Built on a site which slopes to the rear, the house occupies the level portion next to the north side of the road and faces south.

193 Ansonia Road is a three-bay, gable-to-street vernacular Federal-style house with a side-hall plan. A one-story recessed, gabled kitchen wing is located on the left elevation and an open porch is added on the right, almost in line with the facade. There are three brick chimney stacks: one centered in the main block, another interior one at the end of the wing, and a later exterior one at the rear. The Federal doorway is original. It displays a six-panel door, which is flanked by pilasters and surmounted by a frieze and projecting cornice. The open porch, which shelters a side entrance and has a hipped roof supported by paired posts, is probably an early twentieth-century addition. Six-paned sash are generally found throughout. Double-hung windows are grouped in pairs on the facade of the main block and are equally spaced on the front of the wing. Smaller single sash are located under the eaves of the side elevations. The front gable window is very narrow and has four panes in each sash.

Family tradition holds that Abner Baldwin (1781-1863; 220 Ansonia Road) gave his daughter Tirza (1802-1880) the land for this house when she married James Stowe (1905-1845). A carpenter by trade, Stowe actually built the house. Overly blessed with daughters, Baldwin had made similar dower arrangements for Tamer, her sister, who also married a carpenter (see #175). Although when Elizabeth, their younger sister, married Isaac Stowe, there was no record of a land dowry, it was still an arranged marriage (see 1160 Racebrook Road). Since Isaac was the brother of James Stowe, the Stowe-Baldwin alliance was further cemented through a marriage practice called sibling exchange. Still commonly employed in this period, this custom conserved family estates for succeeding generations. Local sources believe this house dates from c. 1800, but it is apparent from Tirza Stowe's birthdate that 1820 is more likely, a date still well within the Federal-style period in country towns stu:la as Woodbridge. The orientation of the main block is additional confirmation since, at this time, domestic architecture, even in more rural areas, was moving from the late Federal style to the Greek Revival, both of which had gabled facades. The Stowes had six children before James' untimely death at age 40. The private school reportedly operating in the wing of the house later in the century was probably started by the widow to support her family and she lived here at least until 1868.