Memorial Town Hall, North Haven (1886)

Like Memorial Hall in Windsor Locks, the town of North Haven chose to honor its men who died in the Civil War with a functional building, instead of a traditional stone monument. Veterans had formed an association in 1885 to erect a monument and money was appropriated for the purpose in a town meeting, but a later meeting reversed this, as public opinion favored erecting a memorial building instead. As related in North Haven Annals (1892), by Sheldon B. Thorpe:

A lot was purchased from the Cowles estate, plans for a building adopted, and ground broken May 10, 1886. It had been voted by the town the year previous to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of its incorporation the next October, and hence the appropriateness of dedicating the new hall at the same time.

The contract for erection was awarded to Solomon F. Linsley. The work was driven forward during the summer with all possible speed, but as early as October it was foreseen the building could not be completed in season for the Centennial ceremonies. Attention was then turned to finishing such portions of it as would be most needed on that occasion. A popular concert to be given as the inauguration of the joyful occasion, seemed to call especially for hall privileges, and consequently the upper floor was completed first

The completed building was severely criticized for inadequately referencing its memorial purpose. Thorpe, quoted above, wrote that

As the building progressed it became more and more apparent that its chief promotors [sic] sought more a public edifice than a soldiers’ memorial, and the sequel abundantly proved it. No provision whatever was made for an assembling place or headquarters for the veterans, and for some three years after its completion the latter body was required to pay rent for holding its meetings in it.

When constructed, the front of the building featured the words “1886 Memorial Hall.” Thorpe felt that

To the stranger such is an indefinite inscription. So many memorial structures are erected from other than patriotic motives in this day, that the lack of specific statement, either by word or device, makes this pile valueless as an object lesson. Furthermore, even within its doors no emblem to denote its character is seen until a small marble tablet, six feet by three, set in the vestibule on the second floor is pointed out as containing the names of those who died in service during the Rebellion.

The veterans persisted in their efforts to erect a monument, and one was finally dedicated in 1905. Memorial Town Hall has continued in use, but has a completely different appearance from what was built in 1886. It was an eclectic Renaissance Revival/Neoclassical structure, designed by local builder-architect Solomon Fowler Linsley (1830-1901). With brick provided by I. L. Stiles & Son, a local company, it showcased the thriving brick industry of North Haven, which was then at its peak. The building’s current Colonial Revival look dates to a 1949 renovation. Memorial Town Hall also housed the Bradley Library, which became the North Haven Memorial Library in 1907 and moved to its own building in 1938.

Bakerville United Methodist Church (1960)

The history of the Methodist church in New Hartford begins with the establishment of the New Hartford Society of the Reformed Methodist Church in 1845. A Methodist church building was erected on Maple Hollow Road in the village of Bakerville in the 1850s. It was destroyed by fire on September 23, 1954. Ground breaking for a new Bakerville Church, located at 1087 Litchfield Turnpike, took place in the fall of 1957. The exterior of the church was built first, followed by construction of the attached Fellowship Hall. It was in Fellowship Hall that the first church service was held on April 6, 1958. The church sanctuary was consecrated on December 11, 1960.

Old Canton Public Library (1920)

The building at 26 Center Street in Collinsville was erected in 1920 as the Canton Public Library. The library had started in 1913 and was initially housed in the basement of the Collins Company office building. The 1920 building was a gift by Helen R. Collins in memory of her husband, Howard R. Collins, son of Samuel W. Collins, founder of the Collins Company. It was erected on land donated by the Canton Memorial Association in memory of the soldiers and sailors of Canton. The library moved out in 1999 and the building now houses the law offices of Burns & Lovejoy.

Wallace Silversmiths Administration Building (1920)

Happy Tanksgiving! Perhaps you will eat your Thanksgiving dinner with fine Wallace silverware? In the 1870s, Robert Wallace, an immigrant from Scotland, established what would become the R. Wallace and Sons Manufacturing Company, a major American manufacturer of sterling silver. Over time, the company expanded its factory complex at 340 Quinnipiac Street in Wallingford. The Administration Building was built c. 1920-1924. By the 1950s, the company was known as Wallace Silversmiths. Over the years it would be sold three times and would relocate twice within Wallingford before leaving the state in 1987.

McDonough Hall, University of Saint Joseph (1936)

Saint Joseph’s College, recently renamed the University of Saint Joseph, in West Hartford was founded in 1932 by the Sisters of Mercy, a religious institute of Catholic women. It was the first liberal arts college for women in the Hartford area. Classes were initially held at Mount Saint Joseph Academy, before the college moved to its own campus. Sister Mary Rosa McDonough, the College’s first dean, oversaw construction of the original campus buildings. The Administration and Science Building, erected in 1936, was renamed McDonough Hall in her honor in 1969.

Temple Beth David (1834)

On April 22, 1834, Methodists in Cheshire formed a building committee to undertake the construction of a meeting house. Called the Wesley Chapel, it is one of the last examples in the country of a chapel designed by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. As related in Joseph Perkins Beach’s History of Cheshire, Connecticut (1912):

A lot of land centrally located was purchased of Jairus Bunnell, on which was built a brick structure at a cost of $3,000. This was dedicated Nov. 22, 1834, by Rev. Schuyler Seager. During the working of the bartyes mines, the congregation greatly increased and the church and finances were in a flourishing condition; the decrease in numbers caused by the removal of so many families has made the work of the (comparatively) few left much harder; but no diminution of ardor or enthusiasm has ever been noted.

A wooden belfry was added to the building in 1870, but it blew down during a storm in 1897. Church membership began to increase with the growth of Cheshire’s population after World War II. In 1959, the church acquired land at 205 Academy Road for future expansion and eventually decided to erect a new building at that location. The new Cheshire United Methodist Church was completed by February, 1970. The church had already sold its 1834 building to Temple Beth David, the town’s first Jewish synagogue, in 1968. The two congregations shared the old building until the new church was ready. In 1984, Temple Beth David completed phase one of an expansion. The building has a Colonial Revival style front entrance vestibule that was expanded southward to link with the new addition.