Congregational Church of Burlington (1836)
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 Posted in Burlington, Churches, Greek Revival | 1 Comment »
In the eighteenth century, two parishes were established in what was then the West Woods section of Farmington: the New Cambridge Ecclesiastical Society in 1742 and the West Britain Ecclesiastical Society, gathered in 1774 and incorporated in 1783. That same year, the West Britain Society dedicated their meeting house, constructed after several years of contention over where to build it. The two parishes of West Britain and New Cambridge joined in 1785 to form the new town of Bristol, but differences between the two parishes later led to the separation of West Britain as the town of Burlington in 1806. The first meeting house had been outgrown by then. According to Epaphroditus Peck, in a 1906 Address on the history of Burlington, “It is said that this little meeting-house was never finished inside, and that the swallows used to make their nests in the rafters and often fly in and out during service.” A new meeting house was built in 1809, near to the site of the first building which, according to Peck, “was removed to Bristol, and used as a cotton-mill. It afterward became the Ingraham clock-case shop, and was destroyed by fire in December, 1904.” The 1809 Congregational Church of Burlington was moved, reduced somewhat in size, and rebuilt in the Greek Revival style at its current location on the Burlington Green in 1836.
The Brown-Elton Tavern (1810)
Monday, May 17th, 2010 Posted in Burlington, Federal Style, Houses, Taverns & Inns | No Comments »
The striking pink, Federal-style Brown-Elton Tavern, located on the Green in Burlington, was built in 1810 as the private home of Giles Griswold, a merchant. By 1820, Griswold had relocated to Georgia and his properties were being foreclosed. The house was soon acquired by Julius Hotchkiss, who died in 1825. His widow, Laura Hotchkiss, later sold the Tavern, which passed through other owners over the years (pdf). The building served as a tavern on the Hartford and Litchfield stage line and later as an inn along the George Washington Turnpike. It was purchased by the Town of Burlington in 1974 and is now home to the Burlington Historical Society, which is restoring the Tavern as a museum.
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