I have become interested in the fate of the Philip Walker house now owned by PreserveRI and standing empty at the corner of N. Broadway and Massasoit in East Providence, RI. The original section is 29' square, two story. House was occupied until 1980's so many changes. 1679 date has been called into question in a Brown U study because of "casing of exposed framing members." How definitive do you think this is?

Fashion could be as powerful then as now...

More than a few beautifully joined and highly embelllished 17th century frames were "boxed in" after exposed timber fell out of fashion.

Unless of course you didn't have the means to keep up.