DANVILLE & THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

November 28, 2000

It is not widely known that aside from the Old Meeting House on Route 111A Danville is home to two more structures that have been accepted as sites worthy of listing by the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service of the Department of the Interior determines eligibility for this honor after a detailed and rigorous application is considered. Before application can be made to the National Park Service, the Division of Historical Resources of the state where the site is located must first determine if criteria is met for national consideration. If it is decided that at least one of the four criteria necessary for listing is present, then the application process may begin.

Both of the structures mentioned are private homes. One is known as the "John Elkins Farmstead" at 157 Beach Plain Road, currently owned by Frank and Barbara Kingston. The other will be the subject of a subsequent article.

The "John Elkins Farmstead" was accepted for listing in the National Register in 1996, qualifying as a "property [that] embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction..." of the period from 1850 to 1879, or its "period of significance." The current house is believed to have been built much earlier than that in the late 18^th century, and incorporates many of the elements of Federal architecture and construction common to that period. However, the property reached its peak of agricultural productivity and became a classic example of the "connected farm configuration" with the addition of a new barn, work rooms and carriage shed during the period from 1850 to 1879 under the ownership of John Elkins. It is this "connected farm configuration", remaining virtually intact today, that exemplifies the massive farm complex employing progressive farming methods common to the North Danville area in the last half of the 19^th century, that allowed for inclusion in the National Register.

The original occupants of the property were believed to be John's grandparents, Thomas Elkins and his wife Anna, who moved there from Hampton prior to 1760. Their son, Jeremiah, John's father, married Elizabeth Towle, (probably a next-door neighbor from what is now known as the Towle Hill Farm), and the farm eventually passed to John upon his father's death in 1850. John Elkins was known as one of the most respected and successful farmers in the area and served for many years as selectman and town clerk, as well as the local representative to the state legislature.

The property ultimately passed to John's children and grandchildren, and in the early 20^th century was operated as a summer boarding house popular with city folks for its rural scenic beauty. In 1919 the Taatjes family from Holland purchased the property from the Elkins heirs and operated a dairy farm until Mr. Taatjes' death. The property was sold to Alfred and Mabel Swain in 1936, who continued dairy operations. It passed again in 1947 to the French family, and then to the Lee family in 1969. George and Ann Chadoin purchased the property in 1974, and added a private landing strip for small aircraft in the field behind the house. The property passed to its current owners in the late 1990's.

The "John EIkins Farmstead" is one of Danville's most beautiful homes in one of its most scenic areas. Its listing in the National Register of Historic Places honors the role it plays in our history.