Brown Zuber Ireland House, 1822 [Map]
A unique example of ancestral creativity, this brick and cobblestone home dates back to the early 1800’s. The Liber #11 registers the land in 1806 to a James Wadsworth, the sales agent for the West Putney Tract of land.
The oldest section of the home is the brick structure facing the road; the cobblestone wing was added at a later date. From approximately 1820 to 1853 Benjamin Brown and then Anson Brown owned the property. In 1822 it is believed that the brick structure of the house was built. The bricks are smaller in size than usual which indicates they were made on the premises and laid in English bond.
The road was originally constructed on the east side of the house and in 1858 John Archer purchased 74 acres, on which some of Anson Brown’s land was absorbed, hence the name Archer Road.
The structural features include hand-hewn beams, hand-split lath, rubble stone foundation and twelve over twelve. Homeownership reflects sire names such as Brown 1819-1888, Zuber 1888-1947 and Ireland. When John Zuber purchased this home Archer Road was re-routed to the west side of the house and was often referred to as Zuber Road.
The interior of 268 Archer Road has seen many updates. The exterior façade, however, remains nearly the same as it appeared almost 200 years ago.