One realtor’s site describes the house at 75 Meeting House Lane, in the Greenfield Hill section of Fairfield, as the Nichols House. Built circa 1893, it is an excellent example of the Free Classic (Colonial Revival) variation of the Queen Anne style.
In the later nineteenth century, the section of the Town of Essex, west of the village of Centerbrook would develop into the village of Ivoryton, centered on the manufacturing of ivory products by Comstock, Cheney & Company. In 1871, a decade before the name Ivoryton came to be used for the area, local residents formed the Centerbrook Circulating Library (now the Ivoryton Library Association). The library received vital support from members of the Comstock and Cheney families who ran the local factory. For many years the Library’s books were located at the home of Samuel Cheney, but as early as 1874, money began to be raised for a dedicated library building. Archibald W. Comstock and his sister Harriet donated land for the library in 1888. The Ivoryton Library, located at 106 Main Street, was dedicated in November 1889. For many years the new library was run by Bessie and Laura Comstock, unmarried granddaughters of the ivory-cutting factory’s founder, Samuel M. Comstock. Except for one early twentieth-century addition, the library appears much as it did when it first opened and continues as a private non-profit institution. It is the oldest library in the Town of Essex, preceding the Essex Library Association (also a private institution) at 33 West Avenue in Essex village. While many Connecticut towns once had private libraries that later become town operated public libraries, the two library associations in Essex remain private institutions.
The Dudley House, located at 56 State Street in North Haven, was built in 1896. With its Eastlake-style porch and decorated bargeboards, it is an example of the work of local builder Solomon Linsley.
An article last Spring (April 24, 2017) in the Newtown Bee [“New Owner Brings New Life To 40 Main Street,” by Kendra Bobowick] notes the recent renovation of an 1893 Queen Anne-style Victorian house. Around 1905, Charles H. Northrop, town treasurer, lived in the house. He was accused of embezzlement and hung himself in the house’s foyer. From 1910 into the 1920s, the house was used by the local telephone exchange. The house was used as a law office from the 1940s through 2001.
The A. G. Martin House, built c. 1902 and now a multi-family home, is located at 27 Moss Street in Pawcatuck. According to the Legislative History and Souvenir of Connecticut, vol. VII (1909-1910):
Albert G. Martin, of Stonington (Pawcatuck), was born in Warwick, R. I., March 6, 1859. He is the son of John and Elizabeth Barnes Martin. His early days were spent at Carolina. R. I., receiving such education as the village school afforded. On September 30, 1882, he married M. Nettie, daughter of George F. and Mary E. Davis, to whom one son was born June 23, 1895. Albert G., Jr., and who deceased December 15. 1899. Mr. Martin removed to Philadelphia, Pa., in 1886, and engaged in mercantile life; assisted in organizing the Frankford Grocers’ Association, serving as president and director for years; being also identified with public matters and charitable enterprises; a most successful merchant and ardent Republican in politics Returning east in May, 1903. Mr. Martin located in Pawcatuck, town of Stonington, and has shown a deep interest in all public matters both civic and moral for town improvement. For several years Mr. Martin has served as financial secretary of the First Baptist Church, of Westerly. R. I., and is an active member and official of the Westerly and Pawcatuck Business Men’s Association and the Board of Trade. He is a member of the school committee of the Eighteenth School District and moderator of the Pawcatuck Fire District. Mr. Martin is closely associated with fraternal organizations, being a member of Pawcatuck Lodge No. 90. F. & A. M.. Palmer Chapter No. 26, Westerly Lodge of Elks No. 678, and Misquamicut Tribe of Red Men No. 19. Mr. Martin served on the Committee on Finance.
Dr. John K. Bucklyn, Jr. was the son of John Knight Bucklyn (1834-1906), a Civil War veteran who in 1899 earned the Medal of Honor for his action during the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. The senior Bucklyn was an educator who founded the Mystic Valley Institute in 1868. His two sons both attended the Institute and then the New York Medical College to became doctors. Dr. J. K. Bucklyn, Jr. built the house at 56-58 East Main Street in Mystic c. 1890. As described in Picturesque New London and Its Environs (1901):
The residence and offices of Dr. John Knight Bucklyn, Jr., one of its ablest physicians, are located on East Main Street, Mystic, and are connected by telephone. Dr. Bucklyn is a graduate of the New York Medical College, class of 1887, and of the Mystic Valley English and Classical Institute, J. K. Bucklyn, L.L.D., Principal. He has a large practice in Mystic, Stonington, Old Mystic, Noank, Poquonnock, and New London. He is a member of the Odd Fellows, and Medical Examiner for the Prudential Life Insurance Company, of Newark, New Jersey, and for the Knights of Pythias. His office hours are from 2 to 3, and 7 to 8 P. M. Dr. Bucklyn was born in Mystic July 31st, 1865, son of Professor John K. Bucklyn and Mary M. Young Bucklyn. On June 25th, 1891, he was united in marriage to Mary Emma Hall, of Mystic.
The house at 86 Central Avenue in East Hartford was built between 1894 and 1903 by Joseph Hamilton, a clerk. He acquired the property from P. Boyle, who had acquired it from Patrick Garvan, who developed Garvan Street. It was one of several lots acquired by Garvan in 1871. This well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style displays the use of contrasting siding on two different stories.
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