In 1747 residents of Hebron voted to crate a second Congregational parish within the town. Located in the section called Gilead, the new church was formally incorporated in May 1748 and the first meeting house was erected the following year. This building was torn down and replaced by the current Gilead Congregational Church, located at 672 Gilead Street, in 1838.
The Italianate house at 29 Four Rod Road in Berlin was built around 1855 by William Daniels. Because Daniels was a carpenter-builder, the house’s elaborate Greek Revival ornamentation may have served to advertise his skill at carving.
The house at 195 Riggs Street in Oxford was built c. 1829 by Leman Riggs. A later owner was Wales A. Hubbell (1844-1866), who had a blacksmith shop on the property.
The house at 234 Hebron Road in Bolton was built c. 1720 by its first owner, Jerijah Loomis (1707-1790), on land that was the original homelot of his father, Ensign Nathaniel Loomis. The house has later alterations, c. 1820, in the Greek Revival style and an addition on the right built c. 1855.
The house at 108 Tolland Turnpike in Willington was most likely erected c. 1805-1806 by Amasa Reed. It was later owned by the stockholders of the Willington Glass Factory, erected across the street in 1815. William Shaffer, a glassblower, bought the house in 1825 and resided there until his death in 1899.
UPDATE: The 1829 Church building was destroyed by a fire on April 22, 2023.
The Congregational Church in Eastford was organized September 23, 1778. A meeting house was soon erected on Lieutenant John Russel’s land. The present church, located at 8 Church Road, was dedicated on December 23, 1829. The old church was removed, as described in Richard M. Bayles’ History of Windham County, Connecticut (1889):
Esquire Bosworth purchased the old meeting house, removed it from the common and made it into a dwelling house. The day for the removal was fixed, men were invited with their teams, and all was ready for the start, when a delegation came to Esquire Bosworth, saying the oxen would not draw unless the teamsters were treated. Esquire Bosworth had recently identified himself with the temperance cause, and the “rummies” hoped to bring him to terms, but they mistook their man. The words of his pastor at his funeral, “He was one of the firmest oaks that ever grew upon Mt. Zion,” were well spoken. Instantly the reply came, “It will rot down where it is, first.” Enough teams were unhitched to prevent the moving that day, but immediately an offer came from neighboring towns to furnish teams that would draw though the teamsters were not treated. Esquire Bosworth left a legacy of a thousand dollars, the interest to be applied to help support a settled orthodox minister, and for the support of no other.
Today the Congregational Church of Eastford is a nondenominational church.
The house at 44 Chaplin Street in Chaplin was built between 1828, when Isaac Goodell purchased the land, and 1835, when he sold the property, now including a house and store, to his brother Walter Goodell. The house is a good example of the transition of the Federal to the Greek Revival style of architecture. The residence is now the home and studio of art quilter Catherine Whall Smith.
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