The Abraham Brown House, otherwise known as the Lafayette House at 3118 Main Road in Tiverton, had stood the test of time until it met its unfortunate fate last week — within hours, erased from history with the help of an excavator to live out the rest of eternity in a landfill.

Constructed in 1765, it weathered every storm, every war and every change this world threw at it for 259 years. To put this into perspective, Rhode Island and the other 12 colonies were still under British control and it would stay that way for another 12 years. Built by Abraham Brown, he and his wife Abigail raised seven children in this home, not to mention countless generations that came after. In early August of 1778 Abraham, a private in the Rhode Island regiment, housed France’s General Marquise De Lafayette in this very residence. For those unaware of the history, during the battles of Rhode Island, George Washington had sent him to command some 5000-plus troops and defeat the Red Coats occupying Newport.

Interestingly enough, the seller’s short lived Zillow ad did not mention any of this treasured history or even the proper date of its construction. Ironically, the first sentence did have the word “iconic” as if to maybe give a hint. Was it an issue of ignorance or arrogance? Did the seller not have the facts or was it intentional? It would be arrogance, if the seller intentionally misled the public as to the history of this property. It was arrogance listing the property at $6.8 million, unattainable to just about everyone but the 1 percent? The classic “I know what I got” mentality. Or was it pure greed? At just over 35 ½ acres, one could assume that if no one bought the place they could hurry up and tear it down to squeeze about 15 or so overpriced poorly built houses that all look the same on what one could argue was a picture worth 1,000 words. Do the math, that's a significant pay day. I guess when it's all given to you by kin, things are hard to appreciate for more than monetary value.

I suppose if I was a betting man I'd say the answer to my original question was all three. At the end of the day everyone is rightfully entitled to do what they wish with what they own, but I think we can all come together and agree this was the exception.

On December 18, while confusingly still listed for sale, Tiverton lost a valuable piece of history and a valuable asset to our town. If walls could talk, imagine the stories that would be told. Whatever his reason was, shame on the owner and shame on whoever in Tiverton Town Hall allowed this to happen. Unfortunately people who lack empathy and morals still sleep just fine at night. Surely locals would stand around and cheer if Four Corners still held the town whipping post. All of us who are outraged are not free of blame unfortunately — we should have known better and advocated sooner. We should have taken action.

I very much encourage residents of our community who give a damn, especially the younger generations, to use this unfortunate event as a wakeup call and get involved so disgusting atrocities like this cannot happen again. We as a community should be upset and angry. In a town full of people up in arms about the temporary closure of a cat cafe, be the person who is concerned about change that cannot be undone. The change that permanently alters your surroundings. Tiverton has a historic preservation advisory board as well as a land trust. They need your volunteers and support if Tiverton has any hope of retaining any of the character that draws people here in the first place. Take action — you are not powerless.

Zachary Guerette

Tiverton