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

Pettibone’s Tavern (1803)

The original Pettibone’s Tavern, now Abigail’s Grille, on Hartford Road in Simsbury, was built in 1780 for Jonathan Pettibone, Jr., whose father, Jonathan Pettibone, had been killed in the fighting around New York in 1776. The Tavern served as a stagecoach stop on the Boston to Albany Turnpike. The original tavern was burned to the ground by Indians in 1800, but was soon rebuilt and reopened in 1803. In more recent times, the tavern has been a restaurant. It was purchased by the Chart House chain in the 1970s, but under new ownership became known as Pettibone’s Tavern again. In January, the building was damaged after a fire activated the sprinkler system. It was after hours and the sprinklers were not connected to an alarm, so they did extensive damage, which was not discovered until the morning. The Tavern is currently being repaired and will reopen soon under new management. The Tavern is also famous for being haunted, possibly by the ghost of Abigail Pettibone. BOO! The Story of the Pettibone Ghost, a current exhibition at the Simsbury Historical Society, focuses on the Pettibone family and the story of the ghost.

Stephen Bulkeley House (1850)

On the east side of Broad Street Green in Wethersfield are several houses built by members of the Bulkeley family. The earliest is that of Captain Charles Bulkelkey. Another Bulkeley home is the Italiante-style house built around 1850 by Stephen Bulkeley. The Greek Revival home of his father, Frederick Bulkeley, is next door.

203 Cherry Brook Road, Canton (1860)

Near the Alonzo Barber House, on Cherry Brook Road in Canton, is another Greek Revival-style home at #203. The exact date of construction is not known, although it appears on an 1869 map of Canton and one real estate website indicates a date of 1860, which would be quite late for a Greek Revival house. The long veranda is a later addition.

Alonzo Barber House (1843)

Alonzo Barber built a Greek Revival House at 193 Cherry Brook Road in Canton in 1843. He operated a general store in the rear of the house, which was continued after his death in 1853. Warren Humphrey, who purchased the home and business in 1862, eventually moved the store into a building across the road. The house is currently for sale.

Briggs House (1891)

The Briggs House is an 1891 Shingle-style home on Broadway in Norwich. In 1915, it was purchased from the widow of Adam Reid by Mary Brewer Briggs and her husband, Lucius Briggs, a manager of the coal department of the Edward Chappell Company.

Rose Cottage (1886)

Zebulon Hancox (1809-1899) was a notable eccentric and recluse in Stonington. The descendant of an old Stonington family, local legend claims that the girl he wanted to marry rejected him due to his poverty, so he devoted himself to making enough money to satisfy her. He did this as a fisherman and pioneering real-estate developer, who saved all he could, even to the extent of making all of his own clothes and wood buttons. Although he died at 91 with a significant sum, he ended up having never married. A number of houses he built, between 1868 and 1897, survive on Hancox Street in Stonington Borough. Adjacent to the water, these were originally unadorned two-story structures following the same basic plan and intended as houses for rental. Over the years, they have been greatly altered. One example is Rose Cottage, constructed in 1886, which has had numerous additions and embellishments.

First Church of Christ, Simsbury (1830)

The first meeting house in Simsbury was built in 1683. In 1736 there were lengthy debates over where to build a new and larger second meeting house, which was eventually constructed on Drake’s Hill. Construction commenced in 1740, but in 1743 services began in what was still an unfinished building, only completed in 1777. This was replaced by the current church, at the same location, in 1830. The minister at the time was Rev. Allen McLean, whose grandson, George Payne McLean was later a senator and governor of Connecticut. The First Church of Christ in Simsbury has undergone various restorations and several additions over the years.