The house at 711 Main Street in Plymouth Center was built in 1765-1766 and was owned by Major David Smith, who served with George Washington at Valley Forge. Washington stayed at this house in September 1780 on his way to meet the Comte de Rochambeau in Hartford. The house was later (c. 1850) operated as an inn by A.B. Curtiss and, after his death, by his widow. It was called it the Quiet House because alcohol was not served. As related in the History of the town of Plymouth, Connecticut (1895):
A. B. Curtiss was born in the town of Plymouth in 1819, and died at the age of sixty-seven. While a boy he entered the store of Edwin Talmadge as clerk, and his aptness for business and pleasant manners so commended him to his employer that when he became of age he was taken into partnership. The firm did a large business for those days, but unfortunate endorsements caused their downfall. Mr. Curtiss started in business again in the Stephen Mitchell store, but soon after bought the property where he died, remodeled the house, and opened a hotel. Except for a couple of years, when he kept the Brown hotel in Waterbury, he had for forty years welcomed strangers to his house and catered to their wants. He was well fitted for a landlord by his care to have everything pleasant, his genial hearty manners and business like ways. He was a benevolent, public spirited man. always ready to do his full share in common enterprises. His later years were full of suffering, yet to the last he had a bright and cheery word for each friend and acquaintance. Mrs. A. B. Curtiss still keeps the doors of the Quiet house open to strangers and travelers, some of whom often travel out of their way to indulge in the homelike accommodations that are to be had there.
I was proud to have lived in the Quiet House from 1985 t 1989. It was purchased by my father in law for my wife and new born daughter to live in when he sold his main home in Bristol. I sent a lot of time and loving effort reduing the hard wood floors and repairing cracked walls in the house. It was a great place to raise my daughter and a beautiful piece of history.At the time I was a musician and my band, “Quiet House” rehersed in the newer recreation room down stars next to the cookingquarters where the original behive oven still stood in tacked. The studio as I called it still had the
original “Quiet House Hotel” sign on the wall. I regret that I never found had the opportunity to transform the loft bed room on the third floor that over looked the congregational church across the street.I loved my time in the “Quiet House Hotel”. It’s an amazing house. I would have loved to have seen it in it’s glory days.
My wife and I were married on June 24, 1961 and we rented the 4 room front apartment (for $45 a month) from Mr. & Mrs. Wadman the owners of The Quiet House at that time. We lived there for about 5 years. What I am about to say are stories I received from the Wadmans and I assume them to be true. (I do not know any dates.) This house was originally an ell shaped home, but part of the house rested on a neighbors property. The neighbor allowed the Ell to remain as long as he lived. Once he died, the Ell was removed and moved down the street to become a separate home. When we first moved in, there was only one source of heat for the entire house and that was a forced hot air floor grate in the living room. It was common for the upstairs bedroom to hit 38 to 45 degrees in the winter. The walls did not have any insulation. Just prior to our daughter being born, Mr. Wadman allowed me to install a gas heater in the second floor hallway. That made the upstairs feel like heaven. When we moved in there was wallpaper on the living room walls and I removed the wallpaper in order to paint them. Little did I know the walls were made out of horsehair mixed with a plaster/ sand substance. What a mess I had!
I helped the general contractor and Mr. Wadman build the garage. When they first broke thru the huge stone foundation wall to install the cellar to garage doorway, Mr. Wadman found some coins laying on one of the stones dated somewhere in the late 1700’s. I was told the house was originally a stagecoach stop and many people stayed there. Originally the grand staircase was very wide, but when the house was divided into two apartments, they split the staircase in half. The attic was a ballroom and the basement was the kitchen. My wife recalls the attic ballroom walls had scenes painted on them. The house had a dumbwaiter that took food from the kitchen up to the dining area. I was told Tom Thumb sat in the dumbwaiter and rode it up and down. His initials were supposedly carved in the dumbwaiter. I’ll never forget whenever there was a fire or even a lighting storm, the next door fire department siren would go off and wake us up. To this day, I still have fond memories of our first apartment. That was over 54 years ago!
Amazing blog! Thank you for sharing your blog.