Joseph Dorset Taylor and Mary Holmes Taylor, first cousins and proud descendants of the Taylors of Middletown, decided to move back to Middletown and build an imposing new house on an inherited family farm. The outcome was a restrained Italianate residence, named “Orchard Home” but now called the Taylor-Butler House. It reflected the success that Joseph Taylor had achieved as a merchant in the China Trade. They furnished their new home with items from China mixed with Taylor family heirlooms. The house, with its broad stair hall, spacious rooms, high ceilings, and exceptional architectural detailing, was an elegant testimony to the family’s traditions and to mid-19th century taste. At the time of its construction, the Taylor-Butler House was considered the grandest house in Middletown, a distinction it richly deserved.