Roads-Gardner House (521 Court) 1854

Absalom Roads 1810 – 1874, engaged in the mercantile
business early in his career later embarking in the real-estate and loan business. E.T.
Gardner 1802 – 1881, Mr. Gardner was VP & treasurer of the Gardner & Gould
Company, which manufactured candles and confectionary supplies.
The house was built in 1854, it has a gentle pitched gable roof with broad “winged’
eaves supported by 2 types of eave brackets that is characteristic of the Italian Villa
style. It exhibits the Italian Villa “L of T’ shaped plan of intersecting rectangles in an
irregular massing. The house is of brick with curved stone lintels. There are 6 over 6
windows with closing shutters and a brick walkway. The front porch has square
posts, small eave brackets and a balustrade. The main entry features a double door
with fanlight and tracery. There is a one story wood addition that was constructed
sometime after 1886. It is on a stone foundation and has eave brackets like those
on the main house. An enclosed one story sun porch was added later.. It has a
concrete foundation and clapboard siding with wood panel insets around the
windows. At the rear of the property is a one story hip roof, frame garage with
clapboard siding and a sliding garage door.