Allis Bushnell House

The Allis-Bushnell House is a historic house at 853 Boston Post Road in Madison, Connecticut. It was built in 1785 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The house is owned by the Madison Historical Society and operated as a historic house museum. In 1772, the 94.5-acre tract upon which the house stands was sold off to four men including Nathaniel Allis, Sr. The tract was divided, and Allis received a portion including the site of the Allis-Bushnell House. Following more transfers, by 1774 Samuel Brown and David Landon owned the property. They sold the land to Aaron Blatchley in 1785. The house was built as a one-and-a-half-story building. It had two large rooms in the front and a smaller kitchen and bedroom behind. On the second floor, there were four small rooms. At an unknown point in the house's history, the roof was raised along the front facade to create a full second floor. The Victorian addition was likely added after the Civil War. The Allis-Bushnell House was built between April 23, 1785 (when Blatchley bought the four acres) and December 16, 1789 (when Blatchy sold the "dwelling house"). In 1917, the Madison Historical Society rented the property for its collections and as a meeting place. On July 13, 1920, the organization bought the house and 0.56 acres. The house was the headquarters of the Madison Historical Society until 2010. Currently it is open to members and the public for special events.