Sacred Heart Church, New Britain (1904)

Polish immigrants in New Britain first formed a congregation in 1894 as a mission of St. Stanislaus parish in Meriden. The new parish in New Britain was established the following year. Originally named St. Casimir the King, its name was changed in 1896 to the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish. The first church was built on Orange Street in 1896. The current church, at 158 Broad Street, was designed by architect George P. B. Alderman of Holyoke. It was built in 1903-1904.

Urbana Woodruff House (1784)

The Urbana Woodruff House is at 1096 East Street in Southington. As recorded in Timlow’s Ecclesiastical and Other Sketches of Southington, Conn. (1875):

(247) Urbane Woodruff, son of Isaac (149), b. Aug. 26, 1799; m. Eliza Bartholomew, of Northford; d. Dec. 7, 1873. He lived on the place owned by his father and grandfather, on East street. A farmer by occupation, he was President of the Southington Savings Bank, and held a high place in the confidence of the public.

His father was Isaac Woodruff. Again quoting Timlow:

(149) Isaac Woodruff, son of Isaac (97), b. 1773; To. Nov. 29, 1798, Abigail, daughter of Enos and Elizabeth (Parker) Clark. He occupied the house where his grandson [sic, actually son], the late Urbane Woodruff, lived, and here died Aug. 27, 1807.

The house was built by Isaac’s father and Urbane’s grandfather, Isaac Woodruff. Again Timlow:

(97) Isaac Woodbdff, son of Samuel (24), bap. Oct. 16, 1737; m. Feb. 11, 1762, Mary Bristol, of Cheshire; d. Dec. 13, 1813. She died March 17, 1818, aged 76. He lived on East street, in the house lately occupied by his grandson, Urbane Woodruff, deceased.

Isaac Woodruff (97) also had a son named Urbana Woodruff. As recorded in Timlow’s Ecclesiastical and Other Sketches of Southington, Conn. (1875):

(146) Urbana Woodruff, son of Isaac (97), b. 1776; m. Silence, daughter of Capt. Daniel and Rachel (Langdon) Sloper. He lived on East street, on the corner lately owned by George B. Woodruff, where he died Nov. 11, 1798.

The house was later owned (c. 1901) by John Jamieson, Southington’s ice man. From 1905 to the 1930s, he harvested ice at nearby Sloper Pond (pdf). In 1918, Jamieson married Minnie Moore and moved to her home at 469 Andrews Street.

Scottish Union and National Insurance Company (1913)

Now used by Connecticut’s Appellate Court, the building at 75 Elm Street in Hartford was built in 1913 as the American headquarters of the Scottish Union and National Insurance Company. The Scottish Union Insurance Company was established in 1833 and merged with the Scottish National Insurance Company in 1877. The building, later used as state offices, was designed by Edward T. Hapgood.