The house at 100 Main Street South in Woodbury was built between 1765 and 1776 by a member of the Minor family. The sign on the house displays the name David Minor, with a date of about 1770. David’s son, Simeon Minor, inherited the land, house and barn in 1776. The house passed from the Minor family to Jabez Bacon in 1784 and to Samuel Robbins in 1818. Later owners would make extensive alterations to the house.
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 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.
The Y.M.C.A. in Ansonia dates back to 1866. Now the Valley Y.M.C.A., it serves citizens of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton. Its its current building is at 12 State Street in Ansonia. The building was erected in 1924.
The earliest section of the house at 94 Hubbard Street in Glastonbury was built in 1795 by David Talcott. The house was later expanded with additional rooms and another door on the west (front) facade. Another addition was subsequently built onto the southeast side of the house. Members of the Talcott family continued to own the house into the early twentieth century.
George W. Seward (d. 1928) was a builder in Guilford who was very active in town affair and served on the board of the Guilford Institute. In 1888, he built for himself the house at 33 Church Street, next door to his shop, which was at 39 Church Street.
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).
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