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

Wetmore-Starr House (1752)

Built around 1752, on Washington Street in Middletown by Jeremiah Wetmore, on property that had once been part of the 1670 land grant to Rev. Samuel Stow, the town’s first minister. The house was purchased by Jehosaphat Starr in 1756, who enlarged the original central chimney home with an addition to the east elevation. This was done to accommodate his large family, which eventually grew to 14. Starr, a Major during the Revolutionary War, was married to Sarah Stow, who was a great-grand niece of Rev. Samuel Stow. The house remained in the family until 1851.

South Glastonbury Public Library (1828)

The building on High Street in Glastonbury, which is currently the home of the South Glastonbury Public Library, was originally built in 1828 as a Methodist Church. Constructed by Parley Bidwell, who also built Glastonbury’s first Town Hall, the church had separate entrances for men and women. In the 1860s, the building was used as an unofficial African-American church and anti-slavery rallies were held there. By 1910, the local cotton mills had closed and the Methodist congregation had greatly decreased. The building was sold and used only for summer services until 1927, when the South Glastonbury Library first opened. At that time, the building was owned by Mrs. Helen Walsh Thompson, who allowed it to be used as a library for a nominal fee until 1941, when she gave it to the South Glastonbury Library Association.

Hollister-Kinne House (1849)

Built in 1849 (the date 1841 is on the chimney in the attic), on Tryon Street in South Glastonbury, by the Hollister family (the 1649 John Hollister House stands nearby). Martin Hollister owned a gristmill and later a woolen mill up Roaring Brook. He was also a judge involved in the case of the Smith sisters. The house was later sold to the Kinne family, who still own the house. Since the 1970s, Nayaug Stables, an equestrian center, has been located on the property.

The Bedford, Massachusetts House (1682)

Originally built in the town of Bedford, Massachusetts in 1682 and moved to Main Street in Glastonbury in 1974. The Bedford Mass. House’s large central chimney and leaded casement windows are reconstructions of common features of post-medieval English houses (other examples include the Hyland, Stanley-Whitman, and Buttolph-Williams Houses).

Lorin and Florence Hollister Curtis House (1840)

The front porch was added later to this c. 1840 Greek Revival house, located on High Street in South Glastonbury. The house was once occupied by Lorin Curtis, a Civil War veteran, and his wife, Florence Hollister Curtis, who wrote a history of Glastonbury in 1928. Now a two-family home, the house also features a rear addition, built as a studio by the artist Dick Wilton, who lived in the house in the 1980’s.

"The Parsonage" (1828)

Built around 1828, on Main Street in Glastonbury, by Henry Benton for his bride, who then refused to move to the rural town. The expensive home was soon lost to creditors. It became the parsonage of the First Church, Congregational of Glastonbury in 1847, and was converted into apartments in the 1950s. In 2001, a new owner began restoring the house.

The Connecticut State Library and Supreme Court Building (1910)

Located on Capitol Avenue in Hartford, right across from the State Capitol building, Connecticut’s State Library and Supreme Court Building was constructed in 1908-1910. It was designed by the New York architect, Donn Barber, in a style influenced by the Italian Renaissance. The statues above the front entrance, installed in 1913, are figures of Justice, History, Art and Science, sculpted by Michel Louis Tonnetti. The building’s East Wing houses the State Library, while the West Wing houses the Supreme Court. Between the two wings is Memorial Hall, which is home to the Museum of Connecticut History. As with the neighboring State Capitol, visitors can take tours of the Supreme Court.