Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Glastonbury

The Welles-Chapman Tavern (1776)

The Welles-Chapman Tavern, on Main Street in Glastonbury, was moved from the west to the east side of the street in 1974, when the Glastonbury bank expanded. In the late-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the tavern was the stop-over for coaches traveling between Hartford and New London. The tavern (which was also the town’s first post office) was built in 1776 by Joseph Welles. It was purchased by Azel Chapman in 1808. Today, it is owned by the Historical Society of Glastonbury, who have rented it out to a number of tenants, currently the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce.

Hollister-Tryon House (1736)

Jeremiah Hollister built a saltbox house on the west side of Main Street in South Glastonbury in 1736. In 1739, he sold the house to Joseph Tryon. An addition to the house (since removed) served as a Post Office in the nineteenth century. A porch, added in the early twentieth century, was also removed when the house was remodeled in 1976. Since then, the house, which is adjacent to a strip mall, has been used for businesses. (more…)

The Joseph Moseley House (1735)

The Moseley family had already been living on its property, along Main Street in Glastonbury, for a generation when the current house was built in 1735. The Joseph Moseley House served as both a house and tavern until 1840. The home was purchased in 1879 by David Carrier.

Captain Ambrose Nicholson House (1756)

Built around 1756, or earlier, the Captain Nicholson House in Glastonbury was moved from Hubbard Street to Main Street in 1970. It was built by the sea captain, Ambrose Nicholson, the year he married Margaret Hills, or perhaps around 1740 by his father, Henry Nicholson. The house was restored in 2001.

Hubbard House (1720)

The Hubbard House is the oldest home around Hubbard Green in Glastonbury. It was built in 1720 by John Hubbard, Jr. His wife was Mary Wright Elson Hubbard.

Everett Hurlburt House (1902)

The Everett Hurlbut House, on Main Street in Glastonbury, was built in 1902 and has a distinctive Queen Anne design. Everett Hurlbut had married into the Williams family and became a manager for the J. B. Williams Soap Company. He was later president of the company and is credited with inventing Aqua Velva.

The Glastonbury Villa (1920)

The Glastonbury Villa, on Main Street in Glastonbury, is an American foursquare house built in 1920 by John Jacoon. The exterior of the house displays rubble masonry on the first floor and stuccoed walls on the second floor. There is also a stone fountain in front of the house. The use of stone masonry is commonly found in Italian vernacular architecture and reveal the influence of Italian immigrants in Glastonbury. The name, “Glastonbury Villa,” can be seen between the two windows and the porch on the second floor, on the side of the house facing Main Street. The home is now leased as a town-owned residential property.