circa 1815. it is illustrative of the prevading influence of Renaissance architectural motifs as espoused by the Adams Brothers in Great Britain and translate to American form and building materials by the likes of Asher Benjamin. Although modified by Victorian accretions in the 1860s and a substantial Colonial Revival enlargement and 'restoration' in the 1930s, the house preserves a wealth of original fabric and is a distinguished example of its style in the context of Westport's Federal Period architecture. [2]
Assessors information retrieved from the website www.visionappraisal.com.
[1] Historic Property information retrieved from the town of website http://www.westportct.gov/.
[2] Brilvitch Charles, Sherwood House, Historic Resources Inventory, 1987, SHPO library, Hartford.
[3] Historic District handbook accessed in the town website [http://www.westportct.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=280].
GIS information retrieved from http://www.westportct.gov/index.aspx?page=538.