This striking 1796 Federal style house in Vergennes, Vermont is the General Samuel Strong House. It is a favorite mystery to many passersby. Unoccupied for decades, this house is more neglected than abandoned, but every Christmas season there is a fresh wreath on the door and the community keeps an eye on the house year round.
Christmas wreath on the front door.
View from the sidewalk.
From the street. In the foliage months, you can barely see the house.
The side entrance has been removed.
Rear of the house, where a porch previously existed.
Boarded up windows, but check out the lintels.
Classic clapboard shot with alligatoring paint.
And we are in luck. This house has been documented by the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) in 1936. Find photographs and floor plans here via the Library of Congress. Here is the house in better days:
The Samuel Strong House in Vergennes as documented for HABS/Library of Congress. Click for digital source.
What a beauty.
Preservation in Pink 