Herbert L. Hoxie House (1898)

The house at 25 Moss Street in Pawcatuck (in Stonington) was built in 1898 for Herbert Leon Hoxie (1857-1934), who moved from nearby Westerly, Rhode Island. As described in Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island, Vol. III (1908):

Herbert L. Hoxie, born Aug. 26, 1857, in Charlestown, spent his boyhood days in his native town and in Richmond, and until 1880 engaged in farming. He worked for Welcome C. Tucker, of Carolina, at blacksmithing for three months, and then came to Westerly, and began to learn the machinist’s trade with Cottrell & Babcock, with whom he has ever since remained.

Mr. Hoxie was married in Charlestown, R. I., to Annie Frances, daughter of Benjamin Tucker and Frances Taylor, and they have had one child, Carroll Walter, born June 24, 1897. He is a member of Pawcatuck Lodge, No. 90, A. F. & A. M.

St. Thomas the Apostle Church (1951)

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, established in November 1920, was the second Catholic parish in West Hartford. Early Masses were held in a portable wooden edifice, located at the southwest corner of Quaker Lane and Boulevard. A basement chapel at 872 Farmington Avenue was dedicated on November 7, 1926. Construction began in 1937 on St. Thomas the Apostle School, located next to the chapel on Dover Road. St. Thomas the Apostle Church was completed with the dedication of the upper church on September 16, 1951.

Mary B. Clark House (1896)

The house at 74 Windham Street in Willimantic was built for Mary B. Clark in 1896, four years after the town selectmen voted to extend Windham Street north from Valley Street, opening lots near the new Willimantic Normal School. Born in 1844 in Coventry, Mary Bidwell Winchester was the niece of the founder of the Smith and Winchester Company, paper manufacturers in South Windham. She married and later divorced Daniel S. Clark Jr., a machinist who was five years her junior. After the divorce, Mary Clark became wealthy investing in real estate, however in late 1905 her behavior was becoming erratic. She became terrified her house would be burgled while she slept. She kept the lights on all night and fired her revolver at sheets on the close-line outside that she believed might be potential burglars. When the police arrived to investigate, they were threatened with a “dose of lead.” Mrs. Clark was arrested for discharging firearms in the city limits. She was eventually taken to the Hartford Retreat for the Insane, where she remained until her death in 1929 at the age of 84.

There is an interesting article detailing the history of the house: Part One|Part Two|Part Three.

See also, “Her Mind Shies at Burglars. Conservator Appointed for Willimantic Woman. Is Sane Except at Mention of Thieves,” (Hartford Courant, December 7, 1905).

Oxfordshire (1925)

Stephen Betts Church (1866-1951) was a businessman and land-owner in Oxford who founded the Stephen B. Church Company, which specializes in drilling high capacity artesian wells. In 1925, he expanded his original family homestead at 53 Great Hill Road. The old house, built in 1736, was split in half and the two parts were moved to be on either side of a new section in the center. Church named his thirty-room mansion Oxfordshire. A highlight of the house is the music room, which features an Aeolian Pipe Organ. (more…)