Charles Daniels House (1826)

Charles Daniels House

The Greek Revival house at 43 Liberty Street in Chester was built c. 1820-1830 for Charles Daniels (1799-1838). Ithiel Town has traditionally been attributed as the architect, but this has not been historically verified. It is however architecturally similar to other works by Town. The house was originally erected near Daniels’ gimlet factory, built about 1825 on Deep Hollow Brook. After his death the house passed to his widow (his second wife, Abby L. Gilbert, who died in 1905) and her second husband, Clark N. Smith, who died in 1911. The building was acquired by a neighboring factory, M. S. Brooks & Sons, which eventually started using it as a warehouse. New owners acquired the house in 1977 and in June 1978 it was moved 300 feet to the west, away from the factory. The house was then carefully restored as a residence. (more…)

George S. Andrews House (1878)

100 Main St., Glastonbury

The house (which combines Gothic Revival and Italianate features) at 100 Main Street in South Glastonbury was built around 1878 by George S. Andrews (1819-1891). In 1866, he opened a feldspar quarry in South Glastonbury and started what is said to have been the first feldspar mill in Connecticut. What is now called “Old Maids Lane” was built by Andrews to transport the feldspar to the family’s dock on the Connecticut River.

William E. Barton House (1855)

William E. Barton House

William Barton founded East Hampton’s famous bell manufacturing industry in 1808. Bell making was passed to his son Hiram and then to his grandson William E. Barton (c. 1830-1895), who manufactured sleigh bells. William E. Barton initially made bells at his father’s foundry, but after a fire in 1874 he moved to a nearby foundry built by the Union Bell Company. His company was sold and reorganized in 1881 as the Barton Bell Company. He married Harriet Watrous in 1853 and their son Abner Watrous Barton was part owner of the Barton Bell Company. William E. Barton patented several innovative designs for sleigh bells and bell straps. His originality is also reflected in the distinctive design of his house, built in 1855 and located at 30 Skinner Street in East Hampton. The house was acquired by N.N. Hill in 1892 and was owned by the N.N. Hill Brass Company until 1950.

Elijah Booth House (1771)

Elijah Booth House

The house at 968 Main Street North was constructed sometime before 1771 (perhaps as early as 1716?), when the property was acquired by Elijah Booth from Edward Hinman. Booth was a cabinetmaker and in 1806 his dwelling house, joiners shop and barn were acquired by Eli Hall. The house remained in the Hall family until it was sold by Hall’s daughter, Lydia Ann Hall, who married Sherman B. Warner, sold it in 1892. From 1915 to 1918 the house was one of five, including the Peter Parley House, that were were owned as a seasonal estate by Robert and Antonia Treupel of Mamaroneck, NY. They sold their houses to the Lutheran Inner-Mission Society of Connecticut, which sold the Booth House to Delia Hunihan in 1933. She lived there with her husband John until 1959. Restoration of the house was begun by its next owner, Mark Messier, and was continued by Carl and Elizabeth Kamphausen, who bought it in 1962.