John Fuller House // 1823

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This lovely brick, Federal style farmhouse was built in 1823 for John and Mary Fuller in rural Suffield, Connecticut, in 1823 and operated as a farm by the family for over fifty years. The town of Suffield purchased the house and farmland before the 1880s for use as the town’s poor farm. Poor farms (also known as almshouses) were often rural houses where paupers, mainly elderly and disabled people, were supported at public expense. The land was available for the elderly and workers to harvest crops for sale and sustenance. One of the “residents” at the poor farm was “Old Cato” a formerly enslaved person who was owned by Maj. John Davenport, a lawyer and politician in Stamford. Davenport offered Old Cato his freedom in 1812 if he enlisted to serve in the War of 1812, which he did. By the 1820s, he moved to Suffield CT, and worked at the West Suffield Congregational Church, paid to ring the bell at the church, likely also maintaining the property. He eventually ended up at the poorhouse and died, estimated to be over 100 years old. The old Fuller/Poor House was sold by the town in 1952 and converted back into a single-family residence.

Spencer – Mearkle House // c.1824

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Built in 1824 by Hezekiah Spencer, this beautiful Federal style residence is located on South Main Street in the charming town of Suffield, Connecticut. Hezekiah Spencer (1795-1873) lived and raised his family here with his wife, Cecelia, who farmed the land behind. During the 20th century, the house was occupied by Annie Mearkle, a poet who wrote under the name of Angela Marco. The Spencer-Mearkle House is a great example of a Federal style residence in a side-hall form, with its gable-end oriented to face the street. The house retains its original leaded glass fanlight in the gable and glazed door surround.

Charles Shepard House // 1824

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The Charles Shepard House on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, is a stately and well-proportioned Federal period residence that contributes to the iconic streetscape of historic homes that have been lovingly preserved by centuries of ownership. The residence was built in 1824 for newlyweds Charles Shepard (1792-1867) and Cordelia King of the wealthy local King Family of Suffield. Charles was a local attorney who practiced in town for a few years until he moved to Hartford following the death of Cordelia in 1825, soon after this house was completed. The large residence was later owned by William Henry Fuller a local businessman and politician. The house features larger first-floor double-hung windows, fan motifs in the flushboarded gable ends, dentilled cornice, and early 20th century rear addition and entry portico on the facade.

Rowe House // 1767

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One of the older homes on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, the Moses Rowe House was built in 1767 was later “modernized” to its present appearance. The house was constructed as a two-story Georgian home with minimal detailing, as the family home of Moses Rowe (1733-1799), his wife, and nine children. According to historical maps of the area, the home appears to have been purchased by Horace Sheldon, who in the 1830s, modified the home in the Greek Revival style, increasing the height of the home, adding side porches and the entablature at the roofline.

Henry P. Kent House // 1871

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Located on South Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, this stunning Second Empire mansion showcases the tobacco wealth seen in the town in the mid-to-late 19th century. Local legend states that in the early 1800s, a Cuban man arrived into town and was hired by a local farmer to grow tobacco and roll cigars for sale. Decades later, dozens of farmers in Suffield erected tobacco barns and cultivated tobacco to be rolled in cigars and shipped to communities all over the east coast. One of the first men in Suffield to box the cigars as a pack for shipping and sale was Henry Phelps Kent (1803-1887). With his success, Henry Kent purchased a large lot on the town’s Main Street and hired local architect, John C. Mead, to design a mansion to display his success in business. The large Second Empire mansion features flush-board siding, a full length porch, and a projecting mansarded tower with convex roof. The home was later owned by Samuel R. Spencer, a politician who served as a Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, the first as a blind man. The home is now operated as a bed & breakfast “Spencer on Main”, named after its second owner.

West Suffield Academy Hall // 1855

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Built in 1855 as the West Suffield Village school, Academy Hall served as one of Suffield’s public school buildings until 1913, when consolidated schools were built in town. Like in many New England communities, the old, wood-frame school building was repurposed, and due to the large agricultural community in Suffield (it was a major grower and exporter of tobacco), the old Academy Hall was occupied by the local Grange club, a social organization that encouraged families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture. The handsome structure is owned by the non-profit West Suffield Village Improvement Association, and as of April 2026, the building is leased to the Suffield Historical Society, and is available for events. The structure features a Classical door surround, corner pilasters, entablature, and a large square cupola at the gable roof.

