Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Colonial

The John Olds House (1776)

This is the first building to be featured here which is likely not to exist very soon. John Olds is one of the founders of Manchester, who led the people of Orford parish in their quest to seperate from East Hartford in 1823, but his Revolutionary War-era house is in danger of being demolished very soon. The property, on Tolland Turnpike and Slater Road, is owned by TGM Associates, a New York developer. They own the nearby Waterford Commons apartments and hope to develop the land where the Olds House currently sits. Attempts to save the house by the town and historical society have not succeeded, so the house may soon be demolished.

Update: Although there were attempts to save it, the John Olds House was dismantled in 2012.

Saxton B. Little Free Library (1800)

When Columbia’s library, called the Saxton B. Little Free Library, had outgrown its 1903 building, a farmhouse across the road, adjacent to Columbia Green and built around 1800, was completely remodeled to become the library’s new and expanded home. The house had belonged to Gladys Rice Soracchi, who had been head librarian from 1959 to 1975 (her mother, Lillian Rice, had preceded her as head librarian from 1908-1959). At one time, the house had served as inn.

The Joseph Moseley House (1735)

The Moseley family had already been living on its property, along Main Street in Glastonbury, for a generation when the current house was built in 1735. The Joseph Moseley House served as both a house and tavern until 1840. The home was purchased in 1879 by David Carrier.

Amasa Adams House (1770)

The Amasa Adams House, built in 1770, is on Maple Street in Wethersfield. In 1760, Amasa Adams became a part owner in the old Chester Mill, on Two Stone Brook in the Griswoldville section of Wethersfield. Begun by Leonard Chester in 1637, the mill became known as Adams Mill in 1782 and was run by Amasa and then his sons, John and Joshua Adams. Serving as a cider, lumber and grist mill, the Adams Mill survived into the twentieth century.

The Wyllys-Orton House (North Half) (1659)

The north section of the Wyllys-Orton House, which was most likely separated from the rest of the 1659 home in the 1790s, is adjacent to the south section, on Main Street in Farmington. It was later enlarged. Another Connecticut house that was divided into two (south and north sections) is the John Chester Tavern in Wethersfield.

The Wyllys-Orton House (South Half) (1659)

The Wyllys-Orton House, on Main Street in Farmington, was divided in half, probably in the 1790s. It was originally built around 1659 by Thomas Orton, on land that had once been owned by Samuel Wyllys, son of the early Connecticut Governor George Wyllys. The house had various later owners who made numerous changes, the most significant being the removal of the original house’s north section to an adjacent lot on Main Street. This northern section was later enlarged. There are a number of stories as to why the house was divided. According to one, a mother and her daughter-in-law both lived in the home but each wanted to rule in her own kitchen, so the house was split in two.

Oliver Smith House (1761)

The Oliver Smith House, on Main Street in Stonington Borough, perhaps the oldest surviving house in town, was built in the early 1760s (after 1761). Smith, a merchant and one of the defenders of Stonington during the American Revolution, was the last owner of Venture Smith. Born under the name Broteer Furro, Venture was an African prince enslaved at the age of six and brought to America. Eventually buying his freedom when in his 30s from Oliver Smith, Venture went on to purchase land and became prosperous by farming, fishing and shipping goods. In the 1790s, Venture Smith dictated his life story to a schoolteacher named Elisha Niles. This autobiography was then published as A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa but Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself (1798).