Built in 1685 in Madison, Conn.,
the Deacon John Grave House had
been added to three times. The
house had been used as a tavern, a
court, a school, a hospital, a meeting
house, and continuously, until 1978,
as the residence of the Grave family.
Recently, when local residents banded
together to save the place, the
Deacon John Grave House was a
two-family dwelling of combustible
construction, further defined by code
as "unprotected," meaning that the
structural members had no fire-resistance
rating. In short, Deacon John's
place was the lowest form of building
life allowed to be occupied by
humans.
The owner's goal was to restore
the main house for use as a public
museum, and to keep the caretaker's
apartment.