Fort Griswold (1775)

Happy Independence Day! To celebrate I’m sharing some photos I took last October at Fort Griswold in New London. First established in 1775, at the start of the American Revolution, the fort was the site of the Battle of Groton Heights, fought on September 6, 1781, during Benedict Arnold’s destructive raid on New London. In use as a fort at different times until after the Spanish-American War, today the site can be visited by the public at Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park. On this site I’ve previously featured two structures at the park: the monument, erected in 1830 to commemorate the 1781 battle, and a powder magazine built in 1843. Click below for more pictures and have a safe holiday!

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Sadosa Barber House (1840)

172 Barbourtown Road, Canton

The oldest section of the house at 172 Barbourtown Road in Canton is the ell, which was part of a house built in 1803 by Reuben Barber (1751-1825) for his son Sadosa Barber (1781-1860). That house stood south of the current house, which according to assessor’s records was built in 1840. Sadosa attached the ell to the current house in 1856. His son Henry M. Barber (1832-1929) also lived in the house, which remained in the family for many years.

James Driggs Shipsmith Shop (1885)

Located at Mystic Seaport, the James Driggs Shipsmith Shop originally stood at the head of Merrill’s (now Homer’s) Wharf in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was erected in 1885 by James D. Driggs, who had previously operated the most productive blacksmithing business in New Bedford with his partner, Joseph Dean. In 1846 Dean & Driggs had established their shop near Merrill’s Wharf, at what would become known as Driggs Lane, where they produced harpoons and other equipment for whaling ships. Among the journeymen they employed was Lewis Temple, Jr., the son of the man who invented the toggle iron harpoon in the 1840s. In 1885, with the whaling industry waning, Driggs moved to the smaller shop, pictured above, which he built with the help of his grandson.

In 1902, Driggs sold the shop to Ambrose J. Peters, who pursued both whalecraft manufacture and general blacksmithing. After his death in 1918, his brother, Charles E. Peters, continued the business until 1924, selling the building the following year. It was then placed on display at Col. E. H. R. Green‘s estate at Round Hill in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where the Charles W. Morgan, the last ship of America’s whaling fleet and now based at Mystic Seaport, was also exhibited. The Driggs shop was also moved to Mystic Seaport in 1944.

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Capt. Avery Brown House (1812)

The house at 11 Gravel Street in Mystic was built about 1812 by Capt. Avery Brown, who commanded the sloop Minerva. He also served as bos’n on the Hero, a 47-foot sloop that was built at the Packard Shipyard in Mystic as a costal trader and became a privateer and blockade runner during the War of 1812. Nathaniel Palmer of Stonington was captain of the vessel on a sealing voyage in 1820 when he discovered Antarctica. Next to Capt. Brown’s house is the John Fellows House at 13 Gravel Street, built c. 1827-1836. It is traditionally called the “spite house” because it was built out far enough into the street to spoil Capt. Brown’s view upriver.

Little Red Schoolhouse, Winchester (1815)

Located at the intersection of Platt Hill and Taylor Brook Roads in Winchester is a one-room schoolhouse built in 1815 to replace an earlier one on the same site that had burned down in the 1790s. The new building, Winchester’s District No. 8 schoolhouse, was heated by a fireplace until a box stove was installed in the 1830s. The schoolhouse was in use until it closed in 1908. It then remained abandoned for the next eight years. In 1916, William H. Hall, a historian for whom Hall High School in West Hartford is named, expressed his concern for the neglected building in an article Winsted Evening Citizen. This inspired Clifford Bristol to buy and repair the building. Bristol had been a student at the school about 1870 and his father, Charles A. Bristol, had been a teacher there. In June of 1916, Bristol held a reunion in the school of former teachers and students. In 1923 another meeting was held in the building which formed the Little Red Schoolhouse Association, dedicated to preserving the historic building. The organization’s membership had dwindled by the early 2000s, but in recent years there has been renewed interest and fundraising efforts to allow restoration of the building to its original condition. The restored schoolhouse reopened to the public in 2018. Other Connecticut buildings called “The Little Red Schoolhouse” can be found in North Branford (built 1805) and Wethersfield (built 1869).Bristol held a reunion in the school of former teachers and students. In 1923 another meeting was held in the building which formed the Little Red Schoolhouse Association, dedicated to preserving the historic building. The organization’s membership had dwindled by the early 2000s, but in recent years there has been renewed interest and fundraising efforts to allow restoration of the building to its original condition. The restored schoolhouse reopened to the public in 2018.

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