The Perry House is significant to Stratford’s history. It has witnessed over 300 years of change. Benjamin Beach built the thatch-roof home circa 1690. At that time the house reflected a community focused on shipbuilding and fishing. In 1740 Isaiah Brown remodeled the house into a saltbox, adding a blacksmith shop. William Perry, a well-known politician, and probate judge purchased the house in 1853 for his family. Jesse Murphy was the last private owner; she purchased the home in 1954. Mrs. Murphy changed the house by having the roof raised to create second story rooms. Upon her death in 1981, she willed the property to the Town of Stratford. In 2015, a community room and kitchen was added and named after Katherine O’Connor, one of the Foundation’s founding members. Today, the Perry House Foundation runs the operations of the house to preserve and protect its significance to Stratford.