Judson Bushnell House (1872)

In 1860, Judson Bushnell (1836-1906) of Ivoryton married Harriet Griswold (1839-1925). In 1872, he erected the house at 32 Main Street in Ivoryton, on land he had purchased from his father-in-law, Edwin Griswold, the partner of Samuel M. Comstock in the ivory comb-making business of Comstock & Griswold. The house was then occupied by Judson and Harriet’s son, Clarence (died 1940), who had previously lived in the former home of his grandfather, Edwin Griswold, across the street. Clarence Bushnell sold automobiles as a partner in the dealership of Behrens and Bushnell.

William Boardman East Boarding House (1847)

At 123 Main Street in the Rockfall district of Middlefield is a Greek Revival house built between 1845 and 1847. It is unusual in that the entrance is on the west side of the house instead of on the front facade that faces the street. Originally, there was also a door on the east side. The multiple entrances provided access to what was built as a boarding house for workers employed at the mills along the Coginchaug River. Now a two-family house, the building was erected by William F. Boardman, who also built another boarding house just to the west.

Utley-Hubbard House (1830)

The house at 127 Chaplin Street in Chaplin was built c. 1830 (with an ell added c. 1840) for James Russell Utley (1811-1896), a farmer who had a 1,500 acre farm and whose brother, John Kingsbury Utley, lived next door. James R. Utley also served in the state assembly in 1866. In 1938, the Hubbard family moved to the house (also known as the Holt House) and farm from New Britain. After her parents death, Mary MacNaughton Hubbard (called Mollie) lived in the house until 1987. A nature enthusiast, she worked as a scientific illustrator and an academic advisor in the Biology Department at the University of Connecticut. In 1985, Mollie Hubbard donated 38 acres in Chaplin to Joshua’s Trust. The land is known as Hubbard Sanctuary. She also donated land to the Town of Chaplin for its town offices and Edward Garrison Park.

Nelson Peck House (1851)

The house at 104 Peck Road in Bethany was erected sometime before 1851, at which time it was the property of Noyes Hotchkiss (1814-1866). It was acquired in 1867 by Justus Peck (1807-1885) for his son, Harry French Peck (died 1916), a blacksmith who made ox yokes and wagons (the house was conveyed by Justus to Harry in 1870). Harry’s son Nelson Justus Peck (died 1958) was born in the house in 1874 and the residence is named after him in the 1972 book Bethany’s Old Houses and Community Buildings, by Alice Bice Bunton.

St. John’s Episcopal Church Parsonage, Guilford (1870)

The house at 50 Ledge Hill Road in North Guilford was built circa 1870 by St. John’s Episcopal Church to serve as a parsonage. It replaced an earlier parsonage, built in the 1830s, that had burned down. Part of the building served as a town primary school sometime during the first decade of the twentieth century. The house has been a private residence since the church sold it in 1940-1941.

John D. Latham House (1843)

James D. Latham (1813-1899) was a shipbuilder in Noank. In the 1840s he entered into a partnership to build vessels with his brother, James A. Latham (1808-1902), whose previous partner, John Palmer (1787-1859), had retired. In 1868, James left the business to John, who continued to build ships into the 1880s. John D. Latham’s house at 31 Front Street in Noank was built in 1843, the same year he married John Palmer’s daughter, Lydia.