Original Dominy House Built
Built in 1715, the core of the two-and-a-half-story Dominy homestead probably contained a parlor, 2nd-floor chamber and lean-to kitchen. Probably between 1745 and 1760, Nathaniel Dominy III built an addition that nearly doubled the size of the main house. He also extended the one-and-a-half story kitchen lean-to for a woodworking shop, arranging the workbenches under east- and west-facing windows to take advantage of morning and afternoon sunlight. He affixed a narrow ladder to the north wall leading to lumber storage in the garret. The shop had no fireplace, minimizing the risk of fire. Presumably the large hearth in the kitchen, accessed directly through a door in the south wall, provided heat for warming the workspace and preparing animal-hide glue and resin varnishes. An exterior east-facing door opened directly to the village’s main thoroughfare.