Bethel Public Library (1842)

Seth Seelye House, now Bethel Public Library

In 1831, P. T Barnum, started publishing a newspaper called The Herald of Freedom which stirred up a number of controversies. His uncle Alanson Taylor even sued him for libel, although the suit never went to trial. Another libel suit in 1832 did land Barnum in jail for two months. The prosecution was brought on behalf of Seth Seelye (1795-1869), a merchant and church deacon in Barnum’s hometown of Bethel whom Barnum accused of usury. In 1842 Seeyle built a grand Greek Revival-style house at 189 Greenwood Avenue in Bethel. In 1914 the house was donated to become the new home of the Bethel Public Library, which had been organized in 1909.

Miscellaneous Buildings, Part Three

Babcock House in East Hartford, built in 1891
House on Main Street in Enfield
Grand Victorian house in Enfield
On West Street in Danbury
Houses in Clinton
Old house in Clinton
Lyman M. Williams House in Mystic, built in 1850
New London
Senior Center in Cheshire, CT
Rear of Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum houses in Wethersfield
On Depot Hill Road in East Hampton
On Depot Hill Road in East Hampton

New Video on Hartford’s Old East Side: State Street before Constitution Plaza

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This video is about the north block of State Street, between Market Street and Columbus Boulevard (the former Front Street), that today is the south edge of Constitution Plaza in Hartford, Connecticut. In the early 1800s this was part of the center of the city’s business and social life, where some of its most famous insurance companies were started and had their first offices. Other businesses flourished here for generations. Some were started by Jewish immigrants, who became notable Hartford merchants selling such goods as tobacco, hardware and clothing. Others businesses were started by Chinese immigrants, among whom were prominent importers and the proprietors of Hartford’s first Chinese restaurant. There were also tragedies, including sometimes deadly fires. Old buildings survived here into the late 1950s, when everything was demolished to make way for the redevelopment project of Constitution Plaza.

Virtual Event Tomorrow

Museum guide Daniel Sterner has researched and photographed the remnants of the numerous stately buildings that once graced Connecticut’s capital city, documenting his research on both his website (https://historicbuildingsct.com/) and YouTube Channel (https://bit.ly/3shJRdO).In his talk, Sterner will explain how his museum background led to his interest in historic preservation and delve into his research about Old Hartford’s lost buildings and the important historic landmarks that remain. Sterner is the author of two books, Vanished Downtown Hartford and A Guide to Historic Hartford, Connecticut. Register for this FREE talk on Zoom: https://bit.ly/3pcv0PI

New Video: Lost Hartford-Before the Phoenix Mutual “Boat” Building

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This video focuses on lost buildings in the area of Hartford, Connecticut where the Phoenix Boat building was erected in 1963 and the adjacent Hartford Steam Boiler building in 1932 and 1965. Buildings that used to be here include the American Hotel, Parsons Theatre, the old headquarters of Travelers Insurance, the Hartford Street Railway trolley barns, Hartford’s first variety theater and a building where two notorious bandits were captured in 1903 and the liquor police raided during Prohibition. I also talk about buildings on the south side of the former Grove Street, including a lost house built for Silas Deane and the famed Chicken Man’s poultry shop.

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