Turner-Brundage House (1816)

Turner-Brundage House

The house at 661 Middle Turnpike in Mansfield was built sometime before 1816, when the property was first noted in town records. In 1853 the house was acquired by Anson Turner. From 1915 to 1940 the house and farm were owned by the John and Mary Tomaskovic, immigrants from Slovakia. In 1940 it was acquired by Augustus and Ruth Brundage and was owned by the family until 1988. A 1910 graduate of the Connecticut Agricultural College at Storrs (today’s UCONN), Augustus Brundage (born 1890) was appointed State Club Leader for the Extension Service of the Connecticut Agricultural College and the United States Department of Agriculture in 1917. The agricultural clubs became the 4-H and Brundage remained active in the organization after his retirement in 1948. Two of Augustus and Ruth’s sons, Granville and Roger, were killed in action during World War II. Brundage pool in Greer Field House at UCONN was named in their honor. For more information on the house, see Mansfield Four Corners (2003) by Rudy J. Favretti, pp. 89-92.

Hyde Kingsley House (1883)

133 Prospect Street, Willimantic

Hyde Kingsley of Willimatic became wealthy in the lumber and coal business in the 1860s and 1870s. He was partner in the firm of Loomer & Kingsley with Silas Loomer, who would build the Loomer Opera House in Willimantic (torn down in 1940). In 1883 Kingsley retired and the lumberyard was acquired by George K. Nason. That same year Kingsley built a Queen Anne house at 133 Prospect Street in Willimantic.

St. John’s Episcopal Church Rectory, North Haven (1855)

St. John's Church Rectory

At 1 Trumbull Place in North Haven is the rectory (priest’s residence) of St. John’s Episcopal Church. The rectory was built in 1855 and the third floor and mansard roof were added in the 1880s. As related in North Haven Annals (1892), by Sheldon B. Thorpe:

On the removal of Mr. [Rev. Alonzo G.] Shears to New Haven, the Rev. Seth Davis came from Woodbury, Conn., and officiated part of the time. During his term the present rectory was built—-1855-—and he was its first occupant. He remained two years and was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph Scott. This clergyman was the first, in the long list of clergymen, to be “called” as rector. He gave his whole time to the people and became greatly beloved by them. His salary was $500 and the use of the rectory.

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St. John’s Episcopal Church, North Haven (1834)

St. John's Episcopal Church, North Haven

The cornerstone for St. John’s Episcopal Church, at the northeast corner of the Green (current address: 3 Trumbull Place) in North Haven, was laid in 1834. Episcopalians in the town first gathered to organize their own Episcopal church in 1759. The current Gothic Revival church was preceded by a wooden church, without a steeple, dedicated on the same site on St. John’s Day, December 27, 1761.

Arthur G. Evans House (1917)

Arthur G. Evans House

The house at 30 Warren Way in Watertown was built in 1917 for Arthur G. Evans, purchasing agent for Chase Brass and Copper Company of Waterbury. According to the nomination for the Watertown Center Historic District, the house’s design, which represents a phase of the Colonial Revival style that sought to accurately duplicate the form, massing and detail of Colonial houses, has been attributed to Cass Gilbert. The plans may also have been drawn by another member of his firm or been outlined by Gilbert and completed by an apprentice. (The nomination‘s listing of structures in the Historic District gives a date of 1917 for the house, while the text for the District’s Architectural Significance gives a date of 1929).

William Vars House (1892)

House at Saybrook Point

The Italianate house at 21 Bridge Street on Saybrook Point in Old Saybrook was built in 1892 as a home for the prominent engineer William Vars. In the twentieth century it was the home of Mary Clark. By the late 1990s the house had become dilapidated, but it has recently been refurbished to become an eight-room guesthouse. Called “Three Stories,” it is owned by of Saybrook Point Inn & Spa, whose main building is located just across the street. The guesthouse, which remains true to the architecture and interior design of the period, opened in May, 2014.