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Case House
4 East Granby Road
This House:
This elegant mansion on the north edge of the town green is a Granby landmark. The Pettibone's built the house in 1805 and lived there for 29 years. Then three generations named Case were residents for an incredible 131 years. And finally, the Gracey family made it their home for 52 years. In 212 years, only three families have lived there, a remarkable statistic.
A Bit More:
Ozias Pettibone (who built the house in 1805) was a wealthy businessman who owned a sawmill, houses, 1,000 acres of land, and a store.
His son, Ozias Pettibone, Jr. inherited the house but died destitute.
In 1834 the house and a bit of land was purchased by Dr. Jairus Case who studied medicine at Yale.
His son William Cullen Case, a lawyer, next lived there.
Theodore Case, a son of W. C. Case, a lawyer himself, and a member of the CT General Assembly inherited the house.
The Gracy family (he was also a lawyer) owned it from 1965 until 2017.
Staffordshire Bowl
Dr. Jairus Case & Wife Mary Theresa (Higley) Case
Even More:
Ozias Pettibone was a Captain in the Revolutionary War. He was also one of two Granby residents who owned slaves. The 1790 census lists 5 slaves owned by Pettibone.
Dr. Jairus Case was thought to be a good doctor. At one point he was accused of being a Southern sympathizer or a Copperhead. Local lore has it that the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. But if Dr. Case was a Southern sympathizer, this does not seem likely.
In 1902 Granby was one of 105 towns to receive a Constitutional seedling that was handed out to commemorate the CT Constitutional Convention held in 1902. It was planted in their yard and is still there, to the right of the house near the barn.
Theodore Case, another lawyer, served on the CT General Assembly for 3 terms and, among other things was a founder of the Salmon Brook Historical Society in 1945.
Theodore’s wife, Christine Loomis Case, a graduate of the Boston Conservancy of Music, was also active and influential. She was a founder and president of the Hartford County YWCA and the organist and choir director of South Congregational Church for 40 years.