First Congregational Church of Norwich (1801)

First Congregational Church of Norwich

Norwich’s First Congregational Church, located on East Town Street, next to Norwichtown Green, is the fifth in a succession of early meeting houses. The first was built on the southeast corner of the Green in 1660, in Norwichtown, the earliest part of Norwich to be settled. During the troubled period of King Philip’s War, it was replaced by a second structure, constructed in 1673 on the nearby cliff area, known as the Meeting House Rocks. There it could also serve as a lookout post in case of Indian raids. After being replaced by a third building later on, the fourth building was built in 1752 back on the plain below. After that church burned, it was replaced, on the same site, by the current Federal-style structure in 1801. When construction began that year, the cornerstone was laid by Ebenezer Huntington. There was extensive remodeling in 1845. (more…)

Strong-Porter House (1730)

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The earliest (eastern) section of the Strong-Porter House, on South Street in Coventry, was built around 1730 by Aaron Strong. Strong’s niece, Elizabeth Strong, married Deacon Richard Hale, who came from Newburyport Mass. to Coventry. In 1758, the Strongs sold the house to the Porter family, who expanded the western section and added a rear lean-to by about 1777. In 1930, the house was purchased from the Porters by the lawyer and antiquarian, George Dudley Seymour, who lived there during his restoration of the nearby Nathan Hale Homestead. Seymour mistakenly believed that Nathan Hale’s mother Elizabeth Strong Hale had lived in the house. The building is now a property of the Coventry Historical Society and is open to visitors as a house museum.

Burnham-Dewitt House (1789)

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Built on Broadway in Norwich at the same time (1789) as the neighboring Perkins House, the Burnham-Dewitt house has a very similar appearance. It was built for the nephew of Hezekiah Perkins, Zebulon Perkins Burnham, who was also a sea captain. Burnham was lost at sea in 1810 and the house was later owned by the sea captain Jacob Dewitt. In 1812, Lydia Huntley (later Mrs. Sigourney) and Nancy Maria Hyde used the house as a girl’s school.