The rear of the Josiah Benner House. The artillery shell lodged in the rear wall of the house is visible in this shot, just above the second story window in the center of the photo. This view was taken facing south at approximately 11:15 AM on Monday, October 21, 2011.
Before its recent acquisition by the National Park Service (with help from the Civil War Preservation Trust), the 9-acre Josiah Benner Farm was owned by Tony Giuffreda and his family. In today’s post, Tony will talk to us about some of the preservation work he performed on the property and we will take a look at the work-in-progress springhouse.
To view previous posts in this series:
The Josiah Benner Farm with Tony Giuffreda: Part One – November 3, 2011
The Josiah Benner Farm with Tony Giuffreda: Part Two – November 10, 2011
Tony and his wife Susan bought the property in 1993 and raised six children in the Benner House. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 11:15 AM on Monday, October 21, 2011.
The rear of the Benner House is also the location of the summer kitchen. Tony believes the kitchen was originally farther back from the house, and was moved post-battle due to the location of the well at the rear of the house. This view was taken facing south at approximately 11:15 AM on Monday, October 21, 2011.
In this video, Tony talks about the actions of the 17th Connecticut on July 1st, which originally spurred his interest in restoring the home.
This view was taken facing west at approximately 11:15 AM on Monday, October 21, 2011.
Tony discusses the 54th New York crossing Rock Creek and talks about when the artillery shell in the rear wall of the house might have hit.
A closer view of the artillery shell lodged in the rear wall of the house. This view was taken facing south at approximately 11:15 AM on Monday, October 21, 2011.
This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 11:15 AM on Monday, October 21, 2011.
A question Tony has been asked a lot is, “Was the Benner House haunted?”
Our thanks again to Tony Giuffreda for sharing these stories with us. This view was facing southeast at approximately 11:15 AM on Monday, October 21, 2011.