Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Houses

Yeoman-Taylor House (1732)

The oldest section of the building at 22 Knowles Road at Knowles Landing in Middle Haddam is possibly a house built on the site c. 1732-1735 by Jonathan Yeoman. For ten years (1735-1745), Yeoman ran a ferry across the Connecticut River. In 1747 the ferry licence was granted to Capt. Cornelius Knowles, for whom Knowles Landing is named. Jeremiah Taylor bought the Yeoman property in 1804, remodeling and expanding it in 1805 to serve as a tavern with a second-floor ballroom spanning the length of the building. The original one-and-a-half story, gambrel-roofed house became a two-and-a-half gable roofed structure. Taylor owned the building until 1826. The Italianate side veranda is a later addition. Jeremiah Taylor’s son, James Brainerd Taylor, was a minister during the Second Great Awakening whose life was a frequently used example of evangelical Protestant spirituality.

Asahel Bacon House (1784)

At 3 South Street, corner of Weller Bridge Road, in Roxbury is a house built c. 1784 for Asahel Bacon. The son of Woodbury merchant Jabez Bacon, Asahel Bacon was also a merchant and an investor in the Roxbury iron mine. He left the house to his daughter, Mary Bacon Whittlesey. In 1850 George Whittlesey sold the house to Col. George Hurlburt (1809-1904), who manufactured hats in the 1840s and 1850s. He is described in vol. III of New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial (1913):

George, son of Major Hurlburt, was born in Roxbury. October 14. 1809. He learned the hatter’s trade under Colonel William Odell, of Washington. Connecticut, and worked at it until 1860, when he became a general merchant; later in life he engaged in farming. He was appointed postmaster by President Lincoln, and was a member of the state legislature. He married, January 7, 1833, Thalia A. Merwin, of Brookfield, Connecticut

Col. Hurlburt was succeeded as postmaster by his son, George W. Hurlburt. The town store and post office once stood on the property. A total of four generations of Hurlburts lived in the house.

James Monroe House (1865)

Having previously constructed the Gothic Revival house at 53 Fair Street in Guilford in 1860, James Monroe erected another residence at 63 Fair Street in 1865. The builder was William E. Weld. Typical of the Gothic Revival style, the house has prominent gables, board and batten siding and windows with drip molds.

James Monroe House (1860)

The first of two Gothic Revival houses built by James Monroe on Fair Street in Guilford is the house at No. 53, built in 1860. James Monroe was part of the firm of Jasper Monroe & Sons on Boston Street. He also erected several building around town. A later resident was George Cruttenden. The house has board and batten siding, typical of the Carpenter Gothic style, and also has Italianate-style entry porch.

Spencer H. Burnham House (1880)

The Carpenter Gothic-style cottage, with board and batten siding, at 196 King Street in East Hartford was built by Spencer H. Burnham on land he acquired from his grandfather, Selah Burnham, in 1874. Burnham, a Civil War veteran, tobacco farmer and carpenter, who served as Selectman in 1878, probably built the house around the time of his marriage to Mary C. Anderson on January 11, 1881.

Dr. Harry E. Stewart House (1915)

The house at 84 Green Hill Road in Washington was built in 1915 for Dr. Harry E. Stewart, a Yale graduate who came to town from New Haven as an assistant to Dr. Frederick Wersebe, whose residence and office was at 13 Wykeham Road. Dr. Stewart’s house had a gymnasium on the upper floor because of his passion for physical education. He served as the Physical Director of the New Haven Normal School of Gymnastics, Physical Director of the Wykeham Rise School for Girls and as Yale University athletic coach. The house was later owned by Henry S. Mowbray, an architect [I think he was the son of the artist Henry Siddons Mowbray], who converted it to contain three apartments.

Croucher-Richmond House (1780)

The traditional date for the house at 886 Main Street North in Southbury is 1715, although it was more likely to have been built around 1780. The earliest owners are not known, but it passed through several families in the nineteenth through early twentieth century. In 1938 it was bought by Daniel and Marguerite Croucher. By then the house’s condition had deteriorated. The Crouchers rehabilitated the house in the Colonial Revival style, removing Victorian-era additions, which included a front porch. Daniel Croucher was a New York City antiques dealer. He acquired the neighboring White Oak School House in 1940. From 1954 to 1964 the house was owned by Helena Penrose, another New York antiques dealer. Howard and Priscilla Richmond, also antiques dealers, acquired the house from Penrose’s estate in 1965. They used the former school house as their antiques shop. Before retiring to Southbury in 1957, where he started a second career in the antiques business, Howard K. Richmond had been a graphic designer and art director in New York. He created the original layout and logo for Life magazine in 1936. He also did advertising and publicity work for Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale’s, Elizabeth Arden and Saks Fifth Avenue.