Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Mansard

Southwest Ledge Lighthouse (1877)

Southwest Ledge Light (also known as New Haven Ledge Light) was built in 1877. Southwest Ledge, on the east entrance to New Haven Harbor, is a dangerous rock formation blocking the main channel into the Harbor. The construction of a lighthouse on the Ledge was considered in 1845, but was too expensive a project to undertake, due to the site’s isolated location. Instead, a new tower was built at that time at Five Mile Point. By 1873, technology had developed to the point that building a lighthouse on the Ledge was feasible and construction could begin. That year a storm disrupted the preparations to lay the foundation, which had to be restarted the following year. The Lighthouse, designed by Major George H. Elliott, has a cylindrical foundation, made of iron and filled with concrete. It was designed to allow winter ice to float around instead of building up and damaging the structure. The lighthouse was designed with Second Empire style details, including a Mansard roof. The superstructure, built for Southwest Ledge in a Baltimore shipyard, was considered such an impressive feat of engineering that it was put on display at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, with an actual lighthouse keeper residing inside. In the end, this structure was not sent to New Haven but was sent to Delaware Bay and became the Ship John Shoal Light. Instead, an identical superstructure was sent to Southwest Ledge, although, according to some sites, it was Southwest Ledge which received the original superstructure initially intended for Ship John Shoal, while the Delaware Bay lighthouse instead received the second structure, after its stay in Philadelphia.

Put in place in 1876, Southwest Ledge Light was first lit in 1877. A new breakwall was soon built, ending at the new lighthouse. The living conditions for the lighthouse keepers remained bad for many years due leaking, dampness, bad drinking water and numerous cockroaches. In these rough conditions, Assistant Keeper Nils Nilson went into a violent rage and chased Keeper Jorgen Jonnensen around the tower with a fire axe. Jonnensen was able to lock himself in a storage room and Nilson left in a rowboat. Soon after, in January 1908, Nilson committed suicide. Despite this incident, the lives of many people were saved over the years by the keepers of Southwest Ledge Light. The Light was automated in 1953 and continues as an active aid to navigation.

86 Hallock Street, New Haven (1875)

An unusual octagon house with a Mansard roof is located at 86 Hallock Street in New Haven’s Hill District. It was built by Massena Clark, a real estate speculator who once had his own large estate on Whitney Avenue.

Samuel Forbes House (1878)

Samuel Forbes was a successful tobacco grower in East Hartford. His 1878 Second Empire house is at 398 Silver Lane. Behind the house is an old harness shop building, a surviving trace of the small local manufacturing enterprises that existed in the area before tobacco came to dominate the economy of East Hartford.

Wheeler Block, Colchester (1872)

The Wheeler Block (also called the Old Town Hall) in Colchester was built as a commercial building by businessman Joshua B. Wheeler in 1872. Wheeler was a Mason and the third floor meeting room was used as a Masonic Lodge through the 1940s. In 1910, at a time when the town’s schools were overcrowded, the building became the Ransom School and was later used for town offices. At present, the building is vacant.

Abigail Whelpley House (1826)

James Abraham Hillhouse, who did so much to develop New Haven’s Hillhouse Avenue in the early nineteenth century, planned a house on the avenue in 1826-1827 for his widowed relative, Mrs. Abigail Whelpley, and her sons. The main Federal-style building may have been moved from elsewhere (dating perhaps to as early as 1800) and Hillhouse also approached architect Ithiel Town to create a new facade for the house, which may or may not have been used. The house was occupied by Noah Porter from 1848 until his death in 1892. Porter was a Yale professor and served as the University’s president from 1871 to 1886. From 1866 to 1870, Porter‘s house was remodeled, by architect Henry Austin, in the fashionable Second Empire style, with a mansard roof and two side porches. Porter‘s daughters inherited the house, which was bequeathed to Yale University in the early twentieth century. At that time, the house was returned to a more Federal appearance and the porches were removed. The building is now home to Yale’s Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics and the Center for International Security Studies.

The DeWitt C. Perry House (1871)

When the DeWitt C. Perry House was built on Russ Street in Hartford, it was the only house on a now densely-packed block. Perry was an employee of the nearby Billings & Spencer Company, which specialized in drop-forging. The house retains its original front porch, but the enclosed side porch is a later addition. The house now contains law offices.

Edwin Bugbee House (1875)

The French Second Empire-style Edwin Bugbee House, on Prospect Street in Willimantic, was built around 1875. Bugbee was involved in developing Willimantic’s lumber and coal distributing trade and was president of the Willimantic Electric Light Company. His son, Edwin Francis Bugbee, was one of Willimantic’s leading attorneys.