The Stephen Branch House  

The house is a New England gambrel cape of 3000 square feet. It was built by Stephen Branch of Preston, Connecticut, who moved to Lisbon, Connecticut with his family sometime around the last decade of the eighteenth century, as evidenced by land and census records. These records, in addition to probate records date the house to about 1790. Accordingly, the house is named The Stephen Branch House, after its builder, who at age thirty, joined the list of men from Connecticut towns who traveled to Boston for its defense, shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775.

   Subsequent land records show that the house stayed in the family for over fifty years before changing ownership a few times in the later part of the 19th century, and even as early as the 1850s, the deeds reference the land parcel and structures as the "Branch Place", indicating that the name was in local usage in Lisbon at that time. This is further evidenced by the fact that the name was carried from deed to deed throughout the late 19th century.

   In 1971, the house was moved from its original location to a new location one half mile closer to the historical center of Lisbon known as Newent. At that time it underwent an initial restoration, and more recently, an additional restoration.

   The philosophy of all restoration work was basically to update essential services, while minimally impacting the antique character of the house.

   The result is a house, tastefully restored to its original charm, while being completely livable in the 21st century.