This one and one-half story cross-gable house retains its original
plan, but has been completely reclad with asphalt shingles on
the roof and replacement siding. The windows have also been replaced
with one-over-one sashes. Three small additions expand the house
toward the back of the lot. 215 Elmwood Avenue, built circa 1870-73,
is typical of the housing built in this working-class neighborhood
during the 1860s and 1870s.
Mrs. Charity E. Freeman, an African-Amercan woman and a widow
lived in this house from at least 1881 until her death on February
5, 1890. A woman named Mary Thomas also resided here between 1881
and 1885.[1] Little else is known of this property's early history.
[1] Burlington City Directory, 1881-83, 1885, 1890.