The Pardee-Morris House - Morris Cove New Haven CT - Save This Historic Treasure!
Not far away from where I live is the Pardee-Morris House a historical treasure located at 325 Lighthouse Road in the Morris Cove neighborhood of New Haven CT.
The original 6,000 square foot Thomas Morris House was built in 1680 and during the Revloutionary War on July 5, 1779 was burned down during the Battle of New Haven when British troops invaded New Haven.
Captain Amos Morris rebuilt the house the following year using materials that were salvaged from the original structure.
William Pardee bought and restored the Pardee-Morris House in 1915 and bequeathed it to the New Haven Historical Society in 1918.
The Pardee-Morris House was open to the public as a house museum and on December 4, 1972 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the City of New Haven Connecticut.
Owned by the New Haven Museum and Historical Society the Pardee-Morris House has been closed since 2000 due to lack of funds until further notice. The house needs extensive restoration work and the New Haven Museum and Historical Society is working on getting state bonding funds.
This once beautiful home over the years has deteriorated with peeling paint on the inside and out and has many broken windows. Residents of the East Shore community have been diligently working for serveral years to get answers on what the future holds for the Pardee-Morris House and are ready to volunteer their time in helping to restore and reopen the house.
A meeting held at the Morris Cove firehouse between the leaders of the New Haven Museum and Historical Society and 50 neighbors of Morris Cove was highlighted in an article in the New Haven Independent authored by Allan Appel titled "Knock, Knock. Anyone Home at Pardee-Morris?."
Over the past few weeks, trucks and workmen have been on the property cutting the grass, trimming the hedges and making some repairs to the building.
It would be a terrible loss not only to the City of New Haven but to the Morris Cove neighborhood if this neglected treasure of history were to fade away.
The Fort Nathan Hale Restoration Projects Inc. is a non-profit wants to work with the New Haven Historical Society, residents of East Shore and anyone else to help restore the Pardee-Morris House. A meeting will be scheduled for anyone interested to discuss potential solutions and options.
For anyone who is interested in becoming part of this project please contact William M. MacMullen, AIA, President, Fort Nathan Hale Restoration Projects Inc. by email at WMACHQ@aol.com
Having lived in Morris Cove for most of my life I share in the belief of the historic importance this house holds to the City of New Haven and to Morris Cove. It is wonderful to see the how the commuity is working together to save the Pardee-Morris House. Written and Posted by: Donna Bigda - REALTOR® RE/MAX Alliance - Branford, CT 06405 203-488-1641, x214 Search Branford, East Haven, Guilford, Madison, New Haven and Greater New Haven Homes for Sale
Nice call to action type of post - the Landmarks Association in St. Louis publishes a 10 most endangered lists and post news on the buildings removed from the list... It doesn't save every building - but it does raise awareness. Good luck with saving this piece of history.
Hi Donna...Great Post and Call to Action..I know Google will love this post and give it top ranking and hopefully help with the rebuilding cause.
Cheers, thanks for sharing your story about the local effort to restore and preserve this historical property in Morris Cove, CT
Ryan - This has been an ongoing battle for many years and I hope that there is a significant chance it can be saved.
Fred - I'm counting on Google helping out the cause. My husband spent his childhood years in the Pardee-Morris House and has many wonderful memories during its glory days.
Donna - what a beautiful post on a New England treasure. The 12 over 12 windows are such a classic. How nice that this has been preserved. Reminds me of some historical homes in the Boston area. What a wonderful localism article.
Jeff
Jeff - A treasue it is! I am hoping that the signs of workman on the grounds as a good sign that plans are underway to continue the restoration on the outside and the inside and bring the Pardee-Morris House back to life!
Donna As you well know I love historical sites, so I hope this one will be saved. I do hope your post bring it to the attention of many.
Jennifer - I love historical places too and am very lucky to have three of them right in my neighborhood. I think if we can get enough community involvement there's a very good chance the Pardee-Morris House can be saved.
Any Moras Morris house is a favorite of mine! ;-)
Liz - LOL!! If you contribute a big enough donation to the restoration, maybe they'll change the name! :)
Nice historical post Donna. I hope that the citizens will be civic minded enough to raise the money to restore this wonderful piece of history and architecture...
Your building consultant for life in Nashville, TN
Donna, your post is wonderful, I am sure google is crawling all over it as we speak...
It is important to save the past for future generations. The house is amazing, and I hope you are successful in saving it. We have an old hotel here called the Merwinsville Hotel, it is privately held, and the members work very hard to continue to restore it. There are always fund raising activities there. This past winter a few of my photographs were in an art show there. They have wine and cheese receptions, etc. I attended a ghost hunt there, your beautiful building needs to be active again!
Have a wonderful day!