Deacon David Sherwood House (1830)

555 Clinton Ave., Bridgeport

The Greek Revival house at 555 Clinton Avenue in Bridgeport was originally located on Fairfield Avenue. It was built for Deacon David Sherwood, a farmer, and was known as the “pink house.” According to A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Vol. I (1886), by Samuel Orcutt:

Dea. David Sherwood, a descendant of Matthew, through Samuel, John and Stephen, purchased this farm owned by Dea. Lemuel one hundred years before, consisting of one hundred acres, in 1830. He was chosen deacon of the First Church, in 1831, and served about twenty-five years. He died January 24, 1873, at the age of 94 years.

He cultivated and kept his farm nearly intact until his decease. The population and improvements had so surrounded him, that his land had become very valuable. He died with the impression that he was very rich. The land has been mostly sold, streets have been laid over it, and these acres are covered with manufactures, stores and fine residences; and a teeming, busy, population, with a school house and chapels.

In 1874, the house was moved to its current address to become the residence of George Willett, a bakery owner. The house was later remodeled with Colonial Revival elements.

Armstrong-McDonald House (1860)

Armstrong-McDonald House

At 27 Leavenworth Street in Waterbury is a house built in the early 1860s and much altered over the years. Known as the Armstrong/McDonald House, it has an Italianate form, but the exterior details are Georgian Revival. In about 1897, the house became the headquarters of the Young Women’s Friendly League (called the Waterbury Institute of Craft and Industry after 1908), which aided young working women. The organization began in 1889 and was incorporated in 1893. A large brick Georgian Revival building (31 Leavenworth Street) was constructed in 1900 as a rear addition to the house. This was the Young Women’s Friendly League Assembly Hall, also known as Leavenworth Hall.

Essex Savings Bank (1922)

Essex Savings Bank

The Essex Savings Bank in Essex was founded in 1851. The bank was initially located above a retail business in Essex and in 1873 it moved into an 1849 building previously occupied by the Saybrook Bank. This building was remodeled and expanded into what it is today in 1922. The Essex Savings Bank was originally founded because of the wealth generated by shipbuilding. Unlike many other banks, it has never merged with another institution.

Noyes Memorial Building (1901)

Noyes Memorial Building, home of the Litchfield Historical Museum

Happy New Year!!! We begin the year with the Litchfield Historical Museum. The Noyes Memorial Building was constructed in 1901 (and expanded in 1906-1907) to house the town library and the Litchfield Historical Society, the latter of which had been founded in 1856. The building was built by John A. Vanderpoel in memory of his grandmother, Julia Tallmadge Noyes, a local resident and amateur historian who had led the Historical Society for many years. A granddaughter of Benjamin Tallmadge, she had married New York City attorney William Curtis Noyes in 1857. The couple owned the Benjamin Tallmadge House in Litchfield, which was inherited by their daughter, Emily Noyes Vanderpoel. Also an active member of the Historical Society, Emily Noyes Vanderpoel oversaw the completion of the Noyes Memorial Building after the death of her son, John A. Vanderpoel. She wrote two books about Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy, which her mother had attended. The library moved out to a new building in the 1960s and the Historical Society then occupied the entirety of the Noyes Memorial, which was expanded in 1989-1990. (more…)

Leonard Asheim House (1910)

The Colonial Revival-style house at 2345 North Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1910. It was the home of Leonard Asheim, an architect who designed many prominent religious and municipal buildings in Bridgeport in the 1910s to 1940s, including Achavath Achim Synagogue and the Klein Memorial Auditorium. In front of the house stands a Franklin milestone, inscribed “20 miles to N.H.” It originally stood on the nearby training ground (now part of Clinton Park) and was reset by the D.A.R. in 1913 on the front lawn of 2345 North Avenue. (more…)