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

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.

Christopher Huntington House (1720)

Christopher Huntington (1660-1735) was the first male child born to the English settlers of Norwich. Known as Christopher Huntington II or Deacon Christopher Huntington, he was a surveyor and extensive land owner who served as first townsman (selectman) and town clerk. He married Sarah Adgate (1663-1705) in 1681. His second wife was Judith Stevens Brewster, widow of Jonathan Brewster, who he married in 1706. Christopher Huntington had four daughters and seven sons. His house in Norwich, built c. 1720, is located at 410 Washington Street.

W. E. Sessions House (1878)

Before manufacturer William E. Sessions built his mansion Beleden in Bristol in 1910, he lived in an adjacent house built in 1878. The house then passed to his son, W. K. Sessions. Like Beleden, the 1878 house once had a two-story music room with a pipe organ, but this was later removed when the house was converted into a multi-family dwelling. A few years ago the house, which is located at 36 Bellevue Avenue, was in a boarded-up state, but it has recently been restored and prominently displays its elaborate stick style exterior decoration. (more…)