The first Talcottville Congregational Church was built in the Vernon village of Talcottville in 1866-1867 by the Talcott Brothers Co. to serve their workers. The building served other functions as well, containing the company store, offices and post office. The old church burned down in 1906 and was replaced by the current Gothic-style church building. It was designed by Russell F. Barker.
Abra Alford was the partner and brother-in-law of the well-known chairmaker, Lambert Hitchcock. Alford’s house, at 8 Main Street, adjacent to the old Hitchcock factory in Riverton, was built in the Federal style in 1822, but underwent an extensive remodeling c. 1835-1840 in the Greek Revival style. The house’s ell dates to 1828. Hitchcock and his wife, Eunice, lived in half of the house for a time after their marriage in 1830. Abra and Eunice’s brother, Alfred, also lived nearby.
Among several brick houses in Riverton associated with the Moore family is one built c. 1825 on Main Street by mason George Deming for Charles Moore, the son of Apollos Moore. Deming was married to Charles’s sister, Belinda Moore. The Moores were large landowners in Riverton.
The Essex Savings Bank in Essex was founded in 1851. The bank was initially located above a retail business in Essex and in 1873 it moved into an 1849 building previously occupied by the Saybrook Bank. This building was remodeled and expanded into what it is today in 1922. The Essex Savings Bank was originally founded because of the wealth generated by shipbuilding. Unlike many other banks, it has never merged with another institution.
Several generations of the Pratt family continuously operated a smithy in Essex for almost three centuries. It was established by John Pratt, Sr., who began his shop in Saybrook and then moved it to Essex. His son, John Pratt, Jr., was a part-time blacksmith who built the Pratt Homestead in Essex. Next to operate the smithy was Lt. John Pratt, who passed it to his son Asa Pratt, followed by Asa’s son John Pratt, John’s son Elias Pratt, Elias’s son Edwin Pratt, James Lord Pratt (who was featured in the September, 1938 issue of National Geographic Magazine) and finally James’s nephew Edwin Pratt, who closed the smithy due to difficulties obtaining raw materials during World War II. At that time it had been the oldest continuously run family business in America. The old smithy building that survives today was built in 1848 by Elias Pratt. After the smithy closed, the building was used for various different businesses.
The Town Office Building at 7 Main Street in East Haddam is a Colonial Revival structure, built c. 1935.
The house at 2195 North Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1919. Its first resident was Charles Levin, a clothier.
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