Hardendorf-Bragg-Wickham House (1890)

The house at 91 Olmstead Street in East Hartford was on one of four lots developed by J. Merrick Bragg, a prominent builder in town, and Horatio Hardendorf, a Hartford resident. In 1890 Bragg and Hardendorf split the properties, with Hardendorf taking 91 Olmstead Street and its neighbor to the west and Bragg taking the other two (85 and 95 Olmstead Street), flanking Hardendorf’s houses. Bragg quickly sold his houses, but Hardendorf held on to his for a while as properties to rent out. In 1895 he sold 91 Olmstead Street to William H. Wickham, a clerk.

Saint Luke’s Home for Destitute and Aged Women (1892)

135 Pearl Street, Middletown

The building at 135 Pearl Street at the corner of Lincoln Street in Middletown was built in 1892 as St. Luke’s Home for Destitute and Aged Women. The home had been established in 1865 and members of the Church of the Holy Trinity were instrumental in establishing the endowment. St. Luke’s Home was originally located in a house at the southwest corner of Court and Pearl Streets. A large legacy enabled the construction of the new building, which had quarters for fourteen women. A new wing addition was constructed and other alterations made in about 1925. In the 1970s the Home moved to new quarters behind the Rectory of the Church of the Holy Trinity and in 1981 the building on Pearl Street was converted into nine apartments.

Bethel Opera House (1860)

Bethel Opera House

The Opera House in Bethel, located at 186 Greenwood Avenue, was built in 1860 [or perhaps as early as 1848?] by Augustus A. Fisher, a hat manufacturer. It housed a hat factory on the first floor, with a public hall above known as Fisher’s Hall. After a fire damaged the roof in the late nineteenth century, it was replaced with the current broad-eaved roof with Italianate brackets. The building later became Nichols’ Opera House, named after John F. Nichols, who ran it as an entertainment complex, with theater, roller skating rink and billiards. After his death in 1918, Daniel Brandon used the lower floor of the building as a brush factory and showed silent movies upstairs in what was called the Barnum Theatre. In the 1930s and 1940s, it was called Leeja Hall and was used for town meetings and as a high school gym. Since that time, the building has been used by various businesses, with an art gallery and later a photography studio above and a restaurant below.

J. Elms Building (1887)

The J. Elms Building is located at 60 Lyme Street in Old Lyme. According to the Old Lyme Historical Society Walking Tour brochure, the building dates to 1887. It was built by James Bugbee (possibly James Francis Bugbee?) as a house next to a storage building. In 1889 he converted it into his store, which he later deeded to his daughter and granddaughters, while he resided the rest of his life in a house abutting the store (which was known for many years as “Bugbee’s Store”). The store has had many owners over the years, including Elizabeth Griswold Whitley and her husband, Joseph.

Tabor-Burr House (1895)

The house at 222 Saybrook Road, in the Higganum section of Haddam, was built in 1895. It is a good example of a vernacular house that has applied Victorian-era decoration and an Eastlake style porch. Adella Tabor bought the land in 1893 and built the house two years later. In 1908, the house was inherited by two sisters, Ella Virginia Burr and Abby Burr, who both died in 1924. The house was then sold out of the family by their niece, Ruth A. Burr.

Sarah E. Conklin House (1890)

At 7 Walnut Street in Ivoryton is a large Victorian house situated on a hill adjacent to the Falls River. It was erected in 1890 for Sarah E. Conklin. In 1898 it was purchased by Fred J. A. Miller, an overseer at Comstock, Cheney & Co. He also served as a deputy sheriff. His son, Fred W. A. Miller, attended Brown University. After graduation, he served in the Army in World War One and died of pneumonia in France in 1918. The house was inherited in 1919 by the elder Miller’s widow, Edith, and daughter, Pearl Shupp and remained in the Miller family until 1961. To read more about the house, see Houses of Essex Volume II, by Donald Malcarne (p. 159).