Historic Buildings of Connecticut - Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Acton Library (1873)

The original Acton Library building in Old Saybrook was erected in 1873 on land donated by Thomas Acton at the corner of Old Boston Post Road and Pennywise Lane. The Library was dedicated on July 4, 1874. Thomas C. Acton (1823-1898) was a New York City politician and Police Commissioner whose summer home in Old Saybrook was across the street from the library. Begun as a subscription library, it became a public library in 1904. A new Acton Library was constructed in 1967 at 60 Old Boston Post Road. The former library, at 40 Old Boston Post Road, was bought from the town by architect Robert Wendler in 1970. He converted it into a single-family residence.

James Balen House (1840)

Associated with James Balen [possibly James D. Balen (1834-1916)] the house at 26 Plains Road, across from Moodus Green in East Haddam, was built circa 1840. Today it houses offices, including the East Haddam Board of Education. (more…)

Jared Risley House (1860)

Jared Risley purchased the lot at 86-90 Burnside Avenue in East Hartford in 1827. The house that currently stands at that address was either an earlier house that he remodeled or a new house that he built on the site, possibly in the 1860s. Jared Risley (1801-1874) and his son, Seldon (1843-1905) were both carpenters. The house displays features of the Federal and Greek Revival styles.

2 Moss Street, Pawcatuck (1870)

At 2 Moss Street in the Pawcatuck section of Stonington is a nice example of a house built in the style called “Carpenter Gothic.” The house, built circa 1870, displays the decorative bargeboards in the gables that are typical of the Gothic Revival. Moss Street contains a number of similar Carpenter Gothic cottages.

Noyes Farmhouse (1840)

The Noyes Farmhouse, located at 8 Lester Avenue in the Pawcatuck section of Stonington, was built c. 1840-1860. It represents an earlier rural period, before the other houses on the street were erected in the early twentieth century.

St. Patrick’s Church, Mystic (1909)

The cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 35 East Main Street in Mystic, was laid on August 16, 1908 and the building was dedicated the following year. The parish had previously used a building on Church Street, purchased from the local Methodist church in 1870. The church on East Main has been altered in the years since it was first erected. The original Gothic entryway and tower have been replaced with less architecturally elaborate versions. A one-story parish hall was also added to the building. (more…)

Kensington Town Hall – Percival School (1855)

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Town of Berlin had two town halls to serve the two sections of town, Kensington and Worthington. The building at 329 Percival Avenue, built circa 1855, was the Kensington Town Hall until 1907. In that year, the town acquired Brandegee Hall on Worthington Ridge to be a new Town Hall for all of Berlin (it served in that capacity until 1974). The former Kensington Town Hall became Percival School and is now a private residence.