Downs House (1750)

32 East Flat Hill Rd., South Britain

According to a guide to the South Britain Historic District, produced by the Town of Southbury, the house at 32 East Flat Hill Road, called the Downs House, was acquired as a residence by the minister of the South Britain Congregational Church in 1791. Does this relate it to the Moses Downs House at 639 South Britain Road? Further, the guide indicates that it was used in the 1870s for a school for girls and the lower level was once a tavern. The National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination for the South Britain Historic District dates the house to 1750 (based on assessor’s records) and indicates it was once a toll house.

Salvation Army, Bristol (1891)

Merry Christmas! Pictured above is the Salvation Army’s Bristol Worship and Service Center at 19 Stearns Street in Bristol. Much altered over the years, the building was erected in 1891 for the Swedish Lutheran Lebanon Congregational Church (later simplified to Lebanon Lutheran Church), founded in 1887. In 1963 Lebanon Lutheran merged with Bethesda Lutheran Church of Forestville to form Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. The newly formed church erected a new building on Camp Street in Forestville and the old building on Stearns Street was sold to the Salvation Army, which had previously had its headquarters on Prospect Street.

Dawson’s Corner Store (1884)

The building on the left in the image above is the Woodbury Town Archive Building. Next to it, on the right, is a building that was opened in 1884 as the Corner Store by G. F. Morris and Louis E. Dawson. They sold dry goods, clothing and groceries. Starting in 1889, Morris was also the postmaster, a position taken over by Dawson when Morris left for another store in Hotchkissville in 1893. The building had several additions over the years as the store continued under the management of Louis Dawson’s sons, L. Clyde and Jim Dawson. The store eventually closed in the 1940s.

Davidson Carriage Barn (1885)

Carriage Barn

At 254 Carrington Road, across from the Davidson House, 539 Litchfield Turnpike, in Bethany is the a historic carriage barn. It was erected c. 1885, a few years after S. G. Davidson built the farmhouse. According to local tradition, the barn was used for blacksmithing. It may also have housed equipment used by the Davidson Telephone Exchange System. This company, run by S. G. Davidson’s son, Tyler D. Davidson, installed five phone lines in Bethany between 1898 and 1903. Phone installation was free, but subscribers paid a $12 yearly rental fee. The Southern New England Telephone Company took over the system in 1907.

Old Town Hall, Southbury (1873)

Old Town Hall Museum, Southbury

Southbury‘s first Town Hall was built in 1873 in the South Britain section of town. In the preceding years South Britain had developed as an industrial center and come to rival Southbury’s town center in importance. Annual town meetings had alternated between the two until South Britain used its influence to have the Town Hall erected at 624 South Britain Road, just before a period of industrial decline set in. The building continued to serve as the center of town government until 1964. It is now operated as a museum by the Southbury Historical Society.