VIDEO: Preserving A Historic House In Groton

A group in Groton is working to preserve the Ebenezer Avery House, a home in Groton City once used as a hospital for dying Revolutionary War soldiers after the Battle of Groton Heights in 1781.

The house, formerly located at the corner of Thames and Latham streets, was later moved to its current spot on Fort Street, and has original windows which have been leaking. The Avery Memorial Association is restoring the windows in the house, keeping the original glass and as much of the frames as possible.

The state is responsible for maintaining the outside, but it did not have the money to buy paint, the foundation said. So the foundation used its own donations to buy supplies, and the state is providing the labor to repaint the exterior. In addition, donations have paid for the restoration of 14 of the 26 windows.

The work costs about $2,000 per window, according to the foundation.

Stephanie Lantiere, president of the Avery Memorial Association, said the house has historical significance.

After the Battle of Groton Heights, wounded soldiers, including many from surrounding farms, were loaded onto a cart to be taken prisoner on a British ship. But the cart got away and it rolled down the hill toward the Thames River, slamming into a Cherry Tree at the Ebenezer Avery House. The wounded men, including the house's owner, were then brought inside and lay on the floor.

For years, the blood stains remained.

Stanton Avery of California later bought the house, and gave it to the Avery Memorial Association in 1971.