Stratford Point Lighthouse (1881)

In 1822, an octagonal wooden lighthouse tower and 1 1/2 story keeper’s quarters were erected at Stratford Point, in the section of Stratford called Lordship, located at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It was only the third light station to be built on Long Island Sound. The current brick-lined, cast-iron tower and adjacent keeper’s dwelling were built in 1881. The tower was originally all white, but was later painted red around the middle. Stratford Point Light was automated in 1969 and the lantern room was removed to be displayed at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford. In 1990, the restored lantern room was returned to its place atop the tower. A Coast Guard family currently lives at the lighthouse.

Stony Hill School (1856)

On the west side of Windsor Avenue in Windsor is a brick one-room schoolhouse called Stony Hill School. It was built around 1856 and originally stood across the street, but was moved to its present location in 1899 and rebuilt in the colonial revival style. The current site is on land deeded to the Board of Education by Dr. Erastus E. Case in exchange for land on the other side of Windsor Avenue. After the building ceased being used as a school in 1969, Case’s heirs sued the town, claiming that this violated Case’s deed. The town settled the lawsuit with a payment to the heirs. The school, which was damaged when a pine tree fell on it in 1970, has since been restored as a historic site and educational facility through the efforts of the Friends of Stony Hill School.

Centerbrook Congregational Church (1790)

Potapoug Quarter, originally part of Saybrook, established its own church, Saybrook’s Second Ecclesiastical Society, in 1722 in the area of Center Saybrook, now called Centerbrook. A church, built in 1724, was renovated in 1757. The current Centerbrook Congregational Church was built in 1790-1792 and the old building was sold to Capt. Benjamin Williams and moved to the Williams family’s wharf. In 1839, the current church underwent major renovations, including the construction of a new steeple and the rotation of the originally west-facing building to face south. The adjacent Essex Borough established a separate Congregational church in 1851; the following year became part of the new town of Old Saybrook; and in 1854 became a separate town of Essex. In 1859, Centerbrook, with its much earlier church, and West Centerbrook (Ivoryton) became part of the town of Essex.

Richard and Geraldine Hodgson House (1951)

Across the street from Philip Johnson‘s own residence, the famous Glass House, is the home he designed, with Landis Gores, for Richard and Geraldine Hodgson. Richard Hodgson was an engineer who was important in developing America’s high-trch sector. When the house was built, he worked at Chromatic Television Laboratories and was later president and CEO of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation, where he established the Semiconductor Division. Since the Hodgson’s had difficulty getting a mortgage for a Modern house, it was built in two stages: the main house was built in 1950-1951 and the bedroom wing in 1956-1957.

Alice Ball House (1953)

 

 

New Canaan is famed for its mid-century modern houses, many designed by the group of architects called the Harvard Five, one whom, Philip Johnson, designed the Alice Ball House on Oenoke Road. This relatively small residence was built in 1953 as a one-story, two-bedroom home. Johnson was influenced by Mies van de Rohe‘s courtyard homes and his unbuilt Resor House. The minimalist Ball House was altered somewhat by later owners over the years. In recent years, the house that Johnson called his ‘little jewel’ was in danger of demolition, after the current owner’s plan to adapt it as a pool house for a much larger home on the property fell through. It was eventually decided to sell the house, which has remained on the market for several years.

2019 Update: Current plans are to join the house to a new home, called Wall House, designed by Postmodernist designer Reja Bakh.

Vine Cottage (1859)

The Town of New Canaan‘s Human Services Department is located in Vine Cottage, a Gothic Revival house with a Queen Anne-style tower. Although dated to around 1859, the house is possibly an earlier one that was later much altered to its present appearance. Built by Sereno Ogden, the house has had a number of owners over the years, including Albert Comstock in the 1860s and Fletcher Porter Corry, who worked in the post office and bought the house in 1925. His family owned it until 1996, after which the town successfully bid to acquire the house.