An example of a colonial house with significant later alterations is the Benjamin Webb House, at 388 Old Main Street in Rocky Hill. The house was built before 1750, perhaps in 1720.
Benjamin Webb House (1720)
Captain David Riley House (1710)
A descendent of James Riley, who settled in Wethersfield in 1645, Captain David Riley built the house at 3 Riverview Road, just off Old Main Street in Rocky Hill, in 1710. Capt. Riley was a ship captain and so many of his sons and grandsons, who were also mariners, built houses near his that the intersection was once known as Riley’s Corner. In the later nineteenth century, the house was owned by Dr. Rufus Griswold, a physician. Dr. Griswold had earlier been a journalist as well. An editor of the Brooklyn Morning Journal and the New York Empire City, according to one source, “he became a prominent contributor to American medical journals and one of the leading members of the medical profession in Connecticut.” He was also the guiding spirit of the Rocky Hill Lyceum, which sponsored debates and lectures and whose members met at his home. The house has recently been restored.
Bulkeley-Goodrich House (1760)
The house at 460 Old Main Street in Rocky Hill was built in about 1760 for Captain Charles Bulkeley, a merchant. The Greek Revival doorway probably dates to around 1840. The house was later owned by the Goodrich family. At some point, Frank Lovejoy, a shoemaker, came from New York to live with the Goodrich family.
Whitmore Homestead (1786)
The Federal-style Whitmore Homestead, built around 1786, is at 20 Riverview Road in Rocky Hill. There is a small structure on the property thought to have been used as the town’s first post office. The house was also a stop on the Underground Railroad, with a hidden passage in the upstairs closet used by fugitive slaves.
Thomas Danforth House (1783)
Thomas Danforth II, who was based in Middletown, together with his sons, including Thomas Danforth III of Rocky Hill, were very successful Connecticut metalworkers. Five generations of the Danforth family, between 1730s and 1840s, were involved in metalworking and became famous for producing objects made of pewter and Britannia metal. The Danforth family business employed many peddlers, who sold their wares widely, with a focus on the southern states. Thomas Danforth III has been credited with establishing America’s first chain-store system, with branches in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Savannah. Having spent a number of years traveling between Connecticut and Philadelphia, where his son, Thomas Danforth IV would serve his apprenticeship, Thomas III returned to reside in his home in Rocky Hill. His house, built in 1783, is located at the corner of Glastonbury Avenue and Old Main Street.
Lubin Burton Rockwood House (1855)
The home of Rev. Lubin Burton Rockwood, on Riverview Road in Rocky Hill, was built in 1855 or just before. Rev. Rockwood was a Presbyterian minister. Born in New Hampshire, he was a graduate of Dartmouth College and Andover and Union theological seminaries. Ordained in New York in 1845, he served as a pastor at Rocky Hill’s Congregational Church from 1850 to 1859. He also became president and librarian of Rocky Hill’s Social Library Association. The Associations books were kept at his house from 1855-1866.
John Robbins House (1767)
In 1767, John Robbins built his house, on Old Main Street in Rocky Hill, on land he had purchased from the Duke of Cumberland, who had earlier been granted the land by George II. The house was later used as a tavern, known as the Duke of Cumberland Inn. The brick Georgian-style house was updated in the Colonial Revival style in 1910.
You must be logged in to post a comment.