THE SAMUEL HOUGH HOUSE

This handsome Federal style house, constructed of locally-fired brick set in Flemish bond, was built for a prosperous Quaker miller and his new bride by master local builder Israel Griffith, who later bought and lived in the house himself.  

Listed on the National Register and eased to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Samuel Hough House is noted in the Waterford Foundation booklet “…as one the most elegantly embellished dwellings in Waterford, with keystone lintels, an unusual and striking cornice, and beautifully carved interior woodwork – one of only two houses in Waterford to have an interior protective easement.”  This exquisite hand-carved red pine woodwork is throughout the house and includes four distinctive mantels and a unique fan which panels the space under the stair stringer on the first floor.

RESIDENCE:   The house has been lovingly maintained by many families over its almost 200 years—from the authentically restored original six rooms in three stories to the post-Civil War constructed dining room and upstairs bedroom addition which joined it to the old two-story kitchen structure. There are ten total rooms which include four bedrooms, two and one-half baths all on three floors.  On the lowest level is a fully finished basement that is now a spacious Family Room.  This level has a walkout doorway to the side porch and gardens.  The current first floor kitchen was originally the warming room with stairs down into the main cooking room with its large, restored cooking fireplace that is now the focal point of the family room. The house has six fireplaces, four of which are working.

From the inviting side porch, the view is over the lovely quarter acre landscaped garden to the permanently eased meadows and fields of the Phillips Farm and on to the gentle Blue Ridge mountains.  In 2003, the Waterford Foundation purchased 144 acres of the bordering Phillips Farm which wraps around the west edge of the village.  The farm was placed into a permanent scenic easement so that no development will take place on the land. Therefore, the views are permanently protected.

FIRST FLOOR:  The First Floor features a graceful Entrance Foyer (11’ x 12’), a Powder Room/half bath, the Formal Living Room with fireplace (15’ x 14’); the Library/Den with a closed fireplace and built-in bookshelves (15’ x 11’), the Formal Dining Room with large bay window and built-in cabinets (15 x 13); the country Kitchen with fireplace (14’ x 13’); and the Breakfast Room with built-in bookshelves and a wall of windows overlooking the gardens (14’ x 10’). A covered side porch (30’ x 11’) opens off the kitchen and is a wonderful private place to read or to entertain guests.