Farmhouse
Stephen Waters and his bride Hulda Flagg, originally of Grafton, built their house on top of the hill overlooking Lake Manchaug in 1757 and, over the years as the family grew the house expanded to fit their needs.
According to a report commissioned by the National Park Service in 1999, “The farmhouse evolved in several stages from circa 1757-62 to circa 1880, growing first from east to west, and then to the north, to meet the needs of the Waters family. The earliest (circa 1757-62) portion of the house was a saltbox configuration, with the chimney offset to the west side. A west wing was appended circa 1800, featuring a new kitchen with a pump that supplied well water. A small ell was built on the north side of the house circa 1830 and lengthened with a barn like addition circa 1850. A dormer and porch were added to the west wing in the 1920s. Other significant work included the installation of an interior bathroom by 1920, electrical service in 1930, the removal of the front piazza around 1948, and installation of a central hearing system in 1960.”
Walter Water’s diary tells us “Electric lights were turned on at the farm on August 1, 1930. The cost was $9.00 per month for a five-year period, but later I got it reduced to $7.00.” Clearly, Walter was proud of the improvement and his negotiating skills! The house has always been red.
Current Dining Room
The current dining room was probably used as a sitting room prior to it being a formal dining room. Here is where the head of the house might tend to farm accounts, where the lady of the house would sit and knit, sew, and mend clothing, and where children could do their schoolwork. The present dining room was also used as a kitchen with its beehive oven. Multiple families residing at Waters Farm needed multiple kitchens as each woman wanted their own. Towards the end of the 19th century, the room became a more formal dining room. Family members dressed in fashionable dinner clothes and ate a full course meal followed by coffee. It is easy to imagine Nathan and Ulva sitting by candlelight working on the farm records and catching up with sewing.
The East Parlor
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the parlor was kept as the “best room” and used for entertaining, serving tea, and for religious and social group meetings. This room was used by the Independent Baptist Church for services. This is also the room where keyboard musical instruments would be kept for entertaining guests if the family could afford them. The musical heritage of the family is multigenerational, and we can picture Nathan, who traveled to area towns to teach music, practicing his violin and entertaining visitors to the farm with his music.
The Borning Room
According to family records, 29 people were born at the farm. The birth and early care of newborns was the primary purpose of this room, but at other times it was used for family members who were ill, napping children, visitors, or hired help. The cradle in this room is a family cradle and the red work quilt or coverlet on the bed was made to celebrate Dorothea’s birth by her great grandmother Valentine. It took five years to complete and is dated 1895. It is bound with hand-made French lace.
The North Kitchen
A portion of the original house, much of the heavy household labor was done in this room. The brick bake oven was used just once a week because its use was very labor intensive. In the floor is a trap door to the root cellar below. On the wall is a star stencil owned by Jason Waters. The clay pipe belonged to Huldah Flagg Waters, Stephen’s wife. Stephen owned the maple desk in this room and the apple stencil was used to mark the apple crates prior to shipment.
Peddler’s Shop
The Peddler’s Shop is used to sell Waters farm apparel and other items during events such as Waters Farm Days in the fall. The Peddler Shop was originally used as a wood shed for the summer kitchen. The summer kitchen is located in the farmhouse addition known as “the North Ell”. The summer kitchen was used to preserve produce and prepare meals without warming the primary residence during the warm summer months. A three-hole privy that’s located at the “far North” end of the woodshed was used for a warmer and more convenient alternative to using an outhouse in the winter.
