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Town Takes Control of Bushnell House

The David Bushnell House is now under Town control. On Jan. 10, First Selectman John Hall told the Board of Selectmen (BOS) the Town has assumed control of the building.

The David Bushnell House, with a construction date of 1678, is one of the oldest homes in Connecticut. At an Aug. 9 BOS meeting, Hall told the board that Leighton Lee III, the current property owner, was willing to donate the historic building to the Town. As a condition of the donation, Hall said Lee was interested in a caveat that the building is retained for historical purposes.

Rather than outright donate the house, Hall announced a month later that Lee had offered to sell the property for $1. At a town meeting later in the month, voters unanimously approved the acquisition of the David Bushnell House at 121 South Main Street. The completion of the sale followed negotiations after the vote.

At the January BOS meeting, Hall told the selectman that the Town had closed on the house. Hall said he had walked the property, and a list of potential repairs and projects will need to be developed. On Jan. 18, Hall told the Board of Finance that a budget for the work would be developed and that he would work with the historical society to find a future use.

The Bushnell House has a long history in town. Marcy Fuller, president of the Westbrook Historical Society, told the Harbor News in 2022 that the house was built by Captain Samuel Bushnell, the father of David Bushnell, the inventor of the submarine. However, David never lived in the house – he was born in Westbrook in 1740 but grew up on a farm near the intersection of Essex and McVeagh roads.

Instead, Fuller explained that in 1922 the Society of Dependents of Westbrook Settlers, a since disbanded organization, gained control of the property and dedicated the house to the memory of David Bushnell. In the early 2000s, the house was turned into a Museum of Early Engineering Technology.