Hockanum United Methodist Church (1952)

Hockanum United Methodist Church

The Hockanum Methodist Episcopal Church, later the Hockanum United Methodist Church, was started in the early 1820s in the community of Hockanum in the south part of East Hartford. It was one of the first churches founded after the new Connecticut constitution of 1818 guaranteed the separation of church and state. Their original church building on South Main Street was built in 1838 and was remodeled in 1883-1884. A kitchen wing was added in 1911. Rev. Benjamin C. Phelps, who was a minister at the Hockanum Methodist Church, built the octagon house on Naubuc Avenue in East Hartford in 1852. After the neighborhood grew rapidly during World War II, plans were made to move the old church to a new site, just 50 feet to the south, where it would form part of a new and larger structure. Before being moved, in October 1951, the old building was raised to create room at the new site for a basement hall. Completed early the following year, the new church consisted of the old sanctuary, remodeled and lengthened, with a new front entrance and a new education wing at the rear. The facade of the new church was 20 feet further from Main Street than its predecessor, allowing space for a front lawn. In 2007 the church (address 178 Main Street) was sold to La Iglesia de Dios Evangelica El Refugio.

David Gilman House (1787)

126 King Street, East Hartford

The house at 126 King Street in East Hartford was built in 1787 by David Gilman. The house was acquired by Joshua and Jonah Williams in 1796 and was owned solely by Jonah after 1808. Jonah Williams lived in the house until his death in 1846. It was then acquired by Jonah’s nephew (or was it his grandson?) Elijah Ackley (1829-1901). As related in the tenth volume of the Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography:

The widow of Elijah, Jr. [1801-1829], with the young son, then but six months old, came to East Hartford, Connecticut, to live with her brother, Jonah Williams. Elijah (3) there attended school and made a life business of general farming, starting early in life in the tree nursery business, and many trees in East Hartford and Hartford to-day came from his nursery. Later he took up the growing of tobacco and continued growing it until he died in May, 1901. He was very active in public affairs, a public-spirited citizen, and represented the town of East Hartford in the Legislature, serving in the same session with the late P. T. Barnum. He also served as an assessor, and was chairman of the First Ecclesiastical Society of East Hartford for many years, and was active in the Grange, having served as its treasurer many years and up to the time of his death.

Sunset Ridge School (1949)

Sunset Ridge School

In 1949 the Town of East Hartford opened three new or expanded schools: Hockanum School and Sunset Ridge School, both built in a similar Colonial Revival style, and a new addition to the Woodland School (originally built in 1928). On August 28, 1949, the Hartford Courant (“New Schools to Open on September 7”) reported that contractors had been ordered to focus on completing the classrooms, leaving gymnasiums, auditoriums and cafeteria kitchens until last (and therefore not yet fully completed when the buildings were opened to students). At Sunset Ridge School, at the corner of Forbes Street and Silver Lane, work on the grounds was focused on at least finishing one walkway as a dry summer had raised a considerable amount of dust. On September 25, 1949, the Courant reported (“New Building Contains 10 Classrooms”) that Sunset Ridge School, erected in less than a year at a cost of $825,000, could accommodate 350 pupils. The school was situated on 10-acre plot that had required extensive grading. The excess dirt had been used to fill in the site of the Woodland School addition and what remained was given to any residents who were willing to haul it away. A lot of clay had been encountered during the digging, which brought to mind that there was once a brick manufacturer located across the street from the school. A 12-classroom addition was constructed in 1951.

Capt. Moses Forbes House (1757)

Capt. Moses Forbs House

It is not certain when the house at 401 High Street in East Hartford was built, but one of its bricks is inscribed with the date 1779. It may have been built by Capt. Moses Forbes (or Forbs), Sr. in that year, or it could have been built around the time he acquired the property in 1757 (the date indicated by a sign on the house). The house passed to his son, Moses Forbes, Jr. and then his grandson, Orrin Forbes. Forbes descendents lived in the house until 1923. The house was remodeled in the nineteenth century in the Greek Revival style.