The Historical Commission voted unanimously on Nov. 15 to delay the demolition of the house at 197 Horseneck Road for six months. The house, which is next to Dartmoor Gifts, was initially estimated to date back to 1830. However, once the commission started looking around, they found several features that indicated the house might be even older.

The house's owner, James McBratney, wants to tear down the house in part because it is completely uninsulated.

The house features corner posts that are chamfered — meaning that they are cut with a beveled edge — along with details that indicate which carpenter made the posts.

The house also features summer beams, which are very large beams used to support the second floor of the house. Now, builders know a two by four can support the weight of a second floor, but earlier carpenters used larger beams, which could indicate that the house was built as early as 1725.

The commission also found well preserved wallpaper behind the plaster thought to be from the 1800s. There are also plates on the roof rafters that may have numbers or names on them.

The commission voted to delay demolition by six months to gather some more information, but could remove the demolition delay sooner.