About Freeport Historical Society

Freeport Historical Society is a 501©3 nonprofit organization founded in 1969 by a group of local citizens interested in preserving Freeport’s unique history. Today we have nearly 500 members who support the Society through gifts to the collections, volunteering, attending programs, using the collections, and donations of money.

Collections, both archival materials and artifacts, are the basis of the Society’s exhibits, research use, public and school programs, publications and advocacy of historic sites within the Town of Freeport.

Harrington House was donated to Freeport Historical Society in 1977 and underwent extensive restoration in 1988. Harrington House, located at 45 Main Street, now houses our research library, archives, exhibit rooms, offices and the museum shop.

Society business hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, 10 A.M..– 7 P.M. To make an appointment, call 865-3170. Our email address is info@freeporthistoricalsociety.org.

About Harrington House & Gardens

Harrington House, home of Freeport Historical Society, was built ca. 1830 by Enoch Harrington, a Freeport merchant and trader. In 1830 Harrington married Eliza Nye, the daughter of his business partner, and built the house on land given to him by his father-in-law.

This handsome building, constructed with locally made brick and locally quarried granite, is transitional Greek Revival in style. The main entrance is on the gable end with a Federal-style wooden fan above it. The attached carriage barn creates a small courtyard beside the main house and its back ell. The original 14-acre site had extensive gardens and orchards across the street and behind the barn. We are now leasing our newly renovated barn to Lovell Design to support historical society programs.

Enoch Harrington died in 1848, and Eliza continued to live here until 1900. The house was next owned by Levi and Nettie Patterson. During this period the second floor and attic rooms were rented out to shoe factory workers. Levi and Nettie celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in the house in 1953. The last owner was Miss Helen Randall, daughter of sea captain Rufus Soule Randall. She was a well-known local artist who used the back room of the wooden ell as her studio. She lived in the house until her death in 1976.

Harrington House was donated to Freeport Historical Society in 1977 and underwent extensive restoration in 1988. Harrington House now houses our research library, archives, exhibit rooms, offices and the museum shop. Society business hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, 10 A.M..– 7 P.M. To make an appointment, call 865-3170. Our email address is info@freeporthistoricalsociety.org.

About Our House
As you wander through our house there are several architectural features to note. The side windows on the front door (sidelights) permit natural light to enter the hallway. The first floor of Harrington House is laid out with a large entrance hall, double parlors, a winter kitchen, and one small room. The double parlors, the result of a side entrance, are separated by pocket doors, which when opened originally provided space for large formal entertainment. The interior shutters are solid, not slatted, suited both for privacy and to keep out the cold in winter and heat in summer. The interior woodwork in the main part of the house is Early Greek Revival in style with typical corner blocking and heavier detail. The shallow fireplaces in these two rooms were intended to accommodate parlor stoves. And finally, the floors in the south parlor have their original wide board floors, while the north parlor has narrow hardwood floors, a Colonial revival replacement.

The old winter kitchen is in the brick part of the ell. In 1988 the bricks from the original chimney were taken down due to its poor condition, and the bricks were then used to reconstruct the remains of the kitchen’s bake oven and fireplace. The set kettle (in the tiny room off the kitchen) was a water-heating device used for cooking, washing, and cleaning, and in its time was considered a modern improvement. The painted, dropped tin ceiling was added later in the 19th century. The summer kitchen, now the archives of the Freeport Historical Society, may have been a later addition.

Upstairs there are two large and two small rooms, where the Freeport Historical Society has offices, collection storage and workspaces. The floors are painted wide boards, and the end chimneys serve the two fireplaces in these two bedrooms as well as the parlor rooms below. Each bedroom has wonderful built-in closets with drawers and shelves. Towards the back room above the kitchen there is a change to the less formal woodwork of the earlier Federal period.

There are signs posted throughout the house describing the special features in more detail. We encourage you to read them as you wander through Harrington House!

About Our Gardens
One of the special things about Harrington House is our wonderful perennial garden in the courtyard. These gardens are not meant to be a replica of the original gardens; rather, they include plants commonly used during the 1860s. Many of the herbs and flowers in these beds were donated by our members. One of the lavender plants came from a grandmother’s garden and is estimated to be over 150 years old!

Each summer we have volunteers and paid staff working on the garden. They spread eelgrass, which acts as superb mulch, around the plants each fall. The especially beautiful rose which grows at the edge of the brick walk is called Maiden’s Blush. A list of the more popular flowers can be found. We love to brag about our garden, so if you have any questions, please come in and ask, and we’ll do our best to answer them!

Our Plant List:

• Anthony Waterer Spirea (Spiraea bumalda) - This is the large bush with clusters of small, dark pink flowers outside the door.
• Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea)
• Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) - This variety was introduced into some American gardens as early as 1700 and was sometimes known as “Oswego Tea.”
• Bellflower (Campanula)
• Calendula (Calendula officinalis) - Originally used for medicinal and culinary purposes, it made a mild tea and its flower was used to color butter.
• Catmint (Nepeta mussini)
• Crane’s Bill Geranium (Geranium grandiflorum)
• Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
• False Indigo (Baptisia australis) - Once, its leaves were used for blue dye; by the 19th century it was used as a handsome border plant.
• Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium)
• Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)
• Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)
• Lamb’s Ears (Stachys lanata)
• Lavender (Lavendula vera)
• Lemon Lillies (Hemerocalis flava)
• Mallow, Musk Mallow (Malva) - Used as a medicinal herb into the 19th century, parts of the plant were used for internal healing, while other parts were used externally. It was later used as a culinary herb.
• Monkshood (Aconitum napellus)
• Nicotiana (Nicotiana alata)
• Pinks (Dianthus)
• Rose Campion (Lynchnis coronaris)
• Sage (saliva officinalis)
• Sundrops (Oenothera terrgona)
• Tansy (Tanecetum vulgare)
• Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata) - Indigenous to America, this plant had become a cultivated garden flower by the time of the American Revolution.
• Yarrow (Achillea milleforium)
• Bulbs and Annuals are added to keep color in the garden through out the entire growing season.