The Fairbanks House

The Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts is a historic house built ca. 1641, making it the oldest surviving timber-frame house in North America that has been verified by dendrochronology testing. Puritan settler Jonathan Fairbanks constructed the farm house for his wife Grace (née Smith) and their family. The house was occupied and then passed down through eight generations of the family until the early 20th century. Over several centuries the original portion was expanded as architectural styles changed and the family grew. Jonathan Fairbanks came from Heptonstall in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Boston, Massachusetts, in the year 1633, and in 1636/37 acquired land and settled in Dedham, Massachusetts, where he built the house on his farm land. There is evidence that some residents practiced folk magic in the house, including placing hex marks and various objects in the house to ward off witches and other evil spirits. Hex signs were carved into the mantle to protect ...