Stueck’s Modern Tavern (1914)

In 1893, Jacob Stueck built the commercial structure at 460 Main Street in Middletown, which housed his bakery. In 1914, his son, Philip Stueck, built an attached structure at 62-70 Washington Street. Philip operated a restaurant on the upper level, called Stueck’s Modern Tavern, and rented out the first floor to various retail shops. The restaurant remained in business until 1939. The Renaissance Revival building, which features bold notched brick-work, was sold to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1946.

Beacon Falls Congregational Church (1871)

The Beacon Falls Congregational Church was originally a Methodist Episcopal Church, founded in 1846. The first church building was built next to what is now Pines Bridge Cemetery. A small meeting house, it burned in a fire. After 1850, the church moved to another small building on Main Street, near Lebanon Brook. That structure later became an American Legion Hall and is now Beacon Falls Pizza. The current church on Wolfe Avenue, built on land donated by the Home Wollen Mill, was completed in 1871 and dedicated on January 11, 1872. The church became Congregational in 1919. A member of The United Church of Christ from 1957 to 2005, the Beacon Falls Congregational Church is now an independent Congregational Church.

Edinburgh Crescent (1889)

Edinburgh Crescent, at 431-449 Washington Avenue in Bridgeport, is a row house block built in 1889. The Richardsonian Romanesque building was constructed by developers Edwin G. Sanford and Mrs. Lucien W. Shephers and was designed by architects Longstaff & Hurd, who also designed the building which is now the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport. In the 1990s, the dilapidated Edinburgh Crescent was converted to serve as low income housing.

F. Merton Hammond House (1906)

The house at 850 Clinton Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1906 for F. Merton Hammond, superintendent (and later treasurer and then president) of the Thomas P. Taylor Company. According to an article in the Bridgeport Telegram of Monday, October 3, 1927, the Hammond residence was entered by burglars sometime during the preceding weekend, while the family was away. The burglars gained entry by forcing open a window in the pantry at the rear of the house and stole a quantity of jewelry, which included a diamond ring.

Dr. Calvin Chapin House (1785)

The house at 79 Elm Street in Rocky Hill was built in 1785 for Rev. John Lewis, who was minister of Stepney Parish (now Rocky Hill) from 1781 until his death in 1792. The house was purchased by Rev. Lewis’s successor as minister, Dr. Calvin Chapin, in two transactions. In 1795, Dr. Chapin bought 2/3 interest from the guardian of the Lewis children, who were minors, for 333 pounds, 10 shillings. In 1799, he bought the remaining 1/3 from the widow of Rev. Lewis. According to the Memorial History of Hartford County, Vol. II (1886):

[Rev. Calvin Chapin, D.D.] was a native of Springfield, Mass.; was graduated at Yale College in 1788; studied theology with the Rev. Nathan Perkins, D.D., of West Hartford; was licensed to preach in 1791; a tutor at Yale College until 1794, and had the educational charge of Jeremiah Day, afterward its president. He was installed at Stepney, April 30, 1794. He preached there until Thanksgiving Day, 1847. His office closed with his death, in March, 1851.

The late Rev. Noah Porter, D.D., of Farmington, said of Dr. Chapin: “He was distinguished for exactness, enterprise, and humor, and a constant interest in all Christian and benevolent enterprises.” From its organization, in 1810, until his death, he was Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M. [American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions] In 1826, as “Missionary,” he made the tour of the Western Reserve, Ohio; publishing a pamphlet giving the results of his observation. When the Connecticut State Temperance Society was organized, in 1829, he was made chairman of its executive committee. As a humorist he was keen, kind, and incisive.

It was during Dr. Chapin’s ministry, in 1808, that the present Congregational meeting-house was built.

During his pastorate, the Town of Rocky Hill was incorporated in 1843. Library service in Rocky Hill had begun on December 11, 1794 at a meeting held at the Chapin House. Dr. Chapin was also actively involved in the building of Academy Hall in 1803. A book entitled Appreciation of Calvin Chapin, D. D., of Rocky Hill, Conn. was published in 1908. The Chapin House has an Italianate front porch and two bay windows, all added later in the nineteenth century. (more…)