William Hubbard Atkins House (1840)

The Greek Revival-style double house at 93-97 Broad Street in Middletown was built c. 1840-1841 by William Hubbard Atkins, who owned the Hubbard Hardware Company. In 1853, Elijah Loveland, owner of a livery stable, bought the south half of the house. It remained in the Loveland family while the north half had a number of owners until 1904, when Dr. John E. Loveland acquired ownership of both halves. Dr. Loveland had his medical practice in the building. In 1960, the American Red Cross acquired the building from Dr. Loveland’s widow and occupied it for many years.

Daniel M. Tyler House (1840)

At 49 Camp Bethel Road in Haddam is a Greek Revival house erected by Daniel Melvin Tyler (1804-1868) shortly after he acquired the land, south of Rutty Creek, in 1839 from Heman Tyler. It was part of the old house lot of Daniel M. Tyler’s great-grandfather, Nathaniel Tyler (1699-1744). Daniel Tyler married Dolly Shailer, sister of Florilla Shailer, who lived with her husband Jared Shailer on Bridge Road. Daniel and Dolly’s youngest sons, Albert and George, both attended Wesleyan University and Yale Law School.

In 1908, the family sold the house to Emil Schutte, whose main residence was on Middlesex Turnpike. One of Haddam’s most notorious residents, Schutte ran a gas station and grocery store on Middlesex Turnpike and served as town constable and tax collector. He also engaged in shady real estate deals and terrorized his wife and seven sons. In 1921, he was put on trial for murdering four people in Haddam. After he was declared guilty, Schutte attempted suicide at the Haddam jail, but he was eventually hanged at the state prison in Wethersfield on October 22, 1922.

Enoch C. Ferre House (1840)

The house at 101 Broad Street in Middletown was built soon after 1839 by Enoch C. Ferre. The house is Greek Revival in style with an Italianate cupola. Later owners of the house included Gaston Tryon Hubbard, who had established himself in the lumber business and in 1878 incorporated the Rogers & Hubbard Company, of which he was president; John L. Smith, a Scottish immigrant who became a jeweler (he was a founder of the Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company, which had its first meetings in the back rooms of his jewelry store) and was on the first Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University; and Dr. Francis D. Edgerton, a founder of the Middlesex County Hospital.

Hezekiah Hale House (1828)

The house at 326 Jackson Hill Road in Middlefield was built c. 1828, but is associated with Hezekiah Hale, Jr., who died in 1826. His father, Hezekiah Hale, Sr., was a sexton of the Congregational Church and kept a record of the dead from 1761 to 1814 that was included in Thomas Atkins’ History of Middlefield and Long Hill (1883). In 1805, Hezekiah Hale, Jr. (1778-1826) married Nancy Miller, a descendant of Thomas Miller, one of the original proprietors of Middletown.

Van Dusen-Chamberlain-Priest House (1825)

The history of the house at 540 Main Street in New Hartford is given in Sketches Of The People And Places Of New Hartford In The Past And Present (1883), by Henry R. Jones:

A few steps to the south, is the house owned by the late Seth K. Priest and occupied by Mrs. E. Y. Morehouse, her two sons and two daughters. It was built in 1825 by Anson Van Dusen [died 1853] who came to New Hartford in 1831 from Claverack N.Y. At first he drove stage on the route from Hartford to Albany, making this his stopping place, driving to and from Hartford every day. The lot on which the house stands was purchased of Capt Harry Cowles for $80, the builder doing the work being Henry Lee of Barkhamsted. Mr. Van Dusen continued as driver on the stage route but about a year, when he engaged in the sale of clocks for William Markham, Jr, and others, which business he continued more than twenty years, traveling through the southern states, but retaining his home in this village. In 1847 he sold the place to Hiram Chamberlain, who carried on the butchering business.

Seth K. Priest bought the house from Chamberlain in 1855 and

in 1874 remodeled and improved it. He was for many years prominent in the business and political interests of the town. Commencing work here with his father, a master builder, he carried that on but a few years; subsequently he became a merchant, and continued as such for upwards of thirty years, during which time he was a member of several firms — Elmore and Priest, Priest and Crow, S. K. Priest and Co., and sole proprietor. He represented the town in the legislature, and was for a number of years first selectman. He died Nov. 21, 1880. His widow still owns the property.

The house is now home to Gallery 44 and Haller Custom Framing.