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

Solomon Goffe House (1711)

The oldest house in Meriden is the Solomon Goffe House on North Colony Street. As explained in A Century of Meriden (1906):

We know nothing about Mr. Goffe except that he lived here ten years, married a Wallingford girl. Mary Doolitlle, and the birth of one child is recorded. In 1721 he sold the place to Thomas Andrews, of Wallingford, who, apparently, lived there until 1729, when he sold it to Jonathan Collins, of Middletown. The old house was enlarged, perhaps soon after Mr. Collins bought it, for the addition looks as old as the rest, but that there has been an addition is plain to be seen. The dormer windows in the old gambrel roof are probably a later addition, and there have been apparently some changes in the interior. That the house is the one built by Solomon Goffe will be apparent to any one who will examine the old rafters and the huge floor beams. The chimneys in the cellar are enormous and the stones were cemented with clay mixed with straw as were the foundation walls, a sure sign of an early house; another indication of age is the split laths, used in very early houses. The Collins family continued to own the house until 1796 when a son, Jonathan, Jr., sold it to Samuel Taylor of Chatham. Mr. Taylor doubtless lived in it until 1806 when he sold it to his son-in-law, Partrick Clark.

Now owned by the City of Meriden, the house is a museum, open by appointment.

On New London Road in Mystic is a house built by Capt. Jonathan Wheeler in 1810. In 1829, the house was acquired by Lyman Dudley, a blacksmith who built a foundry across the street. Perhaps it was when Dudley owned the house that it was modified in the Greek Revival style. A bay window on the side was also added later in the nineteenth century.

Smith-Harris House (1845)

A Greek Revival house with an elaborate window in its front gable, the Smith-Harris House in East Lyme was most likely built in 1845 by John Clark for Thomas Avery. The house was later occupied by Avery’s son, William, and after his death, it was sold to William H. H. Smith, who used it as a summer home. In 1921, he sold it to his brother and nephew, Herman Smith and Frank Harris, who had married two sisters. After the deaths of their husbands, the sisters continued to reside in the house, until they relocated to a nursing home. The house was left vacant and was deteriorating when a group of citizens urged the town to save and restore the house. A restoration committee was appointed in 1974 and the restored house opened as East Lyme’s Town Museum in 1976.

Haddam Gaol and Workhouse (1845)

When Middlesex County was formed in 1785, the county seat was to be shared by Middletown and Haddam. As a “half-shire” town, Haddam was required to built a courthouse and jail. The first jail, constructed of wood, was built in 1786, followed by a brick structure in 1812. This was replaced by the gable-roofed section of the later Gaol (Jail) and County Workhouse, constructed in 1844-1845 with stone from the Arnold granite quarry in Shailerville. The workhouse and barn were added in 1855. The Mansard-roofed section, which more than doubled the size of the building, was added in 1874. The jail continued to hold prisoners until 1969 and the following year became the Correctional Academy for the state, since 1972 known as the Connecticut Justice Academy.

Nathan Hale Schoolhouse, New London (1773)

After teaching at the schoolhouse in East Haddam, Nathan Hale went on to become the schoolmaster at the Union School in New London, teaching there from 1774 until the Revolutionary War began in 1775. Built in 1773, the gambrel-roofed school building was originally located on State Street, was moved to Union and Golden streets in 1830 to serve as a private home and was purchased in 1890 by the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Under their guardianship, the building has been moved several additional times: first to the burial ground on Huntington Street, then, in 1966, to to Crystal Avenue and in 1975 to a spot next to City Hall. In 1988, the town paid to move the school to the Parade, at the foot of State Street. For some time, it has been used as a Visitor Center and museum. The schoolhouse has just been moved a sixth time, to a new plaza adjacent to the Water Street parking garage.

Nathan Hale Schoolhouse, East Haddam (1750)

This Memorial Day, we honor the Connecticut patriot and hero of the Revolutionary War, Nathan Hale. The Nathan Hale Schoolhouse, in East Haddam is a one room school, built in 1750. After his graduation from Yale, Hale taught here as schoolmaster for the Winter session, 1773-1774. The building was later moved from Goodspeed Plaza (a location now marked by a bust of Hale) to serve as a house and around 1900 was moved again to its present site on a hill, overlooking the Connecticut River. It is now a museum, operated by the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Nathan Hale moved on from East Haddam to teach at the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse in New London, where he was working when he joined the Continental Army. He was captured and hanged by the British as a spy on September 22, 1776.

Albert G. Stark House (1850)

Albert G. Stark, a businessman who owned a general store, built an Octagon house on West Mystic Avenue in 1850, adjacent to the home of his brother, the ship captain, Henry S. Stark. Albert died at age 29 and his widow remained in the house and eventually remarried.