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

Clark Tomlinson House (1820)

Named for Clark Tomlinson, the house at 447 Quaker Farms Road in Oxford was built about 1820. By 1835 it was owned by Asa and Hannah Hawkins and in 1868 was owned by Horace E. Hinman (1819-1902). As related in a biography of his son in the Commemorative Biographical Record of Dutchess County, New York (1897), Horace Hinman

was born in Southbury, Conn., and married a native of that place, Mary Hughes, a lady of Scotch descent. They first settled in Southbury and later in Oxford, Conn., Mr. Hinman following the shoemaker’s trade. He is a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife are both consistent members of the M. E. Church. They had four children[.]

The house was later occupied by tenant farmers, became dilapidated, and was restored in 1971.

Morse and Norton’s Block (1880)

Morse and Norton’s Block is an Italianate-style commercial and apartment building built in 1880 at 72-80 East Main Street in Meriden. One of the two original owners of the building was Samuel L Norton (1821-1902). In more recent times, tenants had to abandon the building in early 2014 after the back wall of the eastern half partially collapsed. Work to repair the structure was greatly facilitated the following year when the building, still divided between two owners, became the property of a single owner.

David Minor House (1770)

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.

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.

Valley Y.M.C.A. (1924)

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.

David Talcott House (1795)

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.