The house at 86 Central Avenue in East Hartford was built between 1894 and 1903 by Joseph Hamilton, a clerk. He acquired the property from P. Boyle, who had acquired it from Patrick Garvan, who developed Garvan Street. It was one of several lots acquired by Garvan in 1871. This well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style displays the use of contrasting siding on two different stories.
The house at 4 Matthew Street in Prospect was built c. 1811 on a small piece of land that had originally been part of the farm of Ephraim Smith. The land had been sold out of the family in 1791 and passed through several owners until over the years. When Uriah Carrington bought the land in 1812, it included a recently built house. Carrington acquired additional property from Ira Smith, Ephraim’s son, to increase the size of the property to an acre. It had grown to two acres when it was acquired by Joel Matthews in 1833. The Greek Revival front entrance was probably added closer to that date.
The house at 274 Jackson Hill Road in Middlefield was built c. 1835 by William Hale. In 1838 he sold the house to Ichabod Miller. The house and extensive farmland remained in the Miller Family until 1886.
The house at 571 West Main Street in Cheshire was built c. 1790 by David Badger. He was an early proponent of the Episcopal Church in Cheshire and served as one of the earliest clerks of St. Peter’s Parish. As explained in Old Historic Homes of Cheshire (1895):
It will be observed that this house faces the east instead of fronting the road. The reason given is that Mr. Badger desired his front rooms so arranged that he could from his front windows, or standing in his front door, get a view of the steeple of the Episcopal Church
The house was later owned by John Fields, whose sons Orrin and Samuel would both reside there as well.
The construction date of the house at 1047 Main Street in South Glastonbury is not known. An assessor gave it a date of c. 1800. It was much altered in the late nineteenth century, possibly during the period of time when it was owned by John Stevens, a carpenter who died c. 1910.
The house at 30 Plains Road, on the east side of the Moodus Green in East Haddam, was built c. 1890. It was the home of Frank C. Fowler. Born in 1859, Fowler served in the state General Assembly in 1897. According to his biography in Taylor’s Legislative History and Souvenir of Connecticut for 1897-1898, “Since 1882 he has been prosperously engaged in the manufacture of proprietary remedies, and is also proprietor of the well known Oak Grove Stock Farm.” He is further described as, “an ardent sportsman owning one of the largest game preserves in the country, and has given attention to the propagation and protection of our native game.” He also built a harness race track on the flats above the Green. Fowler’s 110′ yacht the Huntress was commissioned by the navy in 1898 for duty in the Spanish-American War.
At 3 Lester Avenue in Pawcatuck is a two-family Italianate-style house built in 1857. The nomination for the Mechanic Street Historic District lists the building as a Masonic Hall, so it may have been used at some point by Pawcatuck Lodge No. 90. Chartered in 1863, the Lodge met for a time in the Pawcatuck Hotel and later at other locations. For many years the Lodge shared space with Franklin Lodge No. 20 of Westerly, Rhode Island. More recently, the Pawcatuck Lodge merged with Asylum Lodge No. 57 of Stonington and Charity & Relief Lodge No. 72 of Mystic to form Costal Lodge No. 57.
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