This lovely home, built in 1780,
is considered to be one of the best examples of Georgian architecture
in Western Massachusetts. Built of native brick by Deacon Nathaniel
Ely, it was intended to house two families. Deacon Ely was a
Captain in the Revolutionary War. The house was used during the
war to board Tory prisoners enroute from Boston to New York.
Deacon Ely's son, Nathaniel, Jr., is credited with bringing the
first umbrella to Longmeadow! In 1800 the house became embroiled
in controversy after two grandsons of Rev. Stephen Williams'
renegade sister, Eunice, came from Canada to live with the Elys
and study in Longmeadow. The rumor abounded that one of the boys
was in fact the Lost Dauphin, son of Marie Antoinette and King
Louis XVI of France. This theory has largely been debunked today.
The house boasts a "butterfly" staircase once belonging
to the Dwight Store, built in 1799, on the comer of Main and
State Streets in downtown Springfield. It is said to have once
concealed a tunnel leading towards the river which, according
to local legend, might have been a link in the Underground Railway.
