Built 1827 (1827) Opened 1827 Architectural style Federal architecture | NRHP Reference # 83004231 Area 2,400 m² Added to NRHP 10 November 1983 | |
 | ||
Location Lawrence Hill Rd., Weston, Vermont Part of Weston Village Historic District (#85001934) | ||
The John Wilder House is a historic house on Lawrence Hill Road in the village center of Weston, Vermont. Built in 1827 for a prominent local politician, it is a distinctive example of transitional Federal-Greek Revival architecture in brick. Some of its interior walls are adorned with stencilwork attributed to Moses Eaton. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Description and history
The John Wilder House stands a short way west of Farrar Park, the village green of Weston, on the north side of Lawrence Hill Road. It is a large brick building, five bays wide, with a front-facing gable roof and granite slab foundation. The front-facing gable is fully pedimented, with two sash windows set in segmented-arch openings below a plaque showing the construction date. On either side are blind half-arches filled with wood panels. Windows on the first two floors are set in similar openings, and the main entrance is set in a large segmented-arch opening, flanked by slender pilasters and sidelight windows, and topped by an arched transom window. The interior is reflective of several periods, having undergone a Colonial Revival redecoration in the early 20th century. Most notable is the stencilwork on the walls of two rooms, which has on a stylistic basis been attributed to the itinerant New Hampshire artist Moses Eaton.
The house was built in 1827 for John Wilder, a Massachusetts native who moved to Weston in 1825. He soon became prominent in local civic affairs, serving on town offices and in the state legislature. The house remained in the hands of Wilder's descendants until 1981.