The 1799 house of Capt. Charles Francis, Jr. of Wethersfield is located on Hartford Ave. Wethersfield’s Cove Park lies behind the house, which now serves as the Wethersfield Cove Yacht Club.
Capt. Charles Francis, Jr. House (1799)
Hale-Newson House (1725)
Located just south of the Buttolph-Williams House, on Broad Street in Wethersfield, is a house of similar age, built in stages between the 1720s and 1750s. The first owner, Benezer Hale, began the construction of the house around 1725 by building what is now the section to the south (the left side). The section to the north (right side) was added later. Capt. Thomas Newson, a privateer during the Revolutionary War, added the lean-to on the rear, which gives the house a traditional saltbox form. Capt. Newson had a reputation for violence towards his slaves and was believed to have murdered a 42-year-old slave woman named Doll, who was found dead on the highway in 1802 from wounds inflicted with an ax. An inquest panel, on which Isaac Stevens sat, determined that the murder was committed by “some person or persons unknown to the jury.”
(more…)John Francis Tavern (1764)
An early brick building, constructed on Hartford Avenue in Wethersfield, the John Francis Tavern of 1764 was built in the same year the town’s brick meetinghouse was completed. Like the John Robbins House, also used as a tavern and built a few years later in what would become Rocky Hill, the Francis Tavern features a stringcourse as a decorative element.
Capt. Allyn Stillman House (1766)
Capt. Allyn Stillman was a Revolutionary War blockade runner and soldier in the militia. His house, built in 1766 on Main Street in Wethersfield, features a typical Connecticut River Valley double door. Allyn’s brother, Nathaniel Stillman, Jr., was also a ship captain and had a house on Main Street.
(more…)Capt. Timothy Stillman House (1750)
Timothy Stillman was a later resident of the house on Main Street in Wethersfield that bears his name. It was built around 1750, or perhaps even earlier. Captain and Deacon Timothy Stillman was a ship master who commanded the brig Ontario.
(more…)Dr. Erastus Cooke House (1855)
The Dr. Erastus Cooke House, on Main Street in Wethersfield, was built in 1855 and features a hipped roof.
Edit (7/13/08): According to an April 2008 draft of the Old Wethersfield Master Plan (available as a pdf file), “Within the village center of Wethersfield, Dr. Erastus Cooke operated a chemical factory making dyes, saltpeter, and medicines on Chemical Lane.”
(more…)Josiah Wright House (1799)
Around 1799, Simeon Wright made significant changes to a house originally built in the 1760s on Main Street in Wethersfield by his father, Josiah Wright. The alterations, perhaps influenced by the construction of the nearby Robbins and Bunce Houses, updated the home in the Federal style by the addition of semicircular windows. He also added a new gable roof, which allowed a larger attic. The Joseph Wright House, now a business, forms part of a row of three Wright family houses, which includs the David Wright and Ashbel Wright Houses.
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