Starting in 1900, after he married Katharine Fearing Hubbard, Colonel Clarence S. Wadsworth began to acquire land in the rural western section of Middletown for his estate. Known as Long Hill, it eventually grew to 600 acres and featured landscaping designed in part by John Charles Olmsted. The estate also included the $90,000 Wadsworth Mansion, built between 1909 and 1911. Designed by Francis Hoppin, the architect of Edith Wharton’s home, the Mount, the mansion was ahead of its time in the use of reinforced structural concrete and fireproofing. It was occupied by the Wadsworths as a summer home, until the Colonel died in 1941. He bequeathed it to the Rockfall Corporation, which he had established in 1935— an organization dedicated to natural resource conservation, preservation and development. Part of the Estate became Wadsworth Falls State Park, while the house and remainder of the Estate was sold in 1947 to Our Lady of the Cenacle, an order of nuns. Sold to a developer in 1986, the building fell into disrepair and was vandalized. A fire in 1990 almost destoyed the house, which was saved owing to its reinforced concrete. Purchased by the City of Middletown in 1994, the Mansion was restored and opened in 1999 as a facility available for weddings and other functions.
Long Hill Estate’s grounds encompass 104 acres, the heart of the original estate, and are open daily to the public like any other Middletown City park. Tours of the Wadsworth Mansion, led by docents, are available every Wednesday afternoon from 2-4 P.M. or by appointment. Call 860/347-1064 for further information.
Free public events also include an annual New Year’s Day Open House, a Daffodil Festival in April, Summer Lawn Concertson the Vista, an Open Air Market in August. More information is available on http://www.wadsworthmansion.com.
Just today, I learned from my aunt, Beatrice O’Brien, that her grandfather, Denis O’Brien, was hired to do the masonry work on the Wadsworth Mansion. He and his son, Denis O’Brien, were builders in Middletown. Bea now lives in Cromwell and is a font of information. I would love to visit the mansion some day.