PECK homestead

The dwelling was built by, or for, Watrous Peck (1777-1862) in 1803. Watrous was a direct, sixth-generation descendant of William Peck (1601-1694). According to the book "Genealogical Account of the Descendants in the Male Line of William Peck,” William was a founding father of the colonial settlement of New Haven Connecticut in the year 1638. Additionally Watrous' father, Reynold Peck (1742-1814), served with Captain Jewett’s Connecticut Militia.

Watrous was one of the areas earliest settlers and active within his church. Watrous came to West Bloomfield, New York from Lyme, Connecticut in 1799 and had eight children; as documented by the book titled "Early Settlers of New York State: Their Ancestors and Descendants, Volume I".

As a true Georgian colonial it features restrained ornamentation. The front door is centered at the middle of the front facade and flanked on the lower floor by two windows at each side. The second floor features five windows with the center window directly above the front-entry door; also referred to as a five-bay, symmetrical configuration. In the Georgian style it has a medium pitched roof and deep overhangs. The original dwelling featured twelve-over-twelve windows. Many of the original window casings are intact and period twelve-over-twelve window sashes are currently being installed. The aluminum siding has been removed to expose the original wooden clapboards. The clapboards are structurally intact and currently under restoration.

Eighty percent of the interior remains original and features five fireplaces, an intact beehive-oven, chestnut floors, wide pine floors, a buttery, a cobblestone basement floor, and a very unique domed brick-lined dry pantry. The two front bedrooms, dining room and parlor feature the original horsehair plaster. The rear bedrooms and upstairs hallway are characterized by both horizontal and vertical wide plank walls.