Charles A. Converse House (1870)
Wauregan Hotel (1855)
The Wauregan Hotel, originally known as the Wauregan House, was built in downtown Norwich in 1855 and soon became known as one of the finest hotels in New England. When Abraham Lincoln came to give a campaign speech in Norwich in 1860, he stayed in a room at the Wauregan. The Hotel was expanded in 1894 with the absorption of the neighboring Clarendon building, by which the Wauregan added a dining room and a ballroom. By the 1940s, the building’s Italianate cast iron ornamentation had been removed. Abandoned for many years and in a deteriorating condition, the Wauregan Hotel was in danger of demolition, but a preservation effort was successful: the building was restored to its original level of architectural detail and the interior has been adapted for reuse as an apartment building.
Otis Library (1850)
The old Otis Library building was constructed in downtown Norwich in 1850. It was founded by Deacon Joseph Otis, a retired merchant, who erected the building, purchased its first books and provided an endowment in his will for its continued operation. The library was originally housed on the first floor of the building, with a pastor’s study above. The library eventually outgrew the original structure and was moved to Main Street in the 1960s. The current Otis Library on Main Street was built in 2007. The original building is now known as the William F. Bourgun Memorial and serves as offices for the city’s Department of Human Services.
The Buckingham Memorial (1847)
William Alfred Buckingham was the governor of Connecticut from 1858 to 1866. A wealthy businessman, he entered politics as a Whig, serving several terms as mayor of Norwich. Buckingham later became a republican, winning election as governor in 1858. In 1860, he traveled with Abraham Lincoln as the Illinois Republican made six speeches throughout Connecticut. The two became friends and the governor responded quickly when Lincoln, as president, requested volunteers after the firing on Fort Sumter. Buckingham served throughout the ensuing Civil War, leaving the governorship in 1866 to return to his former business pursuits. He later served as a U.S. senator from 1869 until his death in 1875. Buckingham‘s house, on Main Street in Norwich, was built in 1847. After his death, it was purchased by the veterans group, Sedgwick Post No. 1 of the Grand Army of the Republic. The house, thereafter known as the Buckingham Memorial, has more recently been turned over to the Norwich Historical Society for use as offices and perhaps, in the future, a museum.
The Eliza Huntington Memorial Home (1832)
The Eliza Huntington Memorial Home in Norwich began as a private house, notable for its Greek Revival ornamentation. It was most likely built before 1835 (a “dwelling house” is already mentioned in an 1836 warranty to Jedidiah Huntington). Huntington bought the house when he retired from business. He died in 1872 and his will established the Eliza Huntington Memorial Home for Respectable and Indigent Aged and Inform Females on his former property. As described in a Report of the State Board of Charities to the Governor (1921):
The Home is located at no. 99 Washington Street and occupies a pleasant old-fashioned house surrounded by attractive grounds. It was formerly the residence of Mr. Jedediah Huntington, whose generosity established the Home as a memorial to his wife. The original endowment has increased until the income from it largely supports the Home.
As further explained in Caulkins History of Norwich (1874):
Mr. Huntington has made a deep and lasting impression upon the regard of our community, by the liberality which he has exhibited in his large and frequent donations to religious and benevolent objects, principally connected with the church to which he was attached. By his last will and testament, he gave the beautiful place, which was the residence of himself and wife for nearly forty years, as a home for indigent females, and appropriated $35,000 as a fund for its support. It is called the “Eliza Huntington Memorial Home,” as a tribute to his wife, who, during her last illness, expressed an earnest desire that a portion of his estate, which she would have received had she survived him, should be appropriated to found such an institution.
Carroll Building, Norwich (1887)
Lucius W. Carroll was a leading Norwich merchant and businessman who had a store on Water Street. In 1887, as a real estate venture, he constructed a commercial building to be leased to a variety of businesses. Located at the intersection of Main and Water Streets in Norwich, the Carroll Building is also known as the Flat Iron Building, because its floor plan, accommodating the triangular area where it was built, resembled an iron, like that of the famous Flatiron Building in New York, built in 1902. The building‘s display windows are separated by cast iron columns by A. H. Vaughn & Sons, proprietors of the Norwich Iron Foundry. Below are additional images of the building, which show how the Worcester architect, Stephen C. Earle, had to contend with the site’s uneven ground. (more…)
The John Baldwin House (1660)
The framing of the John Baldwin House, at 210 West Town Street in Norwich, dates to 1660. John Baldwin was an early settler of Norwich. The house is now a real estate office.