15580 Second Street
Open on Sunday: 10am to 5pm
Built in 1861 by blacksmith and hotel keeper Robert Thomas, this simple two-story, three-bay frame house quickly found itself in the midst of the Civil War. By September of that year, it was being used as a Confederate hospital, as noted in the diary of Quaker neighbor Rebecca Williams.
Later in the war, prominent Quaker and Union supporter Samuel Steer moved his family into the house for safety. Steer, one of just four Waterford residents to vote for Lincoln in 1860, was arrested in 1864 for his pro-Union sympathies. His daughter, Sarah Ann Steer, helped publish the Waterford News—a fiercely Unionist paper written by local young women—and later taught African-American children after the war.
Set on a sloped lot with a stone foundation and later additions, the house has been thoughtfully updated by its current owners with garden spaces, stonework, and modern amenities.
The Samuel Steer House is open through the courtesy of owner Edith Crockett.