Just east of the Aaron Howland House stands 16 Westminster Street, identified in the 1959 Historic American Buildings Survey as the Rodney Wing House. At the time of the survey, the house was owned by Chester R. Wing (1900-1984), but today it is known as Griswold Place, in honor of Henry Griswold (1833-1889), who acquired the property in 1874. The house was built around 1834 for Jonathan Weymouth, a tailor, one of the skilled tradespeople who shaped Walpole’s early nineteenth-century village economy.
Although no builder is documented, the house is almost certainly the work of master builder Aaron P. Howland. Its architectural kinship to 20 Westminster Street next door is unmistakable. The most distinctive feature is the Palladian window set within a pediment-like front gable, a trademark element of Howland’s Walpole houses. The clean brickwork, classical proportions, and restrained Greek Revival detailing further reinforce the connection to the village’s mid-1830s building surge.
Over the decades, the property passed through numerous owners, adapting to community needs. In the early twentieth-century it served as an annex to The Walpole Inn, the large hotel that once stood across the street at 11 Westminster Street (demolished in 1962). During this period, the house provided additional lodging for visitors, supporting the busy hospitality trade that helped make Walpole a favored regional destination along Connecticut Valley transportation routes.
The house has been converted into a mixed-use structure (offices and apartments) and is owned by The Walpole Foundation, the nonprofit dedicated to preserving historic properties and open space for the long-term benefit of the town. Under the Foundation’s stewardship, Griswold Place continues to serve the community while retaining the architectural character that links it to Aaron P. Howland and the early development of Westminster Street as a cohesive civic streetscape.
Aaron Howland House 