Middletown Alms House (1814)

The building at 53 Warwick Street in Middletown was built in 1814 to house the town’s poor. The Alms House was used as a poorhouse until the Town Farm opened on Silver Street in 1853. A number of businesses and organizations have since used the building, starting with the Hubbard and Curtis Hardware Company, and later including the Middletown Fire Arms and Specialty Company, the Middletown Rifle Club and the C.B. Stone Oil Company. The building once had a classical cupola on the roof and a central pavilion with a projecting gable roof (both were later removed, but the pavilion has been restored). It is now owned by by Lee Godburn, who has a hair salon in the building.