Puritan settler Jonathan Fairbanks constructed the farm house for his wife Grace (née Smith) and their family.

The next major change was the expansion of the parlor to the east, under a hip roof, and the addition of the small entry to this expanded space, probably around 1800.

[6] Shoes have been found in the attic and behind the chimney, and are presumed to have been placed there to prevent evil spirits from entering the house.

According to some assertions, the frame of the main part of the house, together with the bricks and tiles and windows, were imported from England, and remained in Boston for several months before being carried to Dedham.

Subsequently, perhaps as late as 1654, a large addition, called the new house, was made to the original building, and was purportedly built for the occupation of his son John after his marriage.

[8] Her worsening financial situation led her to sell the house to local realtor John Crowley in 1895, but she was allowed to continue living there.

[8] She also sold a number of family heirlooms, including a wooden chest made in 1658 by John Houghton.

[8] The item was purchased by the family again at auction in 2003, and now splits its time between the Fairbanks House and the Dedham Historical Society.

[8] In 1897, Crowley was going to tear down the house to develop the two acre lot, but an appeal in the Boston Transcript led to it being purchased by Mrs. J. Amory Codman and her daughter Martha.

[9] The Codmans allowed Rebecca to remain in the house until 1904, when the newly established Fairbanks Family in America took it over and turned it into a museum in 1905.

[10] In 1926, 15 years after the death of club co-founder and "father of American bicycling" Frank W. Weston, it was discovered that his ashes were still being stored at the undertaker's.

[10] The members of the club rallied and, on a Friday afternoon in September, consecrated his remains to the ground under their anniversary tree.