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

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.

Lebanon Baptist Church (1841)

The First Baptist Church of Lebanon is located at the north end of Lebanon Green. The church was founded in 1805 and the current church building dates to 1841. The steeple originally had a second stage that deteriorated and was removed in the 1930s. A chapel, built from lumber from an old cheese factory, was added in 1907.