Taintor, Charles M., House National Register of Historic Places Listing

Colchester boomed in the late 1800s. The Hayward Rubber Company drove this sudden growth, filling local pockets with cash and turning a quiet town into a manufacturing hub. Enter Charles M. Taintor. In 1885, he erected a striking residence at 116 Hayward Avenue to reflect this newfound prosperity. The building practically screams high-style Queen Anne architecture. Its design features an asymmetrical silhouette, a prominent three-story corner tower, and delicate stick-work that decorates the gables. It represents a time when Colchester residents had the money to build big, bold, and highly textured homes.

But Taintor was more than just a wealthy resident enjoying the local rubber boom. He was obsessed with saving the town's history. Decades before building the house, in 1864, he transcribed and published Colchester's earliest colonial records. His meticulous research saved vital family genealogies and town meeting notes from simply rotting away in damp basements. So, the house represents a fascinating intersection. It is both a monument to 19th-century industrial wealth and a direct link to the man who saved the town's 18th-century roots. The National Register of Historic Places added the home to its list in 2002 for exactly these reasons.