George Clemons House (1887)

In 1887, H. S. Patterson of Torrington erected the two-family residence at 1092 Bantam Road, in the Bantam section of Litchfield, for George Clemons. The latter, who owned the house for many years, but only lived in it himself for two years, later served as Litchfield selectman. The house originally had a front porch, with decorative detailing, that extended across the entire front facade.

Joel Clemons House (1755)

The house at 1062 Bantam Road, in Bantam section of Litchfield, was built by Joel Clemons c. 1755-1756, shortly after he acquired the land from his father John. Joel married Sarah Pettibone in 1757. Aaron Bradley and his son-in-law, Henry Wadsworth, proprietors of the Bradley Tavern, owned the house in the 1820s. James K. Wallace and his wife, Abigail Kilbourn Wallace, bought the property in 1826. Their son, Dr. James K. Wallace, practiced medicine in the house. The Wallace family raised the house from being a one-and-a-half story cape to a full two stories. The house’s ell was once the parsonage of the Baptist Church and was moved from its original site on Cathole Road. A different door has been installed since 1987, when a photograph of the house was taken for the Historical and Architectural Resources Survey of Litchfield, Connecticut: The Bantam/Milton Area (1987). In recent years the house was home to Gilyard’s Outfitters, Ltd.

Starr Cottage (1885)

The house at 144 South Street in Litchfield was built in 1885 by Almon B. Fuller, a furniture dealer and real estate speculator, who immediately sold the house to F. Ratchford Starr, who also owned the William F. Baldwin House immediately to the south. The two houses were known as the Starr Cottages. An insurance salesman and seasonal resident from Philadelphia, Starr had begun a highly successful dairy farm in Litchfield called Echo Farm in the 1870s. Starr also wrote several books, including Farm Echoes (1886) and The Lamb of God (1888). He sold the business in 1887 and died in 1889, his daughter inheriting the two houses. She willed the houses to Florence Frost, who resided in the Baldwin House until her death in 1923. In 1914, Frost sold the house at 144 South Street to Kate J. Thomas of New York City, who lived in it until her death in 1928. The house was acquired by Melvin Diems in 1949.

Wolcott Institute (1857)

180 South Street, Litchfield

The house at 180 South Street in Litchfield was originally (from 1857-1859) home to a boarding school for boys called the Wolcott Institute. The school was founded by Rev. Charles H. Seymour, who departed the following year. A listing for the school in 1859 indicated that its most recent rector, Rev. D. G. Wright, had resigned and the vacancy had not been filled. The school ceased operations that year.