Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Federal Style

Josiah Wright House (1799)

Around 1799, Simeon Wright made significant changes to a house originally built in the 1760s on Main Street in Wethersfield by his father, Josiah Wright. The alterations, perhaps influenced by the construction of the nearby Robbins and Bunce Houses, updated the home in the Federal style by the addition of semicircular windows. He also added a new gable roof, which allowed a larger attic. The Joseph Wright House, now a business, forms part of a row of three Wright family houses, which includs the David Wright and Ashbel Wright Houses.

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Jedediah Norton House (1790)

A section at the rear of the house at 811 Worthington Ridge in Berlin may date to 1790, when Jedediah Norton is said to have erected the residence, but the bulk of the building was built between 1800 and 1840 and displays elements of the Federal and Greek Revival styles. For a time in the nineteenth century the house was the residence of Dr. Horatio Gridley, a physician.

The Hale-Rankin House (1789)

Earlier believed to have been built by Andrew Hale around 1754, with alterations made later in the Federal-style, the Hale-Rankin House is now thought to have been built in the Federal style in 1789. Located on Main Street in Glastonbury, it was built by Benjamin Hale and was later owned by the Reverend Samuel Rankin in the nineteenth century. Rankin was an abolitionist who told stories of people fleeing slavery by crossing the ice on the Ohio River. These stories influenced Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s story of Eliza crossing the ice in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The house’s doorway is featured in Plate XXIV of Frederick Kelly’s Early Domestic Architecture of Connecticut. Post Edited 5/27/08.

South Glastonbury Public Library (1828)

The building on High Street in Glastonbury, which is currently the home of the South Glastonbury Public Library, was originally built in 1828 as a Methodist Church. Constructed by Parley Bidwell, who also built Glastonbury’s first Town Hall, the church had separate entrances for men and women. In the 1860s, the building was used as an unofficial African-American church and anti-slavery rallies were held there. By 1910, the local cotton mills had closed and the Methodist congregation had greatly decreased. The building was sold and used only for summer services until 1927, when the South Glastonbury Library first opened. At that time, the building was owned by Mrs. Helen Walsh Thompson, who allowed it to be used as a library for a nominal fee until 1941, when she gave it to the South Glastonbury Library Association.

"The Parsonage" (1828)

Built around 1828, on Main Street in Glastonbury, by Henry Benton for his bride, who then refused to move to the rural town. The expensive home was soon lost to creditors. It became the parsonage of the First Church, Congregational of Glastonbury in 1847, and was converted into apartments in the 1950s. In 2001, a new owner began restoring the house.

The Hezekiah Spencer House (1820)

Built in 1820 for Hezekiah Spencer on South Main Street in Suffield. The house was later occupied early in the twentieth century by Annie Mearkle, who wrote poetry under the name Angela Marco. (more…)

The Dr. William Pierson House (1807)

Built by the Ellsworth family around 1807, the Pierson House is on Palisado Avenue in Windsor, across from the Green. The house was purchased in 1819 by Dr. William S. Pierson. Today it is owned by the First Church in Windsor.