Cray House

Cray House

This is the oldest house in Stevensville. John Denny constructed it shortly after purchasing the land in 1809. A ship carpenter, Denny used an unusual post and plank construction method in which walls are formed by tenoning horizontal planks into mortices (slots) cut into vertical corner posts. The south portion of the house was added around 1842 by Mary E. Carville Legg. After a series of owners, it was sold at public auction in 1914 to Nora Cray, a widow who lived there with her nine children. Her heirs deeded the property to The Kent Island Heritage Society in 1976. The house is currently undergoing extensive restoration work, after which it will be completely furnished and reopened to the public. This house is on the National Register of Historic Places.