Washband Tavern (1714)

washband-tavern

In 1714, John Twitchell (c. 1699-1739) built a small one-story with attic dwelling at what is now 90 Oxford Road in Oxford. Around 1741 the Washband (or Washburn) family purchased the property and enlarged the house to serve as a tavern. In 1784, coinciding with the opening of the Oxford Turnpike, the family enlarged the building again, adding what amounted to a new house attached to the old one. The Washband family operated the tavern for several generations. Before the Civil War, the tavern was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Hiding places are said to exist in the cellar. The former tavern is now home to Daoud & Associates.

Christ Church Quaker Farms (1812)

Christ Church Quaker Farms

Christ Church, an Episcopal church at 470 Quaker Farms Road in Oxford, was built in 1812 and was consecrated on September 3, 1817. It was designed by George Boult of Southford. Begun as a mission of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Oxford center, Christ Church became a separate parish in 1826. The church has a crystal chandelier that it received in 1881 as a gift from Trinity Church, Seymour, which itself had received it as a gift from St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, New York, where it originally hung. The steeple of Christ Church was rebuilt in 1968.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Oxford (1835)

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St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Oxford was founded in 1764. The parish’s first church was erected in 1767 on land on Governor’s Hill Road purchased from Joseph Davis. The church was not consecrated until 1816. In 1834 the parish decided to erect a new church, which was presumably completed the following year. The church was enlarged and redecorated in 1878. A new parish hall, connected to the church, was built in 1963. (more…)

Glenbrook (1696)

Glenbrook

The oldest section of the house at 429 Quaker Farms Road in Oxford dates to 1696. It was built by William Tomlinson, whose son Isaac inherited it in 1719. The house was substantially enlarged and given a Federal-style facade by Charles Meigs around 1814. The house was enlarged again by Mr. and Mrs. Courtney in the twentieth century. Mr. Courtney was a New York Circuit Court Judge who also had connections with the theater world. Actors like Basil Rathbone were frequent guests. The house remained vacant from 1927 until 1944, when it acquired new owners. It has been known as “Glenbrook” for many years.