05/18/2026
WIN a Dobbin House T-Shirt! (Rules below). Just as there is construction activity around the Dobbin House today, in 2026, so it was in 1776 when Rev. Alexander Dobbin, his wife, Isabella, and their 2-year-old son, Matthew, were busy orchestrating 18th century craftsmen completing construction of their new home, which would forever be called the “Dobbin House”. Workmen fit oak-framed windows with shutters and heavy oak doors with forged strap hinges onto the thick fieldstone walls. Interior finishing included laying wide pine floorboards, building walls and staircases, and installing carved baseboards, chair rails and mantels. Walls were plastered with lime plaster over stone and lath and then painted with whitewash. Maybe a few pieces of furniture, gifts from members of Dobbin’s Reformed Presbyterian congregation, were beginning to be placed in the home. How lucky we are that almost all of the original architecture remains.
While the Dobbins were excitingly occupied with the building of their new home, little was left of the structure of England’s colonial empire on the American mainland. The Prohibitory Act of December 1775 effectively prevented trade between America and Great Britain, forcing commerce with other nations as an economic necessity. With royal governors dissolving local legislatures or fleeing the colonies, the 2nd Continental Congress resolved that the “united colonies….adopt such government as shall, in the opinion of the representatives of the people, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in particular and America in general.” About the same time, George Washington obtained copies of treaties between King George III and German states to hire mercenaries to fight in America. This convinced many that Great Britain looked upon America as a foreign, hostile country.
As the 13 colonies became separated economically and politically from the “Mother Country”, more and more colonists were becoming accustomed to the inevitability of independence.
Note: The Dobbin family probably moved into their new home while our “Declaration of Independence” was being written and adopted. According to the 18th century diary of Rev. Cuthbertson, the Dobbin’s new home was consecrated by the Reformed Presbytery on August 26, 1776. On August 26, 2026, exactly 250 years to the day, we invite you to join us for a special reenactment of that consecration as part of our 250th anniversary celebration!
Contest Rules: To celebrate the semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the 1776 United States and the 1776 Dobbin House, we are counting down the 1 month, and 17 days to the July 4, 1776 date when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and the Dobbin House was built. Every month until our 250th, we have an online story contest, with 3 winners receiving Dobbin House prizes (a total of 50 stories and 50 (1st) T-shirts, (2nd) ornaments and (3rd) pens). For this month, a fourth winner will receive a pendent holding a brass Liberty Bell. To enter the contest, simply respond within 48 hours with a short comment about this historical story. The Dobbin House staff will randomly choose 4 comments as the winners, whose authors will be notified by private message and later announced on this page. Notice! Be cautious of fake links. We only notify winners by private message. Thank you for your interest in our history and good luck!
