Art and Architecture
The original portion of the Oliver Wight House is a five bay Georgian style dwelling with a hipped-gable roof. An ell at the rear of the house was added later. It has two internal chimneys and clapboard facing. Each of the exterior doors are flanked by pilasters and topped with an entablature. An early twentieth-century account of the house describes its layout as a tavern with a bar room and a dance hall, as well as diamond pane windows. All of these features were gone by 1937.
The walls of the first floor hall are decorated with a mural in muted tones created by noted American folk artist Rufus Porter. These were likely painted during Ebenezer Howard’s ownership. Motifs include rolling hills dotted with houses, a windmill, a steamboat on a river, and a variety of vegetation.
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