Newton Woodford House (1855)

57 Hotchkiss St., Kensington

Around 1855, Newton Woodford, a brass founder from New Britain, settled in Kensington in Berlin. He built an Italian Villa type house at 57 Hotchkiss Street, on land he had acquired from the Hart Manufacturing Company. As related in the Boston Post on Wednesday, October 20, 1875: “Newton Woodford, of the Hart Tool Manufacturing Company, of Kensington, Conn., and a prominent citizen of that place, fell dead of heart disease, while transacting business at New Britain, on Saturday.” The Woodford House is now a two-family residence.

Jonathan Starr House (1732)

133 State Street, Guilford

Jonathan Starr, a tailor, erected the house at 133 State Street in Guilford in 1732 on land deeded to him by his father, Comfort Starr, also a tailor. He ended up deeding the property back to his father a year later and moved to East Guilford (now Madison). The house‘s hipped roof may not be original. The triple window and Federal-style doorway were probably added in the late eighteenth century. There is a preservation easement on the exterior of the house held by the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. In recent decades the building has housed a series of businesses. It is currently home to Health Options, Center for Wellness.

Tracy S. Lewis House (1916)

Lewis House

Update: As noted in a comment below, this house was demolished in 2022.

The house at 35 Wolfe Avenue in Beacon Falls was built in 1916 for Tracy S. Lewis, president of the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company. The company had been founded in 1898 by Tracy S. Lewis and his father, George Albert Lewis. The Lewis House and its grounds are part of a neighborhood created on the highland above the rubber factory for the company’s workers. Called the Hill, the neighborhood was designed by the renowned landscape architects, Olmsted Brothers. Parts of the house may date to c. 1855, when the property was owned by the American Hard Rubber Company. The house later lost its original wood shingle siding. The town acquired the property in 2008 for future municipal use and in 2010, after a report was released on the feasibility of restoring the house, there were debates over whether the house should be razed or renovated. The house’s future remains undetermined.

Charles Underwood House (1859)

704 Tolland Stage Road

The Swiss Chalet-style house at 704 Tolland Stage Road in Tolland is one of the most notable buildings in the area of Tolland Green. It was built in 1859 for Charles Underwood, who in 1851 had inherited the leather belting factory across the street established by his father, Moses Underwood. Charles and his brother Henry would expand the business as the Underwood Belting Company. Charles Underwood also engaged extensively in agricultural pursuits and served in the Connecticut state senate in 1868 and 1869.