The Rockwell Building is a distinctive flatiron-type structure at 97 Main Street, with storefronts facing Main and Market streets in downtown Norwich. Associated with John A. Rockwell, a lawyer who lived with his family in the Wauregan Hotel, the Rockwell Building was built around 1860 in the Romanesque Revival style. It has an impressive cast iron addition, designed by C. H. Preston in 1895. In 1890, when the building was home to the Snell Business College, it was described in The Leading Business Men of Norwich and Vicinity, Embracing Greeneville and Preston as follows: “This is a handsome building, made of Philadelphia pressed brick, with white granite casings, situated in the very heart of the city, commanding a perfect view of the harbor and the city’s principal thoroughfare.”
My grandfather,John Gifford Lyman, according to family lore, is supposed to have attended Snell Business College. Any way to find out if this is true?
I’m not sure if the records still exist. Maybe you should check with the Norwich Historical Society.
“Norwich a College Town?” A major school like the University of Connecticut could establish a satellite campus in the Norwich downtown district. This plan would encourage high tech and other companies to move to Norwich. Think about it.