George W. Lawrence House (1891)

The Folk Victorian or Victorian Vernacular style refers to houses built during the Victorian era that are relatively plain and regular in their basic forms (without unusual floor plans or complex additions like turrets). Instead, they are often embellished with elaborate decorative trim that was often prefabricated by machine and could be shipped throughout the country in the later nineteenth century. A good example of this type of a house is the George W. Lawrence House, located at 18 Main Street in East Berlin. Erected about 1891, it was acquired in the early 1890s by Lawrence, a farmer who had extensive landholdings in the area inherited from his father, Alexander P. Lawrence. The house has a typical L-shaped floorplan and features a variety of ornamental woodwork.

St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church (1897)

St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church is located at 68 Main Street in East Berlin. It was built in 1897, at a time when East Berlin was experiencing a boom during the heyday of the nearby Berlin Iron Bridge Company. The church was built on land purchased from the East Berlin Building Company. This was a real estate development which rented housing to workers at the Iron Bridge Company, whose principals owned the majority of its stock (60% in 1903). The addition, with a shorter gable roof, to the north of the original section of the church (on the right in the image above), was built in the twentieth century. (more…)

Sacred Heart Catholic Church (1897)

Happy Easter! Sacred Heart Catholic Church, located at 66 Cottage Street in East Berlin, was erected in 1896-1897. At the time, the Catholic population of East Berlin was expanding rapidly, in large part owing to the growth of the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, which required an enlarged labor force. Land for the church was secured on August 12, 1896 for $400 and the cornerstone was laid by Bishop Michael Tierney on November 8, 1896. The plans were drawn by architect Joseph A. Jackson of Water­bury and the building contract was awarded to R.O. Clark of East Berlin. The project was warmly encouraged and supported by the Berlin Bridge Company, whose president, Charles M. Jarvis, contributed $300 toward the construction. The structure was completed at a cost of $7,300. Sacred Heart Church was dedicated on Sunday, May 30, 1897. The church became a full parish in 1967. On March 1, 2017, Sacred Heart Church merged with St. Paul Church in Kensington to form a new St. Paul’s Parish. (more…)

Timothy Hubbard House (1735)

A sign on the house at 136 Middletown Road in Berlin bears the name Timothy Hubbard and the year 1735. The house was long associated with the Bulkley family. About 1825 it was acquired by Colonel William Bulkley (died 1878), who made tinman’s tools (bench shears & snips) and, for a time, spoons in a shop across the street. He had acquired the shop with his brother, Justus, in 1823. As related in Catharine Melinda North’s History of Berlin (1916):

Horse power was used at first and ten men were employed. The tools were forged in this shop, and then were taken to what is known as Risley’s saw mill, to be ground and polished. Justus Bulkeley, who lived in the house east of the shop, died in 1844. His brother William continued the business and, in 1850, put an engine into the factory.

She later records that

After the Bulkeleys sold the Risley mill to Lyman Wilcox, they ground their tinners’ tools and made rotary shears for cutting sheet metal in circles at Blair’s factory.

She also gives the following description:

Mr. Bulkeley was a genial man, full of fun, and a good neighbor—one of the kind who would go out of his way to do a favor. In his day, whenever there was an auction in town, Colonel Bulkeley was called upon to conduct the sale. By his ready wit he made much fun for the people, as he led up to the final “Going, going, gone.”

American Paper Goods Company (1893)

In 1893, the Ajax Envelope Company of New York City and the Howard Manufacturing Company of Jersey City formed the American Paper Goods Company and moved their operations to Kensington in Berlin, where they secured water rights on the Mattabessett River. The company erected a dam, which survives today, and created Paper Goods Pond, now a town park. The surviving factory and office building was erected in 1893. Its west end (pictured above) has a curving rounded shape. Extending to the east along Main Street are factory additions built in 1900, 1903 and 1914. The company produced waxed paper bags for tobacco and seeds and envelopes for medicine and photographs, later also making paper cups. Continental Can Company bought the factory in 1954 and closed it five years later.

In 1959, Sherwood Industries, known as the Sherri Cup Company, purchased the property. Sherri continued to manufacture paper cups and also made machine tools for the paper industry. Millions of the iconic Anthora paper cups, created in 1963 and displaying the words “We Are Happy to Serve You” were produced in the building. The company was absorbed by the Solo Cup Company and the factory closed in 2004. The former factory building has since been converted into condominiums and is called the Lofts at Sherwood Falls.