Caleb Fuller House (1771)
According to the Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, Volume 1 (1909): Caleb, son of Young and Jerusha (Beebe) Fuller, was born in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1735. He removed to Ellington in 1747. He graduated from Yale College in 1758, and received the degree of A. M. in 1762. He is called Deacon in some records, and Reverend in others. He married, October 28. 1762, Hannah Weld, daughter of Rev. Habijah Weld, the famous minister who preached at Attleboro, Massachusetts, for fifty-five years. Caleb Fullerremoved in 1771 to Middletown, Connecticut, and in 1790 to Hanover, New Hampshire, where he died August 20, 1815.Caleb Fuller‘s gambrel-roofed house in Middletown, built in 1771, originally stood at the corner of Main and William Street. It was moved west on William Street in 1842 when the First Baptist Church was constructed on that corner. In 1975 the house was scheduled for demolition as part of a redevelopment plan, but it was saved as part of an adaptive reuse plan. Moved to its current address at 49 Main Street, the house had its exterior restored and it was converted to office use.
The Greek Revival house at 61 Main Street was built in 1837 for John Cookson, who was pastor of the First Baptist Church from 1828 to 1839. The house originally stood on the east side of South Main Street, opposite the church, which is no longer standing (the current Baptist church was built further north on Main Street in 1842). The house was purchased by the city’s Redevelopment Agency in 1972 and in 1977 it was moved to its current address as part of the South End Restoration project. It is now used as offices, as are two other historic houses that were relocated as part of the project: the William Southmayd House and the Caleb Fuller House.
At 73 Main Street is a house that originally stood on William Street. It was built in 1747 for William Southmayd, who died before it was completed. His widow, Mehitable, was the house’s first occupant. It remained a residence until 1975 and was then slated for demolition. The house was saved in 1977, when it was moved to its current address and converted to serve as offices.
Information From The Greater Middletown Preservation Trust
