Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Houses

First George LaCourse House (1909)

The Colonial Revival house at 110 South Street in Bristol was built c. 1909 by local builder George J. LaCourse (1880-1941). He first moved an earlier house from the site, that had been built about a century before by Thomas Barns, Jr. That house was later occupied by Barns’ grandson, Thomas Barnes (who added an e to the family name). LaCourse, who is credited with having built 250 residences in Bristol (both single-family and multi-family), later built a new house for his own family at 57 George Street. In 1918, the influenza epidemic spurred plans to start a hospital in Bristol. The Wallace Barnes Company, which owned the house at the time, sold it to the Hospital Association to use as a temporary home until a new hospital complex was built. In December 1921 the house opened in its new role with space for 22 patients and quarters for nurses. When the new hospital opened the house was converted into a multi-family dewelling.

351 Main Street South, Woodbury (1849)

The house at 351 Main Street South in Woodbury was built in 1849. In recent years the house served as a supervised home for people with traumatic brain injuries. The house was damaged in a fire on May 30, 2014.

Elijah House House (1784)

At the Corner of Hebron Road and Center Street in Andover is a house built by Elijah House in 1784. Elijah House (1745-1823), descended from a prominent family from Rhode Island, is said to have been bankrupted after lending money to the French soldiers encamped in Lebanon during the Revolutionary War in 1781, but rebounded enough to build his house in Andover three years later. House was a merchant who inherited his father John House‘s property in Hebron and Coventry in 1801. On his land, Elijah House had a merchant shop, a slaughterhouse, soap-making equipment and a paper mill. He leased his operations to his son, Simon, in 1815. The house has been much altered over the years.

Smith-Pierce House (1810)

The house at 583 South Britain Road in Southbury was built c. 1810-1825 by Samuel Smith, a merchant. It is known as the C.B Smith House (in the NRHP nomination form for the South Britain Historic District) and the Smith-Pierce House (in a brochure for the South Britain Historic District).

Goodrich-Stratton House (1740)

The center-chimney colonial house at 501 Main Street in South Glastonbury was built around 1740 by Timothy Brooks on land he had acquired in 1730 from William Goodrich, Sr. In 1749 Brooks sold the house to William Goodrich, Jr., a sea captain, who drowned in 1753. His daughter Mehitabel, wife of John Welles, Jr. (who owned the Welles-Shipman-Ward House in Glastonbury), later sold the property to her step-brother, Samuel Stratton, Jr.

Mrs. Benjamin Pomeroy House (1869)

Mrs. Benjamin Pomeroy, the wife of a shipping merchant, had the house at 658 Pequot Avenue in Southport erected for herself and her daughters. The Second Empire-style house, which features an elaborate front porch and mansard roof, was designed by the architectural firm of Lambert & Bunnell. Constructed in 1868-1869, the house’s builder was Gamaliel Bradford of Fairfield. The house remained in the family until 1946. The house’s carriage house was erected around the same time as the main house.

Daniel Darte Homestead (1722)

The house at 22 Hebron Road in Bolton was built sometime between 1740 and 1770, although it may date to as early as 1722. It has been added to over the years. It was built by Daniel Darte (1691-1771), an original settler of Bolton. Daniel Darte supported the town’s separation from Hartford in 1720. There is another house in Bolton, at 219 Bolton Center Road, that is traditionally associated with Daniel Darte.