Holy Trinity Byzantine Catholic Church (1928)

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The Carpatho-Rusyn people come from from the region of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains in Europe, an area where today the borders of Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland meet. Many Carpatho-Rusyns (also known as Ruthenians) were members of the Ruthenian Catholic Church, a Greek Catholic Church which is in communion with Rome, but which uses the Byzantine liturgical rite. Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants in New Britain founded the Holy Trinity Byzantine Catholic parish in 1900. A small wood-framed church was built on Beaver Street in 1901. After this building burned in 1909, a second wood church was constructed in 1910. With the parish growing, resources were gathered to build a larger church on the same site. The present steel and brick structure, designed by Hartford architect Frederic C. Teich, was completed in 1928.

Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, New Britain (1913)

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Carpatho-Russian immigrants settling in New Britain founded SS Cyril and Methodius Othodox Church, built on Beatty Street in 1902. In 1913, the old church was sold to a Greek Orthodox parish and a new and larger church building, on Washington Street, was consecrated to the Holy Trinity. The church’s missionary work in the region led to the founding of other Russian Orthodox parishes, including All Saints Orthodox Church in Hartford in 1914.

New London Harbor Lighthouse (1801)

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The New London Harbor Lighthouse, located on the west side of the harbor entrance, was built in 1801 and is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Connecticut. With its octagonal, brick-lined brownstone tower (with cast-iron lantern) rising to 89 feet, it is also the state’s tallest lighthouse. The present New London Harbor Light replaced an earlier stone tower with a wood lantern, built in 1761. The current Keeper’s house was built in 1863 and was enlarged in 1900. In 1904, the sound of a new fog siren annoyed local residents and in 1906 it was replaced with a trumpet. The fog signal was moved to the New London Ledge Light in 1911. Today, the detached Keeper’s house is privately owned, while the tower is maintained by the New London Maritime Society. New London Harbor Light is still an active aid to navigation.

The Capt. Ira Shailer House (1815)

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Capt. Ira Shailer constructed his house on Bridge Road in Haddam around 1815, two years after acquiring the property. He had married Jerusha Arnold in 1808 and the couple would have a family of ten surviving children. Their son, Alexander Shailer, who was born in the house in 1827, served as a general in the Civil War. The Shailer family eventually moved to New York in 1835 and the house was purchased by Benoni Southworth, a ship captain who had married Ira Shailer’s cousin, Mary Ann Shailer.

Dr. Sheldon C. Johnson House (1842)

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The home of Dr. Sheldon C. Johnson of Seymour is located at the intersection of West and Church Streets. This intersection could be called “Doctors Corner,” because doctors lived in each home at the four corners. Dr. Johnson settled in Seymour (then called Humphreysville) in 1825. He married Hannah Stoddard, the daughter of Dr. Abiram Stoddard, and the couple at first lived in an eighteenth century house, located behind the home Dr. Johnson later built in 1842. Dr. Johnson continued practicing medicine in the area into his 80s. The couple’s son, Charles Napoleon Johnson, became a lawyer.