Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Greek Revival

Edgecomb-Gates House (1835)

The house at 15 Gravel Street in Mystic was built around 1835 by Daniel D. Edgecomb, a carpenter who made coffins in his basement workshop. In 1847, the house was acquired by Captain Gurdon Gates, who added the intricately detailed porch. The oldest of four brothers, who all became sea captains, Gurdon Gates was known for his record run in 1866 around the Horn in the clipper ship, Twilight. He also commanded other ships, including the steamship, Victor, during the Civil War. After his retirement from the sea, he was involved in business and politics, serving in the Connecticut Assembly. Gravel Street was known as “Captain’s Walk” because all of the homes there but one once belonged to sea captains.

Lyman Dudley House (1810)

On New London Road in Mystic is a house built by Capt. Jonathan Wheeler in 1810. In 1829, the house was acquired by Lyman Dudley, a blacksmith who built a foundry across the street. Perhaps it was when Dudley owned the house that it was modified in the Greek Revival style. A bay window on the side was also added later in the nineteenth century.

Smith-Harris House (1845)

A Greek Revival house with an elaborate window in its front gable, the Smith-Harris House in East Lyme was most likely built in 1845 by John Clark for Thomas Avery. The house was later occupied by Avery’s son, William, and after his death, it was sold to William H. H. Smith, who used it as a summer home. In 1921, he sold it to his brother and nephew, Herman Smith and Frank Harris, who had married two sisters. After the deaths of their husbands, the sisters continued to reside in the house, until they relocated to a nursing home. The house was left vacant and was deteriorating when a group of citizens urged the town to save and restore the house. A restoration committee was appointed in 1974 and the restored house opened as East Lyme’s Town Museum in 1976.

Haddam Gaol and Workhouse (1845)

When Middlesex County was formed in 1785, the county seat was to be shared by Middletown and Haddam. As a “half-shire” town, Haddam was required to built a courthouse and jail. The first jail, constructed of wood, was built in 1786, followed by a brick structure in 1812. This was replaced by the gable-roofed section of the later Gaol (Jail) and County Workhouse, constructed in 1844-1845 with stone from the Arnold granite quarry in Shailerville. The workhouse and barn were added in 1855. The Mansard-roofed section, which more than doubled the size of the building, was added in 1874. The jail continued to hold prisoners until 1969 and the following year became the Correctional Academy for the state, since 1972 known as the Connecticut Justice Academy.

The Orrin Shailer II House (1856)

The Orrin Shailer II House, on Saybrook Road in the Shailerville section of Haddam, is a clapboarded Greek Revival house, which interestingly has a front door that is not placed in one of the outer bays of the facade. The house was built in 1856 by Orrin Shailer II on land sold to him by his father, Joseph Shailer. The gable window was added later in the nineteenth century.

Charles Merritt House (1855)

The unusual granite Greek Revival home of Charles Merritt is on Monument Street in Groton Bank. It was most likely built by the same Charles Merritt who was a stonecutter in Groton and was in business with John Salter and Robert A. Gray, the latter of whom won the Medal of Honor in the Civil War. They had a quarry on Thames Street.

Deep River Congregational Church (1834)

The Saybrook Colony, later the town of Saybrook, eventually divided into several towns. Lyme broke off as early as 1655, with Chester, Westbrook, Essex and Old Saybrook (the earliest settled area of Saybrook) following in the nineteenth century. The second Congregational Church to be founded in what had been the Saybrook Colony (and the earliest in what is now the town of the Essex) was established in Centerbrook in the 1720s. The residents of the area of Saybrook called Deep River attended this church until 1833 (Centerbrook remained part of the town of Saybrook until it was added to Essex in 1859). Deep River’s own Congregational Church was built in 1833. Worship was held in the church as soon as it was completed, although it was not officially dedicated until it was entirely paid for the following year. The town of Saybrook was renamed Deep River in 1947. Earlier this year, the Church celebrated its 175th anniversary.