Elisha H. Holmes, Sr. House (1840)

The house at 16 Main Street in South Windham was built c. 1840 by Elisha H. Holmes, Sr. (1799-1886). As related in Vol. I of the Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties (1903), Holmes

came to Windham in 1818, and followed his trade of cabinetmaker, also engaging in farming. Later he had a grist and plaster mill at South Windham. At one time he engaged largely in dredging operations, both in salt water and the Great Lakes. His death, which occurred Sept. 21, 1886, was regarded as a loss throughout the community. In politics he was a Democrat, and he represented the town of Windham in the State Legislature, also holding local offices. His wife, Lydia, was a daughter of Amos Dennison Allen, a cabinet—maker of Windham, with whom Mr. Holmes learned his trade.

In 1833, Elisha H. Holmes inherited land from his in-laws, the Allen family, which he sold to George Spafford, a partner in Spafford, Phelps and Co., which made paper manufacturing machines. The company failed after the Panic of 1837 and was acquired by Charles Smith and Harvey Winchester. In 1837 and 1838, Holmes sold additional land to the new partners, who were expanding the company. In 1872, Holmes built a house for his son, Elisha H. Holmes, Jr., at 4 Main Street in South Windsor.

David C. Hubbard House (1825)

The house at 373 Saybrook Road in Haddam was built about 1825 by David C. Hubbard, who was a ship builder and master carpenter employed at the Huntington and Child shipyards at Higganum Landing. After his death in 1841 the house was acquired by Luther Freeman. About 1810, Freeman had started a brickyard about a half a mile north of the Landing. He retired around the time he bought the house and the business was continued by his sons, George A. Freeman and Orrin Freeman, until circa 1850. George inherited the house from his father, but lived at the Landing. He sold the house to Harvey Child in 1870.

Utley-Storrs House (1835)

Joseph C. Martin, a builder, acquired the land at what is now 115 Chaplin Street in Chaplin in 1835. He sold the property in 1838 to James Russell Utley (1811-1896), a farmer. The existing house was built circa 1835-1840. In 1847, the house and barn were transferred to James’s brother, John Kingsbury Utley (1815-1899). As related in the Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties (1903):

John Kingsbury Utley was born in Chaplin on the home farm, and attended only the common schools of his native town. Before he had attained his majority, he began to learn the trade of boot-maker in Chaplin, and followed that trade the greater part of his life, always making his home in that town. For many years he was in company with Ephraim Day, engaged in bootmaking, but when machine made goods were placed on the market, the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Utley retired from active business life about a dozen years prior to his death, although he devoted his attention to conducting a small farm, always having a deep interest in agricultural pursuits. His death occurred Sept. 1, 1899, and he is buried at Chaplin. During his long life he was a hard working man, and by industry, frugality and thrift, he amassed a considerable fortune. In politics he was a staunch Republican, and represented Chaplin in the State Legislature in 1863 and also held many of the town offices. While serving on the board of selectmen, his administration was marked by the careful and economical way in which the affairs of the town were managed. Early in life he joined the Congregational Church, of which he continued a consistent member: he served on the church committee for many years, and also brought into play his economical ideas with regard to its conduct. For many years he served voluntarily as janitor, in order to save the church the expense of hiring one. Being a man of the highest integrity and honor, when he felt he was in the right nothing could ever move him from his purpose, and he gained the highest respect of all who knew him.

Before his death, Utley resided in the house with his widowed sister, Jane M. Storrs (1826-1902). Her son, Henry Chesebrough Storrs, became a machinist for Pratt & Whitney in Hartford. The Storrs family used the house in Chaplin as a summer home through the mid-1970s. The house was later owned by Warren and Marguerite Church. (more…)

Dr. Jeduthan Eaton House (1790)

The house at 85 Tolland Green in Tolland was built circa 1790. From 1839 to 1878 it was the home of Dr. Jeduthan Eaton, whose medicine shop was located in an attached ell that has since been removed. Between 1850 and 1853, Dr. Eaton was mining for gold in California. His letters home to his family have been published by the Tolland Historical Society. In the early twentieth century, the property was a boarding house known as Squirrel Lodge. In 1964 the house became the rectory of St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church.

Wilcox Tavern (1815)

The house at 206 Main Street in New Hartford was erected in 1815 a tavern by the Wilcox family. This section of town would become a center of industrial activity between 1847 and 1863, when an iron foundry was in operation. The area was known as the Furnace District or Puddletown, named for the method of iron production called puddling, in which bar iron was produced from pig iron. The Puddletown iron foundry burned down in 1863 and was not rebuilt because it employed an expensive, labor intensive process that was being superseded by more modern methods of iron refining. The tavern is now a private home.