One of the founding settlers of Steuben, Jonathan Stevens, was granted his 100-acre settler’s lot (lot #3) in June 1794 (1:415). The house predates the land grant by 15 years. This is the oldest standing property in Steuben Township. He sold a portion of the property to his brother Joseph in 1814 (8:71). Joseph sold the then 48-acre property “with my house and my barn and my other buildings” to Handy Leighton on April 30, 1831 (22:397).

The house was sold in 2018; the original listing details are available here.

From a Steuben oral history: Richard, David, and George Thurston (Leighton family descendants, captured 2000)

“We were at that time living in the house that I am living in now, which was our great, great, grandfather’s house, Handy Leighton, and he bought it in the 1830s and it was built in 1779.At that time we didn’t have any electricity…running water..no bathroom…no central heat. We used a wood stove to heat by, two of them in the house.”

Image Source (below): Realtor.com