Hurd-Osborn-Oatman House (1806)

George Thompson House (1806)

Located at 1531 Southford Road in the village of Southford in Southbury, the Hurd-Osborn-Oatman House was built in 1806 by George Thompson as a hotel. As explained by John L. Rockey in the second volume of his History of New Haven County, Connecticut (1892):

In the period of time when the turnpike was the great thoroughfare between New Haven and Litchfield, Southford being 20 miles from the former place and 25 miles from the latter, hotels were here kept and were well patronized. [. . . ] The hotel known as the Oatman House for 35 years, was built by George Thompson in 1806, and first kept by him and then by his brother-in-law, Benjamin S. Hurd, followed by John Peck. Enos Foot was the landlord in 1845.

George Thompson and Benjamin Smith Hurd married two sisters, Clarissa and Esther, daughters of Adin Wheeler, who helped to fund construction of the hotel. The hotel had many owners over the years. Benjamin Blagg Osborn, son of merchant and Revolutionary War patriot Shadrach Osborn, was tavern-keeper in the 1820s. Charles R. Oatman (1827-1904), under whose name the hotel was long known, acquired the property in 1870. Oatman married Orinda T. Hurd, daughter of Benjamin R. Hurd, in 1850. The Oatman family owned the hotel until 1899 and even under later owners it was still known for many years as the C. R. Oatman Hotel. It later became the Fennbrock Dairy.

Bidwell Hotel (1822)

Bidwell Hotel, Coventry

In 1822 Solomon Bidwell built a three-floor hotel at 1220 Main Street in Coventry. After Solomon died in 1858, his son Nathan Lyman ran the business, adding a wing to expand the hotel. When Nathan L. Bidwell died in 1877, it passed to his son Charles (died 1881) and then to Charles’ widow Lydia (died 1918). The hotel ceased operating in 1938. The Greek Revival building has a Colonial Revival two-story open porch across its front facade, added in the early twentieth century.

Johnson Home (1829)

Johnson Home

The building at 100 Town Street in Norwich was built on the site of an historic tavern, as described in A Modern History of New London County, Vol. 1 (1922):

Built in 1737 by Nathaniel Lathrop, its prosperity was maintained by his son, Azariah. From here was started the first stage coach to Providence in 1768. In 1829 the property was sold to the Union Hotel Company, who erected the present building, which was later used for a boarding school.

According to Mary Elizabeth Perkins in her book Old Houses of the Antient Town of Norwich (1895):

Azariah died in 1810, aged 82, leaving the house to his widow, and son, Augustus [. . .]. Augustus Lathrop died in 1819, and in 1821, the administrator of the estate sells the tavern to Bela Peck. It was shortly after partly destroyed by fire. In 1829, the land was sold to the Union Hotel Company, who erected the large brick house now standing, which was used for some years as a hotel, but when the courts were moved to the Landing, lost its popularity, was later occupied as a boarding school, and was finally sold to John Sterry, who now occupies it as a summer residence.

In the early twentieth century, the building became The Johnson Home, a home for aged and needy Protestant woman (now accepting all denominations) incorporated in 1907 by the Connecticut branch of the King’s Daughters, a Christian philanthropic organization. A description of “The Johnson Home for Old Ladies” is given in the Report of the State Board of Charities to the Governor for the Twenty-one Months Ended June 30, 1920 (1921):

The Johnson Home is one of the more recently established places of this character and is situated near the Green in the Norwich Town district, about two miles north from the center of the city. Electric cars pass near the house.

The building occupied is a large brick structure, three stories high, which, some years ago, was an old-time inn. There are accommodations for eleven residents, and all of the rooms give an impression of home-like comfort. The management of the Home is liberal and few restrictions are imposed in the life of the occupants. An entrance fee of $500 is required for each person accepted as a resident in the Home.

Somers Inn (1804)

Somers Inn

The Somers Inn, 585 Main Street in Somers, originally opened in 1804 as the Kibbe Hotel (some sources indicate 1768, which may have been an earlier building on the site). It was run by Warren Kibbe and then by George Kibbe. The building started as a Federal-style structure with a hip roof, but it was remodeled around 1860 as a Greek Revival building. In 1931 it became Ye Olde Homestead Inn, run by Alphonse and Hilda Joerg and George and Emily Schiessl. In the early 1960s was renamed The Somers Inn. The historic property, which has not offered lodgings in many years, has been a popular restaurant. It was recently sold and reopened in April as the Copper House Tavern.

Poli Palace, Majestic Theater and Savoy Hotel (1922)

Poli Palace, Majestic Theater and Savoy Hotel, Bridgeport

In downtown Bridgeport is a vacant and dilapidated 13-acre building complex, which occupies a city block. Ghost hunters are very interested in the building, which was possibly built on a Native American burial ground. The Beaux Arts structure, built in 1922, was once home to the Poli Palace, the Majestic Theater and the Savoy Hotel. The Poli Palace was built by theater impresario Sylvester Z. Poli as a vaudeville house. Mae West appeared at the theater in 1927. It was the largest theater in Connecticut and continued in use (later renamed Loew’s Palace Theater) until 1975. The Majestic Theater was smaller than the Poli Palace. It was in operation as a movie theater until 1971. Both theaters were designed by Thomas W. Lamb. Between the two theaters was the 109-room Savoy Hotel. In 1935 the Prohibition-era gangster and bootlegger Dutch Schultz moved to the Stratfield Hotel across the street for several months after two trials for tax evasion in New York State. It is wondered if he was involved in the murder of two people in the second floor lobby of the Savoy during this period. A month after leaving Bridgeport Dutch Shultz was gunned down in Newark, New Jersey. The city is seeking to redevelop the property.