Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Colonial

Benjamin Howd II House (1740)

Benjamin Howd II, son of the carpenter Benjamin Howd, built the saltbox house at 58 Old Post Road in Northford (in North Branford) c. 1740.

The house at 671 Main Street in Middlefield originally stood on the site of the David Lyman II House. Built in 1785 by David Lyman (1746-1815), it passed to his son William Lyman (1783-1869). After William’s son, David Lyman II (1820-1871), built his grand new residence on the property, the old Lyman House was moved to its current address in 1864 and was altered from a central chimney to a two-chimney house. The front columned verandah was possibly added around 1901.

Reuben Stone House (1769)

In 1769, Reuben Stone built the house at 22 Broad Street in Guilford, near the home of his brother, Caleb Stone. Reuben Stone (1726-1804) was a supporter of the Revolutionary War who procured supplies for the soldiers. In 1842, the Greek Revival entryway was added and the house was altered from one-and-a-half stories with a steeper roof to two-stories. The house was later owned by Leverett C. Stone (1819-1892) and other Stone descendants.

Elijah House House (1784)

At the Corner of Hebron Road and Center Street in Andover is a house built by Elijah House in 1784. Elijah House (1745-1823), descended from a prominent family from Rhode Island, is said to have been bankrupted after lending money to the French soldiers encamped in Lebanon during the Revolutionary War in 1781, but rebounded enough to build his house in Andover three years later. House was a merchant who inherited his father John House‘s property in Hebron and Coventry in 1801. On his land, Elijah House had a merchant shop, a slaughterhouse, soap-making equipment and a paper mill. He leased his operations to his son, Simon, in 1815. The house has been much altered over the years.

Goodrich-Stratton House (1740)

The center-chimney colonial house at 501 Main Street in South Glastonbury was built around 1740 by Timothy Brooks on land he had acquired in 1730 from William Goodrich, Sr. In 1749 Brooks sold the house to William Goodrich, Jr., a sea captain, who drowned in 1753. His daughter Mehitabel, wife of John Welles, Jr. (who owned the Welles-Shipman-Ward House in Glastonbury), later sold the property to her step-brother, Samuel Stratton, Jr.

Daniel Darte Homestead (1722)

The house at 22 Hebron Road in Bolton was built sometime between 1740 and 1770, although it may date to as early as 1722. It has been added to over the years. It was built by Daniel Darte (1691-1771), an original settler of Bolton. Daniel Darte supported the town’s separation from Hartford in 1720. There is another house in Bolton, at 219 Bolton Center Road, that is traditionally associated with Daniel Darte.

Claudius Pease House (1795)

The house at 611 Main Street in Somers was built in 1795 and has later Greek Revival details. It was the home of Claudius Buchanan Pease, whose third wife was Mary W. Chapin Pease (1820-1889). Having spent much of her childhood in her mother’s hometown of Cornwall, Mary Chapin became one of the first students at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837. After graduating she returned to Cornwall to teach, but then in 1843 returned to Mount Holyoke as a teacher. She served as the school’s principal from 1850 to 1865, when she retired and married Claudius Pease. After her children grew up, Mary Chapin Pease ran the Elm Knoll Preparatory School for girls from her home in Somers. The house was converted into two apartments in 1925 and became a flower shop in 1985.