John Randall House

The John Randall House is a historic house on Connecticut Route 2 in North Stonington, Connecticut. Its earliest section dates to 1685, with the main block reaching its present configuration before 1720.^[2][3] The house was restored in the 1930s by early preservationist Norman Isham and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1978.^[1]

John Randall House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	Behind 41 CT 2, North Stonington, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°24′59″N 71°51′37″W
Area	13.3 acres (5.4 ha)
Built	1685-1720
Architectural style	Georgian
NRHP reference No.	78002877[1]
Added to NRHP	December 1, 1978

Description and history

The John Randall House is set on a rural parcel of land down a long lane on the west side of Route 2, about 2,000 feet (610 m) north of its junction with Interstate 95. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, five asymmetrical bays wide, with a massive central stone chimney and clapboarded exterior. Its main entrance is framed by pilasters and a corniced entablature. The house is framed with inch-thick planking, a common technique of the period, although the planking was usually thinner, and is suggestive of two distinct periods of construction. The eastern parlor has a large fireplace wall finished in wooden paneling, the fireplace flanked by pilasters. The western parlor has a period built-in cabinet, wainscoting, and original plasterwork. The house was part of a farm named Anguilla Farm by the son of the original proprietor John Randall, a husbandman and Sabbatarian from England.

A descendant named Darius Randall lived in the John Randall House. He was an abolitionist and the home was a stop on the Underground Railroad with a trap door in the hearth room that leads to a secret room where slaves were hidden.

Two emancipation releases have been found in the Stonington Town Records signed by William Randall: On March 24, 1808, William Randall “emancipated and made free a Negro man named Jabe Slave being 29 years of age well and healthy.” On March 11, 1807, he freed “Rose, a 26-year-old Negro slave, who was well and healthy.” ^[4]

See also

• Connecticut portal

• List of the oldest buildings in Connecticut
• National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut