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

Franklin Congregational Church (1863)

The town of Franklin was originally a part of Norwich and was called West Farms. A separate Ecclesiastical Society was established in 1716 and the first meetinghouse, on Meetinghouse Hill, was completed two years later. As related in The Celebration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Primitive Organization of the Congregational Church and Society in Franklin, Connecticut, October 14th, 1868 (1869) [also printed in A Historical Address Delivered in Franklin, Connecticut, October 14th, 1868, on the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town, and the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of its Ecclesiastical Organizations (1870)]:

It will thus appear that the same building materials which constituted an important part of the meeting house built by John Elderkin, at the Town Plot [what is today Norwichtown in Norwich] in 1673, entered somewhat largely into the first church built upon Meeting House Hill more than forty years subsequent to that date. This, in turn, was taken down and re-erected in 1746, in what was afterwards the eighth society in Norwich [the Portipaug Society, which existed from 1761 to c. 1861], and after battling with the elements for nearly forty years longer, it had to succumb a third time, and parts of it were finally converted into a dwelling house [built by Comfort Fillmore], where very possibly some remnants may be found at the present time.

After bitter debates over where to build a replacement for the original meetinghouse, the second was eventually constructed c. 1745-1747, again located on Meetinghouse Hill. This was replaced by another building about twenty years later. The current Franklin Congregational Church edifice was built in 1863 and was renovated in 1989.

Slater Library (1884)

The Slater Library, at 26 Main Street in Jewett City, serves the towns of Griswold and Lisbon. The library was the gift of industrialist and philanthropist John Fox Slater, who owned the Slater Mills in Jewett City. It had not been completed at the time of his death in 1884. His son, William Albert Slater, oversaw its completion and the library was dedicated in 1885. William A. Slater also donated the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich in honor of his farther. The Slater Library was designed by Stephen C. Earle of Worcester. It was constructed of granite, brought from Milford, Mass., and brownstone. The library‘s size was doubled in 1930 with the building of an addition (the Fanning Annex), designed by Cudworth and Thompson of Norwich.

Atlantic Duck Company Mill House (1855)

Cotton duck (also called canvas) is a type of heavy cotton fabric. The Atlantic Mill, originally called the Atlantic Duck Company, was first leased in Moodus (in East Haddam) in 1852. Destroyed by fire in 1854, the mill was rebuilt and operational again by 1857. Closed during the Civil War, the mill later reopened and continued in operation until 1894. In 1898 it began operating as a twine and textile mill until it burned down in 1939. Surviving today in Moodus is the “Atlantic Duck Co. Mill House,” built c. 1855.

Lewis-Zukowski House (1781)

At 1095 South Grand Street in Suffield, near the East Granby town line, is a house built in 1781 by Hezekiah Lewis, a farmer. It is an early vernacular example of a house constructed of brick, which had not been a common material for Connecticut houses up to that point. Stylistically and structurally, the builder simply transferred the typical architecture of center-chimney wood houses to the new material. The house is not far from Windsor, which was the center of Connecticut brick making at the time. In 1794, Lewis married the widow Ruth Phelps. He died in 1805. Later in the nineteenth century, Lewis’ successors as owners of the farm began to focus more and more on growing broadleaf tobacco, which had come to dominate the agriculture of the area. Michael Zukowski, who arrived in Suffield in 1888, purchased the farm in 1905, becoming the first Polish landowner in town. His descendants continue to own the house.

Dr. Asaph Bissell House (1840)

The house at 52 South Main Street in Suffield was built c. 1840 for Dr. Asaph Bissell (1791-1850). Dr. Bissell was a member of Yale Medical School’s second graduating class (1815). A pair of leather saddlebags belonging to Dr. Bissell were donated to Yale’s Medical Historical Library in 1996 by the doctor’s great-great-grandson. Over the years, two other doctors have lived in the Bissell House.

William Leigh House (1892)

This is my 100th post for Bridgeport! The William Leigh House at 450 Beachwood Avenue in Bridgeport (not to be confused with Waldemere Hall, the 1913 home of William and Frances Leigh at 409 Waldemere Avenue) was built in 1892. William Leigh was a piano dealer. He got a patent for a design he made to decorate a piano-front.

Isaac Gillette House (1880)

At 77 West Town Street in Lebanon is a house built c. 1880 by Isaac Gillette. He was a delegate to the state Constitutional Convention in 1902. Pin Oak seedlings were distributed to each delegate to plant in his home town. Gillette planted his in his front yard, where the Constitution Oak (not pictured above) still grows today.