Known as the Carriage House, the building at 486 Quaker Farms Road in Oxford was built c. 1800 as a carriage manufactory. The building has been a residence since 1869.
The Carriage House (1800)
Old Congregational Parsonage, Bethany (1855)
The house at 508 Amity Road in Bethany was built in 1855 to serve as the parsonage for the Bethany Congregational Church. It was erected by designer-builder Col. Alvan Sperry (1786-1861). The Congregational Society had originally acquired the property in 1850. At that time the old Hezekiah Thomas Hotel still stood on the property. Parts of that building may have been incorporated into the new parsonage. Part of the hotel had been a 1750 structure, originally located at Rocky Corner, that had served as a school and early parish meeting-place. C. 1775 the building was moved to Bethany Green. It is described as follows in W. C. Sharpe’s Bethany Sketches and Records (1908):
More than a century ago a schoolhouse was standing on “Meeting House Hill,” near Bethany Green. It was in the Middle District. The building was two stories in height, the upper part being the Masonic Hall. It was near the meeting house, and was heated each Sunday, in order that the congregation might repair hither between the services.
In 1802 the South, West, and Middle Districts were consolidated into the Union District, which was eventually called the Center. When a new schoolhouse was built the old one was bought by Hezekiah Thomas. [In 1834] It was drawn across the valley to a site near the churches and served as a hall to a hotel built by Mr. Thomas. The hall was demolished about twentyfive years ago [1875] by the owner, Mr. [S]Perry.
The same book states that Hezekiah Thomas,
brother of David Thomas, was the first town clerk. He was proprietor of the Hezekiah Thomas hotel, which later became the Congregational parsonage. He married Chloe Beecher. Their daughter, Tabitha, married Isaac Jones.
William Shelton House (1830)
William Shelton (1805-1860) was a hat maker in Windsor who filled orders for customers as far away as Philadelphia. In 1830 he built the transitional Federal/Greek Revival house at 40 Pleasant Street. It was constructed of bricks from William Mack’s brickyard, which opened that year at the foot (east end) of Pleasant Street. Behind Shelton’s house was an industrial area along Mill Brook where he made his hats. The house currently contains antique furniture that was brought back from the attic and barn and restored.
Eli Parmelee House (1860)
The Italianate-style house at 72 Church Street in Guilford was built c. 1860. It has Queen Anne-style porches added later in the nineteenth century. This was the home of Deacon Eli Parmelee (1808-1882) who served in the state legislature and was a deacon of the First Congregational Church from 1852 until his death in 1882.
John Robinson House (1890)
On page 34 of the volume by Lynn Kloter Fahy on Ellington in the Images of America series (Arcadia Publishing, 2005) is an image of the John Robinson House, 107 Maple Street, taken c. 1910. The image shows that the house, built in 1890, once had many more features of the Queen Anne style, including decorative trim and a front porch. The house does retain its original pyramidal roof. Behind the house was Robinson’s blacksmith shop.
Old Merrick House (1771)
The Old Merrick House, also known as the Rice-Merrick House, at 244 Tolland Turnpike in Willington is a Colonial Cape built before 1771 by John Rice. Gideon Merrick acquired the property in 1811. The Merrick family operated a store next door for a number of years.
Levi Goodwin House (1750)
The house at 1820 Main Street in East Hartford was built c. 1750. It was the home of Levi Goodwin (1757-1836), a tobacco farmer, who kept a tavern behind his home that faced the King’s Highway (now Ellington Road). Hearing news of the Lexington alarm, he left to serve in the Revolutionary War. Upon his return from the War he held a celebration at his tavern at his own expense that lasted for three days. As described in The Goodwins of Hartford, Connecticut, Descendants of William and Ozias Goodwin (1891), complied by James Junius Goodwin
He marched for Boston, April 17, 1775, on the Lexington alarm, and was paid for ten days’ service. He enlisted as a private in the Company of Capt. Jonathan Hale, in the Regiment commanded by Col. Erastus Wolcott, which was called out January, 1776, for six weeks, service, to aid the army under General Washington in the vicinity of Boston. He was also in the Company of Capt. Abraham Sedgwick, in the Battalion commanded by Col. John Chester, raised in June, 1776, to reinforce the army under General Washington at New York. These troops were in the battles of Long Island, August 27, and of White Plains, October 28, their term of service expiring on the 25th of December of the same year. For his services in this war he received a pension from the United States Government. His residence was in East Hartford, and he represented that town in the Legislature of October, 1818. He married Jerusha Drake, daughter of Jonathan Drake of East Windsor. Levi Goodwin died April 24, 1836, aged 78. Jerusha (Drake) Goodwin died March 26, 1832, aged 76.
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