Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Durham

Church of the Epiphany, Durham (1862)

One of the few Gothic Revival style buildings in Durham is the Church of the Epiphany, an Episcopal church on Main Street, built in 1862. The earliest Episcopal church services in Durham were held in 1802, but it was not until 1861 that two men, Andrew Morse and Frank Goodwin, began raising money for the construction of a church. The cornerstone was laid in 1862 and the completed church was consecrated on January 28, 1863. The tower was constructed in 1877 and that same year, the building was raised 1.2 feet and placed on a new foundation.

The Cook-Fowler House (1772)

Located across from the Public Library on Main Street in Durham, the Cook-Fowler House is a gambrel-roofed, central-chimney, “Cape Cod“-style cottage. It was built in 1772 by Jesse Cook, a carpenter, a year after his marriage to his third wife, Ann Griswold. Built by himself, the house was later given to Cook’s brother Thomas in 1790. It was later owned by the Lyman family and in 1860 became the home of William Chauncey Fowler, a professor, son-in-law of Noah Webster and author of a number of books, including Memorials of the Chaunceys (1858), The Sectional Controversy (1863) and History of Durham, Connecticut, from the first grant of land in 1662 to 1866 (1866). Two dormer windows were added to the house around 1850.

Phineas Camp House (1758)

According to a date carved on an interior wooden beam, the three-bay Phineas Camp House, on Main Street in Durham, was built in 1758. The property, including the house, a merchant shop and a barn, was sold to Phineas Camp in 1785 by his brother, Elnathan Camp, who had in turn bought the then new house from their father, John Camp, Jr., in 1760. In 1794, Phineas Camp sold the property to Phineas Squire, who then sold it back to Elnathan Camp. In 1808, Elnathan’s son, Sylvester Camp, sold it to Deacon Seth Seward, a wealthy shoemaker. The house then passed through many owners in the nineteenth century, during which time a Greek Revival addition was built on the southeast corner.

Durham Academy (1844)

Durham Academy was established in 1843 as a private school during a period of time when public schooling was very inadequate. The Greek Revival-influenced Academy building was constructed in 1843-1844 and attracted students from a wide area. After the establishment of Middletown High School as a public alternative, the Durham Academy declined and eventually closed in 1884. The building was purchased by the town of Durham in 1891 and became the Coginchaug School, a consolidated school which also offered two years of high school-level instruction. This was dropped in 1898 for financial reasons, but the building later did serve as a high school, from 1916 to 1923. It next became a Lodge of the Knights of Pythias until 1973. It also served as a post office from 1935 to 1958.

The Catherine and Dency Parsons House (1832)

Built around 1832, the Catherine and Dency Parsons House, on Main Street in Durham, was built for two sisters around 1832. After 1868, the house was owned by the Parmelee family into the early twentieth century. The Greek Revival house has a shed-roofed porch along the front facade, added later. At one time the house had a stuccoed exterior.

The Elnathan Camp House (1758)

One of Durham’s most impressive eighteenth century buildings is the Elnathan Camp House, located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and Maiden Lane. Early in the eighteenth century, Abraham Jelit built a house on the property which was later owned by John Camp, who probaly built the current house around 1758 to replace the smaller Jelit House. Camp gave the house to his son, Phineas, in 1785 and Phineas Camp immediately sold the house to his brother, Elnathan. The house was used as a residence and shop by Elnathan Camp and later owners, with a tavern on the premises in the later nineteenth century. The house continues as a residence and offices today.

Elias Austin House (1743)

The Elias Austin House, also known as the Moses Austin House, was built around 1745 and stands on the west side of Main Street in Durham. Elias Austin purchased the lot in 1743 and the property passed to his wife and sons when he died in 1766. One of his sons was Moses Austin, who was born in the house in 1761. Moses Austin later left Durham and reached Texas in the 1820, where the government of Spanish-controlled Mexico granted him land to settle 300 Anglo-American families. Austin died in 1821, but his son, Stephen F. Austin, fulfilled his father’s dream, becoming known as the “Father of Texas.” The Austin House in Durham was sold out of the family in 1783 and has since had many different owners. The building served as Durham’s post office from 1909 to 1935. A front porch supported by pillars once wrapped around three sides of the house, but was removed sometime in the last two decades.