Colonial - Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Andrew Clark House (1740)

Although the Andrew Clark House, at 45 Ross Hill Road in Lisbon, is a central-chimney house built in 1740, its facade displays the elegant detailing of the architecture of the Federal Period (1780s-1820s). These alterations were probably made in 1798, as that date appears in a panel set in the chimney. The National Register of Historic Places nomination for the house gives its date as 1798. When Andrew Clark, who served in the state legislature in 1824, purchased the land in 1792, records did not indicate any buildings standing on the property. Clark died in 1831 and when his widow, Elizabeth Partridge, died in 1858 she left the house to her sister, Dolly Partridge Herskell (aka Haskell) and her husband, George B. Herskell. The house then became known as the Haskell House. It underwent extensive restoration in 1967. Its current owners are dealers in antiques and a modern addition to the property contains an antiques showroom.

Michael Darrow House (1743)

Michael Darrow established his farm in Norwich in 1743. He lived in a one room house on his property while regularly commuting to New London. In 1773, his family was admitted as residents of the town of Norwich, so his saltbox house at 10 (also listed as 6) Ox Hill Road was probably completed by that time. Famed lawyer Clarence Darrow was his direct descendant.

Benjamin Buck House (1729)

The oldest house in Bristol is located at 14 Daniel Road. It was built in 1729 by Benjamin Buck, from Southington, and his wife Mercy Parsons. They lived in the house until 1736. The house was once thought to have not survived, until it was discovered in 1951 hidden behind overgrown trees and brush!

Fletcher-Fenner Homestead (1755)

Around 1739, John Fletcher (d. 1788) and his wife, Rachel Wing Fletcher (1697-1778) (they married in 1720 in Harwich, Massachusetts), settled in the village of Wormwood Hill in Mandfield. By the mid-1750s they had built the central-chimney house at 611 Wormwood Hill Road. According to Wormwood Hill: Its Settlement and Growth (2009) by Rudy J. Favretti and Isabelle K. Atwood, John Fletcher became wealthy purchasing and selling various pieces of land. His son John possibly lived in the house, which then passed to his younger brother, Capt. Richard Fletcher (1736-1812), who sold it in 1806. It then had other owners. In 1843 it was acquired by Amos G. Fenner (1807-1882), a farmer originally from Warwick, Rhode Island. His son William (1837-1918) and daughter-in-law Damorous Anstice Holley Fenner (1835-1907) later lived in the house and turned the south lawn into a croquet court. In 1913, their son Frank E. Fenner (1865-1933), who lived in Waterbury, sold the house to his cousin, George Silas Clark (1869-1938). In 1954, it was purchased by H. John Thorkelson (d. 2003), an economics professor at UCONN, and his wife Virginia, is now the home of their son, Peter Tork, formerly of the band The Monkees.

Howell-Baldwin House (1757)

The house at 79 Elm Street in Ansonia was built in 1754 by Joseph Howell. It was later the home of Dr. Silas Baldwin (1729-1813), Derby’s third physician (Ansonia was at that time part of the town of Derby). He married Mary Plumb of Ridgefield in 1755. According to the Sixth Report of the National Society of the Daughter of the American Revolution (1904):

Dr. Silas Baldwin, Revolutionary patriot […] Assisted in establishing American independence while acting in the capacity of a patriot. He accepted the oath of fidelity to the United States April 13, 1778. Dr. Silas Baldwin enlisted June, 1776, in Captain Johnson’s company Fifth Battalion, Wadsworth’s brigade, Colonel Douglas’s regiment to reenforce Washington’s army at New York; August 29-30, 1776, engaged in the retreat to New York; was at the battle of White Plains October 28. Term expired December 26. (History of Derby, p. 187.)

No. 24 on muster roll of Capt. Elijah Humphrey’s company, Connecticut Regiment of Foot, commanded by Col. Return Jonathan Meigs, was Silas Baldwin, enlisting March 27,1777, “on command,” which maybe received in explanation of the record on page 208, Connecticut Men in the Revolution, which says: “Silas Baldwin in Humphrey’s company, Connecticut Line, enlisted March 27,1777; deserted August, 1779.” (Connecticut Men in the Revolution, pp. 208, 407; muster roll of Capt. Elijah Humphrey’s company. Copy deposited.)

Dr. Silas Baldwin was born in Waterbury and died in Ridgefield, but generally resided in the section of Derby that is now Ansonia. He is buried in Ansonia’s Colonial Cemetery. (more…)

Thomas Burgis II House (1735)

At 85 Boston Street in Guilford is a colonial saltbox house, believed to have been built around 1735 by Thomas Burgis, Sr. for his eldest son. Thomas Sr. was a shoemaker and tanner, originally from Yorkshire, who exported shoes from Guilford to the West Indies. In 1735, Thomas Burgis, Jr. married Hannah Dodd. Their son, Thomas III, graduated from Yale in 1758 and for a time was schoolmaster in North Guilford. He married Olive Dudley in 1769 and lived in the house for many years. It remained in the Burgis family until 1844. The house acquired its saltbox form around 1800, when a rear lean-to was added. The house also has a later Federal-style doorway. Restoration of the house began in 1956, when it was purchased by Helen Pigott. Additional work has been done by its present owners.

William Jerome II House (1785)

Happy Independence Day! Today’s house was home to a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Located at 441 Jerome Avenue in Bristol, it was built in 1785 for William Jerome II. He was the son of William Jerome I, whose 1742 house is at 367 Jerome Avenue. William Jerome the 2nd (1757-1821) served as a private in Capt. Cornelius Higgins Co., Wadsworth’s Brigade of Connecticut during the Revolutionary War, fighting in the battles at Kip’s Bay and White Plains. William Jerome II was wounded twice, one bullet never being extracted, and had a leg amputated. He married Phoebe Barnes in 1783. In 1788, with his brother Benjamin, he purchased an interest in a gristmill from Amasa Ives. Benjamin died in 1803 and by 1809 William 2nd owned three quarters of the mill.