Front Hall & Staircase

The center hallway with high ceilings and doors that opened at the east and west ends allowed breezes to cool the house on the hottest days. The newel post supporting the railing at the base of the stairs boasts an ivory "Mortgage" or "Deed" button, which traditionally proclaimed the house to be mortgage free. The deed was sometimes rolled and placed in a cylinder under the button. Facing the stairwell, on the wall to your right hang portraits of Elizabeth Roach (sister to William Rotch, Jr.) (1757 – 1856) and her husband Samuel Rodman Sr (1753 – 1835) painted in 1828 by American artist Rembrandt Peale, a prolific portrait painter known for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Their son Benjamin Rodman commissioned their likenesses. The letter from Benjamin to Peale is displayed on the table beneath. Samuel Rodman was Roach’s business partner. A portrait of Helen Roach Roach (1846 – 1914) by Stephen Greeley Putnam hangs on the wall to your left.