Colonial - Historic Buildings of Connecticut

David Hale House (1795)

Reverend David Hale of Coventry was the younger brother of Nathan Hale. He served as pastor of the Newent Congregational Church in Lisbon from 1790 to 1803. In 1795 he built a house in Lisbon (4 Newent Road) that continued to be used as the church parsonage until the late 1960s when it became a private residence. It is now home to an antiques shop known as The Skeleton Key at the Hale House.

As described in the History of New London County, Connecticut, with Biographical Sketches of its Pioneers and Prominent Men (1882), compiled by D. Hamilton Hurd:

In June, 1790, Mr. David Hale, of Coventry, was ordained. He was a brother of the accomplished and chivalrous Capt. Nathan Hale, who was executed as a spy on Long Island by order of Sir William Howe. Mr. Hale was a man of very gentle and winning manners, of exalted piety, and a fine scholar. He carried his idea of disinterested benevolence to such an extent that, if acted upon, it would overturn all social institutions. He thought it to be a man’s duty to love his neighbor, not only as himself, with the same kind of love, but also to the same degree, so that he should not prefer, even in thought, that a contingent calamity, such as the burning of a house or the loss of a child, should fall on his neighbor rather than on himself. Mr. Hale supplied the deficiencies of his salary by keeping a boarding-school. As an instructor he was popular; his house was filled with pupils from all parts of the county, but ill health and a constitutional depression of spirits obliged him to resign this employment, and eventually his pastoral office. His mind and nerves were of that delicate and sensitive temperament which cannot long endure the rude shock of earthly scenes. He was dismissed in April, 1803, returned to Coventry, and there died in 1822.

Theodore Hale House (1745)

In 1759 Jonathan Hale, Jr. (1696-1772) of Glastonbury deeded one half of a brick house to his son, Theodore Hale (1735-1807), who acquired the other half in 1762. Built around 1745, the gambrel-roofed Hale House (1715 Main Street in Glastonbury) remained in the Hale family until 1810. It was owned for a time by Rev. Prince Hawes, pastor of the First Church of Christ. William H. Turner (1788-1872) bought the house in 1828 and it remained in his family until 1912. Turner, who served in the War of 1812, owned a coasting vessel, which operated from the Connecticut river to various Atlantic ports. He was also involved in shipbuilding and politics, serving in the state legislature and as town selectman.

Wadsworth Homestead (1685)

The rear ell of the house at 107 Main Street in Farmington dates to around 1685. It was built by John Wadsworth, Jr. (1662-1718), nephew of the Joseph Wadsworth (1647-1729) who had hidden the Royal Charter in the Charter Oak. The house remained in the Wadsworth family, eventually passing to John, Jr.’s youngest son, Rev. Daniel Wadsworth (1704-1747), pastor of the First Church of Christ in Hartford (Center Church). In 1771, Asahel Wadsworth (1743-1817) purchased the property from his cousins, the daughters of Daniel Wadsworth. He hired the architect/builder Judah Woodruff to construct the front portion of the house, which was completed between 1776 and 1781. The columned front porch was added much later. During the Revolutionary War, Asahel Wadsworth was appointed to correspond with other towns about “Colonial matters” and transact matters related to the Continental Congress. The Wadsworth farm ceased operation until the 1970s but the house has remained in the Wadsworth family for nine generations.

Charles Caldwell House (1740)

In volume 58 of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (1904), it is written that Charles Caldwell

Charles Caldwell and his brother John Caldwell came from Beith, in Scotland, to New England about the year 1718. It is said that they deserted from the army in the early part of the rebellion of 1715. They were aristocratic in their manners, and unaccustomed to the industrious habits of the early settlers of New England. John was married before he came to this country, but Charles was unmarried. Soon after their arrival, they bought a house, a shop or store, land, etc. They were traders. John remained in Hartford, but Charles removed to Guilford. . . [Charles] married, Nov. 3, 1724, Anna, daughter of Rev. Thomas Ruggles. She died May 19, 1760; and he died Feb. 12, 1765.

Charles Caldwell‘s house in Guilford, built circa 1740, is at 159 Boston Street. The house’s original central chimney was replaced by two smaller ones circa 1815 and the front porch was added around the same time.

Caleb Fuller House (1771)

According to the Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, Volume 1 (1909):

Caleb, son of Young and Jerusha (Beebe) Fuller, was born in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1735. He removed to Ellington in 1747. He graduated from Yale College in 1758, and received the degree of A. M. in 1762. He is called Deacon in some records, and Reverend in others. He married, October 28. 1762, Hannah Weld, daughter of Rev. Habijah Weld, the famous minister who preached at Attleboro, Massachusetts, for fifty-five years. [….] Caleb Fuller removed in 1771 to Middletown, Connecticut, and in 1790 to Hanover, New Hampshire, where he died August 20, 1815.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (Vol. 35, 1904) states that, “Caleb Fuller seems never to have been a settled pastor, though doubtless he often preached as a supply, since manuscript sermons of his are now in possession of his descendants.” He moved to Hanover, NH, “perhaps because he desired to educate his son at Dartmouth College,” where he became “Deacon of the College Church.” Caleb Fuller‘s gambrel-roofed house in Middletown, built in 1771, originally stood at the corner of Main and William Street. It was moved west on William Street in 1842 when the First Baptist Church was constructed on that corner. In 1975 the house was scheduled for demolition as part of a redevelopment plan, but it was saved as part of an adaptive reuse plan. Moved to its current address at 49 Main Street, the house had its exterior restored and it was converted to office use.

(more…)

John Palmer House (1790)

At 291 North Burnham Highway (Route 169) in Lisbon is a colonial “Cape Cod”-type house built in 1790. It was the home of John Palmer, who was a revivalist preacher during the period of the Great Awakening. A Separatist, or “Strict Congregationalist,” leader from 1746 until his death in 1807, Palmer was a dissident from the established Congregational church. In 1749, he became the pastor of the Separatist Brunswick Church, which was located in what is now the town of Scotland. While most Separatist churches of the time lasted only a few years, the Brunswick Church was not formally disbanded until 1813. The exterior of the Palmer House was significantly remodeled (removing some later alterations) during a restoration that followed a fire in 1968. Today the house is part of Heritage Trail Vineyards.

Noah Benedict House (1795)

Now converted to commercial use, the pyramidal-roofed house at 270 Main Street South in Woodbury has a sign that indicates it was built before 1795 by Rev. Noah Benedict, who was pastor of Woodbury’s Congregational Church. It was actually built by Rev. Benedict for his son, Noah Bennit Benedict. In 1830 it was willed to become a parsonage for the First Congregational Church. The house at 270 Main St S has been home to B. Bourgeois Historic Lighting since 1999.