186 Main Street - George Robotham House

1871 Italianate Victorian Style

This home has a hipped roof with flat entablature beneath the eaves that contain a number of attic windows between pairs of corbel brackets. The tall narrow windows have decorative trim surrounds and there is a wrap around porch with posts, decorative brackets, and a balustrade.

Francis (“Frank”) W Robotham purchased the property from Abner Bidwell in 1870. Frank then quit-claimed the property to his sister, Isabella V. Robotham, in May, 1871. In December, 1871, Isabella and her younger brother, George Robotham, mortgaged the land “with a new dwelling house” to the Farmington Savings Bank. The Robotham siblings were, with their parents and siblings, Irish immigrants in the 1850s, the youngest of which, Sarah Jane, was baptized in 1856 in Unionville. George was a restauranteur. Isabella operated a millinery and dressmaking shop from the house. After George died, his wife, Rosetta “Rosa” (Peck) inherited his portion of the property. The property was sold by Rosa and Isabella to Daniel Rourke, another Irish immigrant. Rourke, a coachman, owned several homes in Unionville and rented some to factory workers.