Guilford Smith House (1877)

Guilford Smith (1839-1923), who left his childhood home in South Windham to become a library, built his own house nearby in 1877. Located at 9 Main Street, it is an elaborately decorated Victorian residence. According to a biography of Smith in Legislative History and Souvenir of Connecticut, Vol. VII (1910):

Guilford Smith, of Windham, who was horn in South Windham. May 12, 1839, is the son Charles and Mary A. Smith, and is descended from Governor William Bradford of the Mayflower colony. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and at Hall’s School at Ellington. When nineteen years of age, he entered the office of Smith, Winchester & Co., as a clerk, passing through all the departments. Upon the death of his father, he succeeded him, being now president and treasurer of the now The Smith. Winchester Mfg. Co. He is also president of the Windham National Bank of Willimantic, a director of the New London and Northern Railway, and president of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Willimantic. On December 16, 1863, Mr. Smith married Mary Ramsdall. daughter of Thomas and Mary Elizabeth (Lathrop) Ramsdall. He is one of the leading citizens of South Windham, is active in church and civil affairs, has represented his town in the General Assembly in 1883, and filled various local official stations. He is a member of the Ecclesiastical Society of the Congregational Church, whose house of worship was built chiefly at his expense. He is also a member of the Society of Mayflower descendants. He faithfully served as a member of the Committee on Banks [in the State Assembly].

Deacon Darius Knight House (1825)

The house at 93 Chaplin Street in Chaplin has been dated variously to 1840, 1832 and 1825. It was the home of Deacon Darius Knight. The house next south on Chaplin Street, just past the intersection with Tower Hill Road (87 Chaplin Street), was the home of E. W. Day, so the intersection became known as Knight and Day Corner. The Knight House was later home to a minister and a doctor.

Old Basket Shop, Silvermine (1850)

The historic structure at 187 Perry Avenue, in the Silvermine section of Norwalk, was built c. 1850. It is located along the Silvermine River, just next to the Perry Avenue Bridge. Often called the Blacksmith Shop, it was used as a basketmaker’s shop in the later nineteenth century and is now a residence. Frank Townsend Hutchens, a painter, purchased the building in 1913 and it has since been owned by a succession of singers, writers, and sculptors over the years, including Tony Balcom, an etcher, painter and illustrator and a founder of the Silvermine Guild of Artists in 1922.

Page-Malone House (1905)

The house at 91 Bellevue Avenue in Bristol was erected c. 1905 for DeWitt Page (1869-1940), an Industrialist, philanthropist, and owner of Thoroughbred racehorses. Originally from Meriden, DeWitt Page worked his way up from the shipping department to become president of the New Departure Manufacturing Company. He married Mae Belle Rockwell, sister of Albert Rockwell, founder of New Departure. In 1933, DeWitt and Mae Page gifted Page Park to the City of Bristol. They only lived in the house at 91 Bellevue until about 1917, when their new mansion was completed at 181 Grove Street (the mansion was demolished in 1971). The Bellevue Avenue house was then owned by William J. Malone (1879-1961), a judge of the city court who also presided as Speaker of the state House of Representatives.