West Suffield Congregational Church // 1839

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Nestled in the heart of West Suffield, Connecticut, the West Suffield Congregational Church remains as a unique example of the typical village church form from the first half of the 19th century. The church was established in 1743, when after decades of having to travel to the center of Suffield to worship, families in the western part of town established the Second Ecclesiastical Society. Within a year, a meeting house in West Suffield was built as a rustic structure. As the congregation thrived, a second meeting house was built in 1775 on the site of the present building, which too was rebuilt, this structure, in 1839 using the earlier foundation. The present church was dedicated in 1840 and it stands as a stunning example of a Greek Revival house of worship, with projecting portico supported by fluted Doric columns, paneled parapet, and multi-stage tower.

Mapleton Hall // 1883

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Located on Mapleton Avenue in the historic farming community of Suffield, Connecticut, Mapleton Hall stands as a remarkable testament to the town’s agricultural heritage and success. Originally constructed in 1883 as Central Hall, the building served as a gathering place for farmers’ meetings, civic events, and later the local Grange, reflecting the importance of agriculture in Suffield’s development. As its popularity grew, rear wings were built in 1896, expanding the hall to accommodate larger crowds drawn by community events and meetings. Architecturally, Mapleton Hall is a distinctive example of late Victorian-era rural meeting hall, featuring elements of the Queen Anne Stick/Eastlake styles, along with decorative woodwork, a prominent bell tower, and trussed gable that have been carefully preserved through decades of restoration. The building was sold in 1999 to the Suffield Players, a local theater group, who have preserved the building, using it for their theatrical productions.

Dr. Howard Alden House – “Aldenheim” // c.1794

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Located on North Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, the Dr. Howard Alden House (also known as “Aldenheim”) stands as a significant late-18th century estate that has been lovingly preserved for centuries. The residence was originally built in 1794 for Dr. Howard Alden (1760-1841) the main village’s primary physician. The estate remained in the family, first willed to Dr. Alden’s daughter, Susan Alden Pease and later by her daughter, Sarah Pease Fuller and her husband, wholesale tobacco merchant, Edward A. Fuller. While not architecturally ornate, the Federal period residence features a symmetrical facade, center entry with Classical door surround, and dentilled cornice.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Crematorium & Columbarium // 1893

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Separate from the main cemetery parcel, the Forest Hills Cemetery Crematory and Columbarium is architecturally significant and also historically significant as the the first crematory in New England. The cremation building was constructed in 1893 by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, an organization unaffiliated with the cemetery across the street. The original crematory building was designed by Ludvig Sandöe Ipsen, a Danish-American artist and designer who is best-known for his book illustrations. It is unclear why Ipsen, who had almost entirely given up architecture as a profession, was selected by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, but he showcased his design expertise for this handsome masonry building. The original crematory included a chapel, operating plant, guest area, and offices. Classical Revival in style, the building is constructed of granite with limestone trim and capped by a red slate roof. The first cremation in New England occurred here in 1894, when Lucy Stone, the important abolitionist and suffragist, passed away and was cremated here. The chapel inside the building was named after Lucy Stone. In 1905, the columbarium was added from plans by Ipsen, where cremated remains of the dead are stored and displayed in urns. In 1925, the property was sold to the Forest Hills Cemetery association and the building expanded to its current size.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Chadwick Mausoleum // 1873

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While many monuments in the Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston stand out for obvious reasons, there are many historic mausoleums dispersed throughout the cemetery, but none quite like the Chadwick Mausoleum. Mausoleums are above ground burial structures, where family can be interred together within the walls of the structure, that provides an interior space for family to mourn inside. Many mausoleums were designed by noted architects and are often outfitted with decorative bronze doors or stained-glass windows. The most visible and ornate at Forest Hills is the Chadwick Mausoleum, located at the west end of Lake Hibiscus. The structure was designed in the Gothic Revival style by William Gibbons Preston who designed the bridge over Greenwood Avenue. Nestled into the sloped hill in the rear, the stone mausoleum features a metal door bearing the name “Chadwick.” The structure was funded by Joseph Houghton Chadwick (1827-1902), following the death of his wife in 1872. Joseph was President of the Chadwick Lead Works in Downtown Boston and was a successful businessman, as a trustee of Boston University also serving as president and as a trustee of Forest Hills Cemetery where he was later interred. 

