A rare example in Manchester of a Federal style house is located at 612 Middle Turnpike East. The house was erected c. 1825, probably by Benjamin Lyman, who had begun acquiring land in the area before that year. Much altered over the years, today it is home to Green Lodge, an assisted living facility.
Grover L’Hommedieu (1741-1841) was one of the patriot militiamen who became refugees from Long Island to Connecticut after the Battle of Long Island in 1776 during the Revolutionary War. He settled in Norwich and in 1797 leased land from Samuel Lay in Essex. There he erected the town’s first ropewalk. Around that time he also erected the house at 32 Main Street in Essex. It was later occupied by his son Ezra L’Hommedieu (1772-1860), a ship-carver who invented the double-podded center screw auger, which he patented in 1809. Grover’s daughter Sarah (Sally) married Ebenezer Hayden II, the town’s leading merchant. In 1802, Grover L’Hommedieu sold the ropewalk to his partner, Ebenezer’s son, Jared. In 1815, the L’Hommedieu House was purchased by another member of the Hayden family, John G. Hayden.
A rare example in Connecticut of an eighteenth century stone house is located at 30 Lawton Road in Canton. The gambrel-roofed house, initially used as a tavern, was erected in 1786 by Dan Case (1761-1815). He was the son of Lt. Dudley Case, who the first proprietor of what would become known as the Hosford Tavern. Dan Case later moved to Ohio. The house has an arched third-floor hall. From 1797 to 1799, Masonic meetings were held there by Village Lodge No. 29.
The house at 1684 King Street in Enfield was built c. 1820. It is an excellent example of a brick Federal style house with four chimneys and an entryway featuring sidelights and a fan window. Starting in 1953, the house was home to Crands Candy Castle for almost fifty years. John Crand and his family lived on the second floor of the house and manufactured and sold candy on the first floor. After he retired in 1963, he was followed by his sons, Tom and Robert. Tom retired in 1990 and Robert continued on until the business closed in 2001. The house is now a private residence.
The hip-roofed house at 83 East Main Street in Clinton was built c. 1790. It was likely been altered later on in the Colonial Revival style.
The house at 163 South Main Street in Colchester is transitional between the Federal and Greek Revival styles. It was built c. 1840.
The precise construction date for the house at 9 West Simsbury Road in Canton is uncertain, but town Assessor’s records give it a date of 1820. The house once retained its original stone sink, with a spout to drain the water outside. There was also once a small building on the northwest side of the house that was used as an office by the property’s owner, Dr. Benjamin Weed, Jr. (1789-1846). A surgeon in the War of 1812, Dr. Weed practiced medicine and was also the first postmaster to be appointed (in 1826) for what was then called New Canton. He also served as Justice of the Peace. He moved to Bloomington, now Muscatine, Iowa in 1839 with other members of his family.
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