Elijah Barber House (1800)

The house at 59 Barbourtown Road in Canton was built in 1800 by Elijah Barber (1748-1820). Elijah’s son, Daniel, raised the house higher and Daniel Hiram, a later owner, added an ell. In the 1830s, when there was a boom in raising silk worms, a silk worm house, or “cocoonery,” was erected on the property. In 1844 a disease struck the mulberry trees in Connecticut that fed the worms and the industry failed. The silk worm house was replaced by a barn, which later became a residence. Roy C. Webster, who had been a “Yankee Peddler” in his youth, bought the Barber House in 1926 and restored it.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Bethel (1910)

Planning began in 1834 to erect an Episcopal chapel in Bethel. Dedicated to St. Thomas, the building was erected the following year on Center Street (now 95 Greenwood Avenue) and at the time was part of St. James’ Parish in Danbury. In 1909, the old white frame church was taken down to make way for a new edifice, built of stone that came from stone walls on outlying farms. Services were held on Christmas Day in the unfinished structure in 1909. The new St. Thomas Episcopal Church was dedicated a few weeks later, on January 16, 1910. Additions, which included a chapel, parish hall, kitchen and an upstairs caretaker’s apartment, were made in the 1970s.

Elisha H. Holmes, Sr. House (1840)

The house at 16 Main Street in South Windham was built c. 1840 by Elisha H. Holmes, Sr. (1799-1886). As related in Vol. I of the Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties (1903), Holmes

came to Windham in 1818, and followed his trade of cabinetmaker, also engaging in farming. Later he had a grist and plaster mill at South Windham. At one time he engaged largely in dredging operations, both in salt water and the Great Lakes. His death, which occurred Sept. 21, 1886, was regarded as a loss throughout the community. In politics he was a Democrat, and he represented the town of Windham in the State Legislature, also holding local offices. His wife, Lydia, was a daughter of Amos Dennison Allen, a cabinet—maker of Windham, with whom Mr. Holmes learned his trade.

In 1833, Elisha H. Holmes inherited land from his in-laws, the Allen family, which he sold to George Spafford, a partner in Spafford, Phelps and Co., which made paper manufacturing machines. The company failed after the Panic of 1837 and was acquired by Charles Smith and Harvey Winchester. In 1837 and 1838, Holmes sold additional land to the new partners, who were expanding the company. In 1872, Holmes built a house for his son, Elisha H. Holmes, Jr., at 4 Main Street in South Windsor.

Chauncey Spencer House (1860)

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…)

N.I.A. Starkweather House (1867)

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.