Thomas Hart Hooker House (1770)

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The Thomas Hart Hooker House, on Main Street in Farmington, was built in 1770 by Judah Woodruff for Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker and of Stephen Hart, one of the founders of Farmington. Hooker had married Sarah Whitman Hooker in 1769 and in 1773 they moved to what is now West Hartford. The house was later owned by Samuel Deming, an abolitionist who used his home as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Deming also joined with Austin Williams and John Treadwell Norton in bringing the Africans from the Amistad to Farmington in 1841. The house, now owned by Miss Porter’s School, is on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.

Samuel Steele House (1655)

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The oldest house in Farmington was built by Samuel Steele, a farmer who served as Deputy in the General Court and lieutenant in the militia. Steele‘s wife, Mary Boosey, had inherited property in Wethersfield and the family moved there in 1678. After Samuel’s death in 1685, Mary returned to live in the house in Farmington. The house was owned by the Steele family until 1773, when it was sold to Isaac Gleason (the current sign on the house identifies it as the Gleason House). In 1843, Dr. Chauncey Brown moved the house back from Main Street and turned it to face south with its gable end towards the street. It was then used as a barn, but now has apartments. The building has been owned by the same family since 1920.

Dr. William Beaumont Homestead (1750)

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Dr. William Beaumont (1785-1853) was a U.S. Army surgeon who became famous as the “Father of Gastric Physiology.” His pioneering investigations of human digestion were published in his 1838 work, Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion. Dr. Beaumont was born in a small c. 1750 farm house, built by his father, Samuel Beaumont, in the Village Hill section of Lebanon. In 1973, the house was acquired by the Beaumont Homestead Preservation Trust and moved to a new site on Lebanon Green, behind the Gov. Jonathan Trumbull House. The house is now a museum, owned and maintained by the Lebanon Historical Society.

Also today, check out the latest entries at Historic Buildings of Massachusetts, the Nims House and Wilson Printing Office in Deerfield.

Timothy Skinner House (1787)

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The Timothy Skinner House, built around 1785-87, is located next to the First Congregational Church in Litchfield. Skinner was a Brigadier General of the militia and served as constable, treasurer and selectman in Litchfield. The house was later owned for many years by Seth Beers. In 1948-49, the house was restored to a Colonial appearance and was moved back from the street to line up better with the church, which has owned the house and used it as a parsonage since 1943.