Gordon S Miller Farm Museum (2002)

One of the properties of the Totoket Historical Society in North Branford is the Gordon S. Miller Farm Museum. Housed in a traditional New England barn constructed in 2002, the museum collection contains farm machinery and farm implements used in Northford and North Branford going back over two centuries, as well as artifacts discovered in local archeological digs sponsored by the society. The museum is named for Gordon S. Miller, a long time resident of Northford and a former President of the Totoket Historical Society.

Willimantic Linen Company Stable (1873)

One of the structures that make up the former American Thread Company complex in Willimantic is a former stable, which housed horses, wagons and hay. It was constructed in 1872-1873 by the Willimantic Linen Company, original builder of the mills that were taken over by the American Thread Company in 1898. Like the adjacent mill buildings, No. 1 and No. 2, the stable was constructed of granite gneiss in the Romanesque Revival style. Because the building is located along a slope leading the nearby river bank, the basement level is visible on the south side (facing the river), but not on the north side.

Carson’s Store (1900)

The building at 43 Main Street in Noank was built before 1900 as a summer kitchen. In 1918, it was acquired by Jane Carson, who moved it to its current location on Main Street to use as her general store. Carson’s Store, which she first opened in 1907, had two earlier locations before it settled at 43 Main Street: the first was at the foot of Main Street and the second, which had burned down, was at the opposite end of Main Street next to the railroad tracks. Her son, Bernard Carson, later ran the store. He installed a lunch counter and bar stools in 1954. David Blacker acquired the store and restaurant in 1979. The structure had been sitting on the ground, but he added a foundation underneath. There were news stories at the start of 2014 that Carson’s Store had closed, but it is now open again, operated by David Blacker’s son, Andrew Blacker.

Lockwood-Mathews Carriage House (1864)

The Carriage House of the historic Lockwood–Mathews Mansion in Norwalk (both are located in Mathews Park) was built around the same time as the main house, 1864. It was completed before the mansion and was not designed by the architect of that building, Detlef Lienau. Like the main house, the Carriage House is constructed of ashlar blocks, but the simplicity of its overall architectural effect is far more subdued than that of the lavishly decorated mansion. The Carriage House has a hipped roof that was once surmounted by a cupola, or belvedere, with a widow’s walk. It is thought that the building was originally set up to have carriages in the west wing, horse stables in the east wing, and a multi-purpose work and storage area in the center pavilion, with hay stored in the second story. The City of Norwalk acquired the property in 1942 and converted the Carriage House to a police building. The stables were converted into jail cells. Later, the city planning department moved into the building. In the 1990s the former Carriage House became the home of the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, a state-of-the-art printmaking facility.

American Seamen’s Friend Society Sailor’s Reading Room (1841)

One of the buildings at Mystic Seaport is set up to represent the American Seamen’s Friend Society Sailor’s Reading Room. The Society was incorporated in 1833 to provide moral and religious alternatives to the saloons, boardinghouses and brothels frequented by sailors while in port. The organization is best known for the libraries it placed aboard American ships for the use of sailors. The Society’s records are now held the Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport. This historic organization is interpreted for Mystic Seaport visitors in a building erected c. 1841 as a work shop and tool shed by Clark Greenman of the George Greenman & Co. Shipyard. Starting in 1951, it was used as the Seaport’s Children’s museum, before housing the Reading Room exhibit. The building originally stood where the Treworgy Planetarium was built in 1960. It was moved to its current location in 1959. (more…)