25 Decatur Street

This one-and-one half story, three-by-three bay, gable front house sits midway along the southern side of Decatur Street.  The house features one-over-one, double hung sash windows, clapboard siding, stone foundation, slate roof with raking eaves, and three small chimneys, one each at the gable ends of the main block and one on the rear addition.  The entrance is located via the porch on the left side of the front facade.  A porch extends along the front facade and curves around, extending along the easterly facade.  A one-story, flat-roof addition protrudes from the rear, attaching the house to the barn. 

The clapboard siding, slate roof with raking eaves, stone foundation and small chimneys all reflect 1870s construction.  The windows are most likely replacements.

The 1877 Birds-Eye does not show any additions, only the main, gable front block.  The porch and addition first appear on the 1894 Sanborn Insurance map, and the curvature of the porch reflects the Queen Anne taste of the later century. 

The first inhabitant is most likely William J. Langshore, 1871, who worked for the city as a lamp lighter and later a surveyor, and his wife Helen.¹  William inhabited the house with his family until around 1890.²  Albert F. Chayer, a commercial traveler, subsequently moved in from 32 Decatur Street, with his wife and daughters, who were dressmakers, and they stayed until around 1913.³  After leaving, the Chayers inhabited many other addresses along Decatur Street, including 27, 31 and 52.⁴

See house on 1877 Birds-Eye Map