Milmore Memorial, ‘Death and the Sculptor’ // 1889

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The haunting yet beautiful monument, “Death and the Sculptor” in Forest Hills Cemetery is quite possibly my favorite piece of sculptural art and a gentle reminder to not take life for granted. Commissioned in 1889 and dedicated in 1893, the bronze monument was designed by Daniel Chester French, a sculptor best known for his 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, to memorialize sculptor, Martin Milmore and his brother Joseph, a stone-cutter. Rather than portraying death as frightening or violent, French depicts a serene winged figure gently staying the hand of a young sculptor at work, suggesting a peaceful transition from earthly labor to eternal rest. The sculpture’s quiet grace, emotional depth, and masterful craftsmanship have made it a landmark of American memorial art, inviting visitors to reflect on mortality, creativity, and the enduring power of beauty in the face of loss. To tie the work to its subjects, the young sculptor is carving a Sphynx, modeled after the 1873 sculpture the brothers worked on together that is located at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. A marble version of the work can also be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, carved in 1917 by the Piccirilli Brothers.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Grace Sherwood Allen Memorial, “Girl in the Glass” // 1880

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Similar to the story of Louis Mieusset, the “boy in the boat” at Forest Hills Cemetery, the memorial of Grace Sherwood Allen stands as a testament to parent’s ever-lasting love of their children. “Gracie” Allen (1876-1880) was born in Boston, the only daughter of William H. and Emily Jones Allen. She died several months prior to her fifth birthday from whooping cough and was later immortalized by sculptor Sydney H. Morse, who depicted the young girl in a buttoned dress, boots and bow-tied hair. In her hand are drooping flowers, the petals of which have begun to fall, showing her life fading. The life-size white marble sculpture is covered in a bronze and glass vitrine, to protect the fragile stone from acid rain, which would stain and weather the delicate monument.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Louis Mieusset Memorial, “Boy in the Boat” // 1886

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Louis Ernest Mieusset (1881-1886), just shy of his fifth birthday, died of Scarlet Fever and nephritis. His mother, Madame Louise Mieusset, took every penny she had saved for her son’s education and put it towards a commission of a funerary sculpture, depicting her late son’s playful spirit. The memorial of four-year-old Louis Mieusset is marked by a brilliant white marble figure depicting the young boy in a boat with a tennis racket in one hand and a shell in another. Marble was popular during the mid-19th century but it was understood that marble was too soft to stand up well outdoors, so it was additionally enclosed in a bronze and glass vitrine to protect it from acid rain and staining. Carved into the base, it states, “MY ONLY AND DARLING CHILD…A MOTHER’S TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION”. Madame Mieusset worked as a hat-maker in Boston, and after the death of her son, she struggled financially to support herself between frequent visits to mourn her son, even decades after his death. Louise planned to be buried next to her son, but died penniless in 1936. As she did not leave funds for burial in Forest Hills Cemetery, her body was buried in a pauper’s lot, until (legend says) Boston Mayor James Curley paid her burial expenses, funding the relocation of her body, allowing for her eternal rest with her late son Louis.

A similar monument, known as the “Girl in the Glass” is also found at Forest Hills.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Randidge Monument, “Grief” // c.1891

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Rural cemeteries are known for their beautiful grounds and winding pathways lined by sculptural monuments to the dead, and Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston is one of the best examples to stroll around and see some of the finest memorials in the country. Titled “Grief”, the Randidge Monument is located on Fir Avenue in Forest Hills Cemetery is the memorial to George and Caroline Randidge of Boston. George Randidge (1820-1890) was a merchant and tailor who died in 1890 and his widow, Caroline, appears to have funded the design and fabrication of this iconic monument. Executed in 1891 by sculptor Adolph Robert Kraus, a bronze seated figure of Grief in classical robes leans in sorrow on an inverted torch, atop the enormous granite base designed by the architectural firm of Fehmer and Page. In 1895, less than four years after the loss of her husband, Caroline Randidge joined George here and her grief was no longer.