Berlin Free Library (1831)

Berlin Free Library (1831)

At 834 Worthington Ridge in Berlin is a building erected around 1831 as the second Berlin, or Worthington, Academy Building. The first floor was used as the school, while the second served first as space for the Presbyterian Church, and later as a courthouse. With declining enrollments, the school closed in 1873 and the building served various purposes until in 1900 it was sold to the Brandegee family. In 1949, it was donated in honor of the family to the Berlin Free Library Association and still serves as a library today.

Asahel Hart House (1786)

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The Asahel Hart House, in the Worthington Ridge Historic District in Berlin, was built around 1786. The doorway, with its semi-circular window, is clearly in the Federal style. A chimney on the southern half must have been removed at some point. Asahel Hart was a tailor, who had his shop in the rear. After his death in 1821, his son, Freedom Hart, inherited the property and had a shop where he made combs from the shells of the turtles that were found in abundance in Berlin’s swampy areas.

Keeney Memorial Cultural Center (1893)

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Constructed in 1893, on Main Street in Wethersfield, the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center was originally a public school and later served as a court and a library. In 1985, the building was renovated with support from Mrs. William Keeney, becoming a cultural center named in honor of her son, Robert Allan Keeney, who was lost at age 21, when the U.S.S. Indianapolis was sunk in the final days of World War II. The Center houses the Wethersfield Historical Society.