gambrel

Phelps Tavern (1776)

Located on Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury, the Capt. Elisha Phelps House served as a tavern run by successive generations of the Phelps family. According to Wikipedia, it was built by Capt. Phelps in 1776, although the Simsbury Historical Society site indicates it was built sometime earlier, purchased by Phelps and raised by him, adding a new first floor, around 1771. Phelps and his brother, Noah Phelps, were involved in gathering intelligence during the Revolutionary War campaign to capture Fort Ticonderoga. In 1962, the house was purchased by the Simsbury Historical Society from the last of the Phelps family members to live there. It can now be visited as the Phelps Tavern Museum, part of a campus of historical buildings moved to the site by the Historical Society.

John Robbins House (1767)

In 1767, John Robbins built his house, on Old Main Street in Rocky Hill, on land he had purchased from the Duke of Cumberland, who had earlier been granted the land by George II. The house was later used as a tavern, known as the Duke of Cumberland Inn. The brick Georgian-style house was updated in the Colonial Revival style in 1910.

Philip Goffe House (1655)

The oldest house is Rocky Hill is the Philip Goffe House on Old Main Street. It was built in 1655, when Rocky Hill was part of Wethersfield. Philip Goffe was Wethersfield’s first town crier.

Matthew Sadd, Jr. House (1781)

Located on Main Street, across from the Timothy Edwards Cemetery, in the East Windsor Hill Historic District of South Windsor, is a small house on a knoll. Its construction was begun by Matthew Sadd Jr. (son of Matthew Sadd the carpenter), who purchased the land in 1781. It was completed by a later owner, Samuel Terry, Jr., a brother of the clockmaker Eli Terry. The house has undergone extensive renovations, including the complete rebuilding of the old center chimney.

Timothy Stevens House (1693)

Built around 1693, on Main Street, by the town of Glastonbury for its first minister, Reverend Timothy Stevens. Building a Meeting House and having a resident minister were requirements the new town had to meet to seperate from Wethersfield. Given a choice between a 20-foot house, or one twice the length–provided he supplied the nails, glass and iron–the minister opted for the larger size. The house is also notable for having an early brick foundation. Like other seventeenth century houses in Glastonbury, the house faces south.

The William Wickham House (1685)

Located on Main Street in Glastonbury, the house built by William Wickham was constructed in two sections. The first section, built in 1685, with its front facade facing south, was originally a saltbox. After the marriage of William Wickham‘s son John, in 1716, an addition was completed the following year, facing Main Street, which had been laid out in 1698. The new addition featured a gambrel roof and the roof on the south facade was adjusted to match it.

The Moses Mitchell House (1791)

We conclude what’s been a week-long look at historical houses in Windsor with the Moses Mitchell House, built around 1791 on Palisado Avenue. Moses Mitchell was a free African-American farmer who was a founding member of Windsor’s Methodist Episcopal Church.