888 Worthington Ridge, Berlin

The house at 888 Worthington Ridge in Berlin was built c. 1890 by Phineas Squires. In 1811 Squires sold the house to Rev. Samuel Goodrich (1763-1835), the third pastor of the Berlin Congregational Church, serving from 1811 to 1833. He had previously been the pastor at the Congregational Church in Ridgefield for 25 years. Rev. Goodrich was the father of Samuel Griswold Goodrich (1793-1860), the children’s author who wrote under the name “Peter Parley.” Another son was Rev. Charles A. Goodrich (1790-1862), who was also an author of such books as The Child’s History of the United States. According to Catharine M. North’s History of Berlin (1916):

The Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, who was a public-spirited citizen, continued to live on his father’s place until 1847, when he removed to Hartford, where he died in 1862. Mr. Goodrich had a comfortable study in his south yard where he could be quiet while working on his books. That building is now attached to the rear of Mrs. William A. Riley’s house.

The house was altered in the mid-19th century when the ground floor windows were enlarged and the Greek-Revival entry portico was added.

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Phineas Squires House (1790)