The Somers Inn, 585 Main Street in Somers, originally opened in 1804 as the Kibbe Hotel (some sources indicate 1768, which may have been an earlier building on the site). It was run by Warren Kibbe and then by George Kibbe. The building started as a Federal-style structure with a hip roof, but it was remodeled around 1860 as a Greek Revival building. In 1931 it became Ye Olde Homestead Inn, run by Alphonse and Hilda Joerg and George and Emily Schiessl. In the early 1960s was renamed The Somers Inn. The historic property, which has not offered lodgings in many years, has been a popular restaurant. It was recently sold and reopened in April as the Copper House Tavern.
Horatio H. Abbe House (1865)
In 1865, Horatio H. Abbe (1829-1902) of East Hampton built the Greek Revival-style north section of the house at 15 Main Street. The following year, Abbe was one of the founders of the Gong Bell Company, which manufactured bell toys and other metal toys. Around 1871, reflecting his growing prosperity, Abbe added the Italianate-style south section of the house, which includes a tower and veranda. As related in an obituary of Abbe that appeared in The Iron Age (Vol. LXX, September 11, 1902), Abbe was born in Enfield.
He was married January 26, 1853, to Miss Laura A. Hayes. After engaging in business with a brother he went to East Hampton July 31, 1862, beginning his business life there as a machinist in the employ of Markham & Strong.
January 1, 1866, he, with E. C. Barton, Ezra G. Cone and A. H. Conklin, formed the partnership of the Gong Bell Mfg. Company for the manufacture of the Abbe Gong Door Bell, of which Mr. Abbe was the inventor. This business relationship continued harmoniously and without a break for 33 years, or until the death of Ezra G. Cone, in 1898, when a joint stock company were incorporated, of which Mr. Abbe became the president and Mr. Conkiin secretary and treasurer.
Mr. Abbe was widely known in Masonic circles, of which he was a thirty-second degree member, he being prominently connected with a number of lodges and commanderies. The funeral services were held at his late residence, the interment being at Enfield, Conn.
Mr. Abbe is mourned by those who were intimately associated with him as an honored citizen and one whose generosity, loyalty and genial ways endeared him to a Iarge circle of friends and acquaintances.
Hazardville Hotel (1857)
Dating to 1857 (or perhaps as early as 1845 according to the nomination for the Hazardville Historic District) in the village of Hazardville in Enfield is the former Hazardville Hotel at 312 Hazard Avenue. The hotel was built and operated by Sylvester Charter. Today the building is used as retail space. (more…)
Stephen Gray House (1842)
The house at 56 Hurlbutt Road in Gales Ferry was built c. 1842 by Stephen Gray, a carpenter. In 1863, Gray’s son sold the house to Thomas Latham (1840-1914), a teacher who had a select school on the property and taught at schools in Ledyard, Groton and Montville for 56 years.
Timothy Dwight Mills House (1833)
Built around 1833 by Timothy Dwight Mills, the house at 184 Deerfield Road in Windsor is an example of one of the many brick houses constructed in town in the early nineteenth century. Timothy Dwight Mills (1803-1846), who married Sarah Welles, was a farmer and brickmaker. His brothers, Samuel Webster Mills and Oliver Williams Mills, also had houses on Deerfield Road. The porch was added in 1910.
Samuel Maltby House (1838)
The Maltby family were prominent in the industrial development of the village of Northford in North Branford. In 1854, brothers Samuel and Julius Maltby became major shareholders in the Paug Manufacturing Company, which produced farm implements and the machines used to make them. In 1816, Samuel Maltby married Charlotte DeWitt, the daughter of the governor of Barbados, who he likely met when he was attending to the family’s business interests in the West Indies. They built a Greek Revival house in 1838 which still stands at 2 Maltby Lane in Northford.
107 Cornwall Avenue, Cheshire (1855)
The house at 107 Cornwall Avenue in Cheshire was built in 1855. The house has been renovated a number of times over the years. The current doorway and front entry porch are thought to be the work of local architect Alice Washburn.
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