Building Indexes

Waterford

For everyone who likes looking up buildings on this site, you can always scroll through the categories on the right sidebar and on the Categories page, or use the Search page. I am also working on completing building indices (indexes) for each town. You can find them on the Index by Town page. These are restricted to buildings featured on this site so far. For each town, the buildings are listed by address. Most towns I’ve featured on this site have building indexes already, but I am continuing to make new ones: recently I’ve added Newington, Norfolk, Waterford and Washington. Check them out and thanks for following this site!

William Phelps House (1840)

The house at 30 Main Street at the corner of Parker Lane in Essex was erected in 1840 for Judge William Phelps. It was later owned by Dr. Charles H. Hubbard (1836-1908), who practiced in Essex for nearly forty-eight years. He also held various town offices and was the executor for the estate of Capt. Isaiah Pratt (1814-1879), who had left money for a new high school. Dr. Hubbard successfully challenged a stipulation in the will that would have limited enrollment to the children of parents who were members of the First Congregational Church. He continued as a trustee and leader of the new school for many years and Hubbard Field in Essex is named for him.

Abington Social Library (1886)

In 1793, the Congregational parish of Abington in Pomfret formed a social library for their community. Rev. Walter Lyon, minister of the Abington Congregational Church, was the first librarian. The books were kept in his home and later in a house at Abington four corners. The books were mainly theological and philosophical volumes and many subscribers lamented the lack of more popular works of literature. In response, a young men’s organization, the Junior Library of Abington, was founded in 1804. It merged with the social library in 1815 to form the United Library of Abington. Women of the community founded their own organization, the Ladies Library of Abington, in 1813. It was the first women’s library in the United States. The United and Ladies libraries merged in 1879 to form the present Abington Social Library, which is the oldest continuously operating social library in the country. The library is located at 536 Hampton Road, in a building erected in 1886.

James Humphrey House (1790)

The house at 285 Cherry Brook Road in Canton was built by James Humphrey, Sr between 1790 and 1800. The house has two ells that were added later: one in the rear and a large one on the south side that at various times has housed a second family. The Richardson family occupied the house for several generations. Teachers often boarded in the house during the years that the Center District School was located across the meadow road.

Interview with Daniel Sterner & Upcoming Presentations

I recently did an interview with Identidad Latina:


I also have three presentations on Hartford this month: 
“A Walk Through Hartford Old East Side/Front Street Neighborhood” October 8, 1:00 PM at the South Windsor Senior Center
“Nook Farm: the Hartford Neighborhood of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe”October 22, 1:00 PM at the South Windsor Senior Center
“Hartford’s Old Insurance Company Buildings”October 30, 10:30 AM at the Elmwood Senior Center in West Hartford ($4 for non-members)

Willimantic Linen Company Store House & Inspection Building (1873)

One of the numerous structures that were built for the Willimantic Linen Company (later the American Thread Company) was a Store House & Inspection building. Located east of (and now connected to) Mill No. 2, it was constructed in 1873 and was possibly built by Nathaniel Olin, the builder of both Mill No. 1 and Mill No. 2. It is similar in style to those earlier structures and is similarly constructed of granite gneiss. Used for the storage of skeins and product inspection, the building was originally two stories and had a gable roof. It was doubled in height in 1907 with the addition of two stories, constructed using stone from two demolished company house (built in 1858 and part of what was once called “stone row”). The building was later used for the company’s credit union and health care facility and more recently has contained offices and light manufacturing.

Alexander Catlin House (1778)

The Alexander Catlin House, built in 1778, is located at 258 North Street in Litchfield, where the street splits into Goshen Road and Norfolk Road. The colonial home features a gambrel roof and widow’s walk. The house was built by Alexander Catlin, one of the founders of the Litchfield China Trading Company. This may be Alexander Catlin, Sr. (son of John Catlin), who was born in Litchfield in 1738 and died in Burlington, Vermont in 1809. Later owners of the house included Stephen Deming and M. W. and K. L. Buel.