Today is the thirteenth anniversary of this website!
And this is the site’s 4,300th post of a Connecticut building!
Pictured above is the house at 782 Bantam Road (Route 202) in the Bantam section of Litchfield. It dates to 1790, with later additions. A sign on the side of the house attributes it to Milo Hunt (perhaps the Milo Hunt born in 1765?). In the Historical and Architectural Resources Survey for the Bantam/Milton area, done in 1987, the building is listed as the Benjamin Johnson House because Johnson (possibly the Benjamin Johnson who lived from 1763 to 1829?) owned the property from 1786 to 1790. The next owners were the Hunt family, followed by the Catlin, Munger, Wilmot and Stone families. In 1877 it was acquired by Edith Flynn, wife of Charles Flynn, a carriage-maker who was in a partnership with William Doyle. As related in The History of the Town of Litchfield, Connecticut, 1720-1920 (1920), by Alain C. White:
In 1876, C. F. Flynn and William Doyle formed the firm of Flynn and Doyle, took over the business of the earlier Litchfield Carriage Company, and, until 1911, carried on an extensive manufacture of carriages, wagons and sleighs, reaching in some years an output of $40,000. Their products were of a high standard and their market extended far beyond the state. In 1911, the Company was merged into the Flynn and Doyle Co., which was continued until the death of Mr. Flynn. Mr. Doyle carried on the business for another year, until 1918, when it was discontinued. In April, 1919, the factory was taken over by the Bantam Auto Repair Station.
Doyle bought the house from the Flynns in 1920 and it remained in his family until 1987. The house is now occupied by a law firm.
Congratulations on such signal achievements–both with Connecticut and Massachusetts. I always look forward to the latest entry,
–Jim
This is my family home . My great grandfather was William H. Doyle. It has 2 stair cases and a ballroom on the 2nd floor. I had very fond memories of playing in this house as a child.