[1] The Ernest R. Burwell House is located on the east side of Bristol's fashionable Federal Hill residential area, at the northeast corner of Grove and Oakland Streets.

Although it faces Grove Street, it is set well back, with a tree-dotted lawn and semi-circular drive in between.

The main facade is three bays wide, the central one sheltered by a massive two-story four-column temple portico, with Doric columns rising to an entablature and fully pedimented and dentillated gable.

The interior is lavishly finished, with parquet floors in the foyer, a grand curving staircase, and mahogany paneling and bookcases in the library.

Ernest Burwell, for whom it was built, was a native of New Hartford, who made a fortune in coal, ice, and trucking, and eventually became president of the Bristol Manufacturing Company, a textile maker.