Selden Brewer was a successful tobacco grower in East Hartford, who built his impressive house between 1827 and 1833. A tradition about the house states that Selden’s father, Samuel Brewer, transported the bricks used in the house‘s construction from Wethersfield over the frozen Connecticut River in 1827. The house originally stood on Main Street, on the northern end of the Brewer Tobacco Plantation, but in the 1980s, through the efforts of the Historical Society of East Hartford, it was moved to its current location at the intersection of Main and Naubuc Streets. The Historical Society’s offices are on the second floor and the rooms on the first floor can be rented for meetings and small banquets. [It’s interesting to compare images of some of the rooms as they appear today compared with historical photos taken of the furnished rooms over sixty years ago].
The house is currently being restored with period furniture from 1860s-1930s. The flower garden in the back will be dedicated to Buena Crawford Brewer, wife of Vincent Brewer, last occupant of the home.
If you are ever in East Hartford, please stop by and see what is happening.
It is no longer available for rental.
Historical Society of East Hartford
The garden in the rear of the house was dedicated in the summer of 2022 to Buena Crawford Brewer, last Brewer to live in the house.
The Brewer House in on the National Registry of Historic Places and is one of East Hartford’s architectural gems.
Please stop by the Brewer House on June 10 for Connecticut Open House Day’ we will be open from 1-4, Stop by and see and hear the beating of the heart and soul of this historic structure.
We have recently acquired the 1907 wedding dress of Buena Crawford Brewer, wife of Vincent Brewer. It is currently on display in the front sitting room with a picture of Buena in her dress on her wedding day, and photographs of her daughter and granddaughter wearing the dress, It was last worn in 1958, and was recently donated by Buena;s great granddaughter, It has finally seen the light of day after 65 years in storage, You can see the dress on the Facebook page of the Historical Society of East Hartford, Better yet,,, stop by the house and see it for yourself!
How can I get a tour?