First Church of Christ Scientist, Mystic (1820)

Originally erected as a house, the building at 5 Gravel Street in Mystic has been the First Church of Christ Scientist since 1914. Various dates can be found for the construction of the original house. The church’s website states that it was built in 1782 by Josiah Kemp. The brochure “a Mystic Riverside Walking Adventure” indicates that the house was built by Capt. George Wolfe between 1815 and 1827. In the latter year, it was sold to his brother-in-law, Capt. William Kemp (1795-1840), who commanded sloops and schooners. The nomination for the Mystic River Historic District gives a date of 1820. Work began in 1918 to transform the building into a church and it was dedicated on August 30, 1919. A Sunday School and Child Care room were added in June 1962 and in 1975 the original dirt cellar, on the street level of the building, was converted into a Reading Room.

Canton Center Schoolhouse (1849)

The first schoolhouse in Canton Center, called the Old Red School, was built in 1749. It was used until 1847, when it was moved to Collinsville and became a saloon. The building of a replacement was delayed by an argument over where to place the new school. The district was therefore divided into the Center and South Center districts. The South Center School House was built across the street from the Canton Center Congregational Church in 1848. The Center (also known as the North Center or Sisson) District School was erected in 1849 at 135 West Road. The schoolhouse was in used until 1942, when the Cherry Brook School was opened. The old school was then converted into a five-room residence by Mortimer R. Bristol (1892-1972).

Utley-Storrs House (1835)

Joseph C. Martin, a builder, acquired the land at what is now 115 Chaplin Street in Chaplin in 1835. He sold the property in 1838 to James Russell Utley (1811-1896), a farmer. The existing house was built circa 1835-1840. In 1847, the house and barn were transferred to James’s brother, John Kingsbury Utley (1815-1899). As related in the Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties (1903):

John Kingsbury Utley was born in Chaplin on the home farm, and attended only the common schools of his native town. Before he had attained his majority, he began to learn the trade of boot-maker in Chaplin, and followed that trade the greater part of his life, always making his home in that town. For many years he was in company with Ephraim Day, engaged in bootmaking, but when machine made goods were placed on the market, the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Utley retired from active business life about a dozen years prior to his death, although he devoted his attention to conducting a small farm, always having a deep interest in agricultural pursuits. His death occurred Sept. 1, 1899, and he is buried at Chaplin. During his long life he was a hard working man, and by industry, frugality and thrift, he amassed a considerable fortune. In politics he was a staunch Republican, and represented Chaplin in the State Legislature in 1863 and also held many of the town offices. While serving on the board of selectmen, his administration was marked by the careful and economical way in which the affairs of the town were managed. Early in life he joined the Congregational Church, of which he continued a consistent member: he served on the church committee for many years, and also brought into play his economical ideas with regard to its conduct. For many years he served voluntarily as janitor, in order to save the church the expense of hiring one. Being a man of the highest integrity and honor, when he felt he was in the right nothing could ever move him from his purpose, and he gained the highest respect of all who knew him.

Before his death, Utley resided in the house with his widowed sister, Jane M. Storrs (1826-1902). Her son, Henry Chesebrough Storrs, became a machinist for Pratt & Whitney in Hartford. The Storrs family used the house in Chaplin as a summer home through the mid-1970s. The house was later owned by Warren and Marguerite Church. (more…)

55 Old Post Road, Tolland (1760)

The house at 55 Old Post Road in Tolland was built c. 1760-1790. A fire later destroyed the roof and part of the second floor, but the house was rebuilt. This seems to be the house described as follows in the History of Tolland County, Connecticut (1888), by J.R. Cole:

Next south was the old Ashbel Steel place, which was used for a school house. Mr. Lucius S. Fuller taught there both before and after the building was moved. Doctor Potwine lived in this house. Joshua Griggs now owns it.

The Masons established Uriel Lodge No. 24 in Tolland in 1793. Now located in Merrow (in Mansfield), the lodge once occupied the front of the house’s second story.

Capt. Waterman Clift House (1837)

Clift Street in Mystic was developed by Col. Amos Clift III (1805-1878), a local builder, and his mother Thankful Denison Clift (1780-1861). The house at 2 Clift Street, at the corner of Gravel Street, was built by Amos in 1837 for his brother, Capt. Waterman Clift (1809-1890). A shipmaster, Waterman Clift commanded the vessels Atlantic, Phume and Coasting Trader, as well as the U.S. transport Haze, which made regular trips between New York City and New Bern, North Carolina during the Civil War. He was later a harbor pilot in Apalachicola, Florida. The house has an east wing added in the 1920s. The front and side porch, which replaced an earlier entry portico, were added in the last few years.