The Osborn-Bouton-Mead House

The Osborn-Bouton-Mead House is a historic Colonial-style home built in 1734. It is one of the few surviving homes which still maintains its original Saltbox features: with its wooden frame and long pitched roof that descends down to the back. Saltbox houses have one story in the back, two stories in the front and central chimney that runs through the second floor. The house also retains its original floors, paneling, hardware, fireplaces, plaster and chimney and is still in use today. The house is also still standing on its original foundation. 

Today, the house sits on approximately 2.6 acres of land together with an early 20th-century dairy barn and two modern garages. The dairy barn has been converted to a workshop. The first garage was built in 1972 and the second was added in 1987.

The Osborn-Bouton-Mead House has changed ownership numerous times. Up until the American Revolution, this property was owned by the Joseph Osborn family who were believed to be British sympathizers and seemingly abandoned the property during the mid-1770s. It wasn’t until 1783 that the house was awarded to Revolutionary war hero Lieutenant Joel Bouton by the Commission of Forfeitures. 

By this time, the property had grown to approximately 200 acres and would continue to expand over the years. It remained in the Bouton family up until 1864 when it was transferred through marriage of Sarah Bouton to Linus Mead, it was under Mead’s ownership that changes were made to the house which remain today. The mead family-maintained ownership of the property until 1974 when the last Mead family member died. 

Since the house was sold in 1977, the historic integrity of the property has been maintained. Its Saltbox designs and features are a reminisce of a rich Colonial history as the Osborn-Bouton- Mead House remains one of Westchester County’s most well-preserved Colonial homes. 

1. Osborn-Bouton-Mead House, National Register of Historic Places. Published September 15th 2004.
2. Ibach, Marilyn. "Saltbox Houses in the Historic American Buildings Survey." Library of Congress. Accessed September 24, 2020. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/175_sal1.html.