Page 10 - North Haven Magazine Issue 12 Winter 2020

The Cooper Family by Susan A. Iverson

iding around town recently, I noticed that there were several properties being
Rdemolished. Some had not been used in many years and were not fit for occu-
pation, victims of our New England climate. Others had simply outgrown their
usefulness to the owner. I shook my head as I thought about these modern times
and how “disposable” even buildings could be. But 200 years ago, this practice was
also common, and what we consider historic buildings today were sometimes mod-
ern replacements of earlier structures. The Justus Cooper House on Ridge Road is
a good example of this.

The Justus Cooper House is a strikingly handsome colonial style structure. You
may not notice it if you are driving south on Ridge Road, because its side faces the
street. But drive north and – sure enough – there it is, sitting elegantly on a small
rise of land. For some time there was a question as to its build date; it certainly
looks like an 18th century center chimney colonial, as I always thought it was. The
Cooper family did occupy that area of town during the 18th and 19th centuries,
and there are land records from 1828 indicating a Cooper House – a red dwelling Justus Cooper
house - worth only $100. But it was located on the west side of Ridge Road, and the
present Cooper house is located on the east side. Moreover, this valuation tells us
that in 1828 the house was very old and very small – not at all consistent with the stately Cooper House still
standing today. An 1858 map shows no sign of the older property, and a title search done in 2003 indicates
that the older dwelling house had been across the street from the present structure, and no longer existed
(except for its cellar) in 1892.
So when was the present My guess is that the extended family
Justus Cooper house built? living in the Cooper house had no
need for the old red dwelling house
A closer look at the land records across the street. Family members
shows that in 1828 Justus Cooper did not require the space or privacy
deeds land across the street from that modern families expect today.
the old red homestead (located on It would be wasteful to continue to
the west side of Ridge Road) to maintain an old, weathered home
his son, Justus Jr. of Hamden. Af- that had no usefulness, and it would
ter Justus Sr.’s death later that year, have been taken down. Given that
Justus Jr. eventually buys the old the ancient homestead had so little
homestead and land on the west value in 1828, it is not surprising
side of Ridge Road from the broth- that it was gone fifty years later. Un-
er who inherited it and moves into George Cooper like today, early property records of-
the old red homestead. Justus Jr. is ten don’t document when one house
now a North Haven resident. It is neighbors located on Homewood comes down to be replaced by an-
believed that Justus Jr., after buying to the north and State Street to the other one – permits weren’t pulled,
several parcels of land on the east east. Justus Jr.’s son Levi married receipts may not have been saved,
side of Ridge Road from various young, bought a house, and estab- and properties were not clearly de-
relatives, builds the much bigger lished a separate household at an scribed. The Justus Cooper House
and “modern” Justus Cooper House early age. (His father later gave him in 2020 stands as a reminder that
around 1836 or 1837, providing a land next door on which to build an change is inevitable, and not always
more spacious and modern home Italianate style home still standing for the worse – look at what a hand-
for the growing Cooper family. today.) George, on the other hand, some historic home it is today!
remained at home after his mar-
Justus Cooper Jr. was a successful riage. By 1880 he is listed as the
tavern keeper in Hamden, married head of household, having at some
to Julia Gorham, and had two sons, earlier time taken over manage-
Levi and George. It seems that ment of the Cooper home. Perhaps
when he moved to North Haven, father Justus Jr. and son George,
he became a farmer – this is what also listed as a farmer, ran the farm
the 1840 census lists as his occu- together from the home on Ridge
pation. He had acquired several Road, making it practical for the
parcels of land along both sides of two generations to occupy the same
Ridge Road, and the area was quite house.
sparsely populated, with the closest

10 North Haven Magazine - Winter 2020