Ichabod Cottage (1795)

The village of Gales Ferry in Ledyard is named for Roger Gale, who from 1759 to 1764 owned the ferry there that crossed the Connecticut River. One of his successors was John Allyn, Jr., who owned the ferry rights from 1774 to 1793. He then built the cottage at 54 Hurlbutt Road in 1795. After his death in 1798, the cottage passed to his widow, Priscilla. In 1804, she leased her property to James Eldrege, who who eventually purchased it in 1806. According to tradition, the house was used as a training school by Commodore Stephen Decatur during the blockade of New London in 1813-1814. Ichabod and Dorcas Babcock bought the cottage in 1815. Ichabod Babcock (1758-1848) was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Their daughter Caroline married Stephen Gray, who built the house next door in 1842. Thomas Latham acquired both houses in 1863 and later rented the 1795 house, which he called “Ichabod Cottage,” to various tenants. Latham, a teacher, may have used the cottage for his private school. The building now has dormer windows, which were added sometime in the twentieth century.

Elliot B. Plumb House (1860)

A plaque on the house at 1885 Huntington Turnpike in Trumbull indicates it was built in 1860 and was the home of Elliot B. Plumb.

The only references I can find relating to Elliot B. Plumb relate to the following, as reported in the Journal of the Senate of the State of Connecticut for 1887:

Senate Resolution No. 92. Senator Hill of the Thirteenth District, introduced a resolution appointing Charles Beard of Huntington, and Elliot B. Plumb of Trumbull, Commissioners of the Wells Hollow Turnpike for two years from July 1, 1887.

The resolution was passed.

Senate Resolution No. 93. Senator Hill of the Thirteenth District, introduced a resolution appointing Charles Beard of Huntington, and Elliot B. Plumb of Trumbull, Commissioners of the Huntington Turnpike for two years from July 1, 1887.

The resolution was passed.

Plymouth Cordage Company Ropewalk (1824)

Preserved at Mystic Seaport is a section of the original ropewalk of the Plymouth Cordage Company of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1824 by Bourne Spooner, who had learned the art of ropemaking in New Orleans. He opposed slavery, so he set up his business back home in Plymouth, hiring free labor. Spooner ran the company until his death in 1870, producing rope for many kinds of vessels, including the Great Republic, the largest clipper ship ever built. By the late nineteenth century, the company had become the largest manufacturer of rope and twine in the world. The company remained in business for 140 years. The ropewalk remained in operation until 1947, when changing technology led to the end of its use by the company. In 1951, a 250-foot section of the 1,000-foot ropewalk in Plymouth was saved and reassembled at Mystic Seaport. It came with its machinery, which is no longer powered but is set up as though it were still functioning in order to illustrate the process of spinning rope.

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Mitchell-Williams Store (1904)

Featuring a distinctive “picturesque vernacular” design, the general store at 667 South Britain Road in Southbury has served the village of South Britain since it was built in 1903-1904. It was originally the store of George W. Mitchell, who built it on the site of a previous store that had burned. Mitchell also had interests in Kansas, where he was president of the Goodrich Cattle Company. Mitchell‘s daughter Abbie Evelyn married Charles Williams, who succeeded his father-in-law as proprietor in 1926. The second floor of the building has apartments. The store is also notable for having a cast iron storefront manufactured by the George L. Mesker Company of Evansville, Indiana.