Chauncey Spencer was a builder who erected a number of tenement houses in the village of Ivoryton in Essex. In 1856 he acquired the land at 3 Main Street in Ivoryton from Dan Parker, whose daughter Temperance he had married in 1853. He built the house on the property by 1860. After the Temperance died in 1892, Chauncey married her sister, Cornelia. The home remained in the Spencer family until 1963. (more…)
The Nichols Improvement Association was founded in 1889 to beautify and improve the historic village of Nichols in the town of Trumbull. The N.I.A. owns and maintains the Nichols Green, which has a World Wars Monument, and other properties totaling 42 acres. Across from the Green is the John B. Nichols Community Center. The N.I.A. acquired it as the John B. Nichols Memorial Park in 1951 and developed it as a community center. It includes the Stratweather House, 1773 Huntington Turnpike, which houses the N.I.A. offices and is available for rentals. The house was built in 1867 by John B. Nichols (1817-1899). Near the house is the Bunny Fountain, an 1895 gift from the Peet family to the citizens of Nichols.
The Italianate-style house at 890 Broad Street in Stratford was built circa 1850.
The house at 373 Saybrook Road in Haddam was built about 1825 by David C. Hubbard, who was a ship builder and master carpenter employed at the Huntington and Child shipyards at Higganum Landing. After his death in 1841 the house was acquired by Luther Freeman. About 1810, Freeman had started a brickyard about a half a mile north of the Landing. He retired around the time he bought the house and the business was continued by his sons, George A. Freeman and Orrin Freeman, until circa 1850. George inherited the house from his father, but lived at the Landing. He sold the house to Harvey Child in 1870.
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.
The house at 2131 Long Hill Road in North Guilford was built circa 1835-1850 by Wyllys Elliot, a farmer. About 1860 it was renovated and enlarged in the Italianate style with a cupola by his son, Harvey Elliot. The property, which is home to Smith’s Tree Farm, has several historic barns.
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).
You must be logged in to post a comment.