Year: 2023

Mitchell Mansion // 1828

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Built in 1828 and used for years as a “house of public entertainment” for Mitchell Simeon Mitchell, this stunning home in Southbury, Connecticut has historically been known as the Mitchell Mansion. The Mansion House displays sophisticated Greek Revival features, including its temple shape, the restrained Grecian doorway, an inset Ionic-columned portico and a cornice with continuous modillions. The quality of the exterior is matched by its interior detailing, with a semicircular staircase and, at one time, a large ballroom. Records found in the house indicate that one of the carpenters was James English, later to become Governor of Connecticut. During the middle of the 19th century the property was owned by noted New York furniture maker Duncan Phyfe.

Oldfield – John Moseley House // 1818

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Federal style houses are among my favorite styles! From the classical design details to the symmetrical facades, there are so many great examples of Federal style houses in New England. This house in Southbury, Connecticut dates to 1818 and was built by John Moseley (1775-1876), who lived to be 100 years old, and married twice, outliving both of his wives. According to a family history, Moseley personally went to Maine to pick out the wood used to build his house as there were no large trees left in the area when house construction began in 1818. In the early 1900s, the house was updated with a rear addition, built from a structure moved from across the street and attached to Oldfield, and with the addition of the large Colonial Revival style portico at the front entry. The house has been a bed & breakfast since the 1990s, originally called Cornucopia at Oldfield, it is now known as the Evergreen Inn.

Church of the Epiphany // 1867

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The stereotypical church in New England is the usual wooden structure with a central steeple and painted a bright white. Whenever I see an old church that breaks that oh-so-common mold, I have to snap a photo and learn more! This is the Church of the Epiphany, located on Main Street in Southbury, Connecticut. The church is an example of the Gothic style built in the Victorian period and is constructed of stone with a wooden corner belfry. Construction started in 1863, and the church was not completed until four years later in 1867. I could not locate who the architect was, but I am dying to know!

Bullet Hill Schoolhouse // c.1762

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The Bullet Hill School, formerly known as the Brick School, is the oldest public building in Southbury, Connecticut and one of the oldest schoolhouses in America. Originally built in 1762 of locally made bricks, the two-story structure is a well-preserved example of a Colonial-era school building. Some sources date the building to 1790. The building remained in operation as a school for 179 years until December 1941 when the new Southbury Consolidated School, now Gainfield Elementary School, opened in January 1942. The Bullet Hill school is distinguished by its near-square proportions, locally made bricks laid up in Flemish bond, generous window sizes, and a hipped roof. The original cupola, now replaced, served as the model for Southbury’s 1977 Town Hall and other public buildings in town. Today, the former schoolhouse is maintained by the town and operated by the Historical Society as a living museum that is open for class visits and tours.

Reverend Graham-Howard Richmond House // c.1715

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Who doesn’t love a good Colonial house in Connecticut!? This house in Southbury was originally built at the beginning of the 18th century and was later altered and expanded in the fashionable Federal style at the end of the century. The house was built around 1715 by a Nathan Strong, who sold the property to Reverend John Graham who was the town’s pastor for over forty years. The house was later owned by antiques dealers Daniel and Marguerite Croucher. They used the former White Oak Schoolhouse (nextdoor) to store and sell some of their finds! After later owners, the property (which includes the schoolhouse) was purchased by Howard K. Richmond had been a graphic designer and art director in New York. He created the original layout and logo for Life magazine in 1936. He also did advertising and publicity work for Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale’s, Elizabeth Arden and Saks Fifth Avenue. So many layers of history in over 300 years!

White Oak Schoolhouse // 1840

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When the first white settlers of present-day Southbury, Connecticut, traveled up the Housatonic on rafts in 1673, they spent their first night under a white oak tree in what is now Settlers Park. That section of Southbury became known as White Oak for this early history. As this part of town developed and the population grew, another schoolhouse was needed. In around 1840, this Greek Revival style school building was constructed and has stood proudly on Main Street in the nearly 200 years since. The school now shares the same lot as the Reverend Graham House and has most recently been occupied as an antiques store.

United Church of Christ Southbury // 1844

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Originally, the parishioners living in present-day Southbury would travel to Woodbury Center to attend church services. This changed after the Southbury parish was incorporated in 1731, voting to erect a church a year later. Founded in 1732, the Southbury Congregational Church was dwelled in several sites until the third church was built on the present site in 1844. This Greek Revival style church features Doric pilasters and Ionic columns at the recessed portico with a large pediment above with ornate scroll carvings around the clock. The church remains well-preserved and a visual landmark on the Main street.

Curtiss-Fabrique House // 1810

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Located on Main Street in Southbury, this stately Federal style mansion stands out as one of the most unique and interesting in town! The house here was originally built in the 1760s as a more modest Georgian house by members of the Curtiss Family, one of the earliest families to settle in the area after land here was purchased from the Potatuck Native Americans. In the early 19th century, the house was modernized in the fashionable Federal style, giving the house the present appearance. The facade is dominated by an excellent doorway with a projecting Palladian portico above. The property was later owned by Benjamin Fabrique.

Dublin Hill Deck House // 1974

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I don’t share Mid-Century buildings on here enough, mostly due to the fact that so many of the houses of the period are secluded down winding driveways and surrounded by trees! This stunning house is located in Southbury, Connecticut, and is a great example of a Deck House. The Deck House was a housing type developed by architect Carl Koch. According to At Home With Tomorrow, he began his lifelong mission to create “the good, the beautiful, and the inexpensive” in housing while at Harvard under the guidance of Walter Gropius, who is famous for the development of the Modernist Movement in architecture. After the war, he turned his focus on the housing shortage, a symptom of the Great Depression, WWII, and returning Veterans with growing families and VA mortgage loan offers. His solution was for an affordable house of pre-fabricated parts to cut costs and provide streamlined construction. In 1953, his Techbuilt house was launched, after a decade of research. William Berkes and Robert Brownell had worked with Koch at Techbuilt after graduate school, but wanted to create a design of their own. They left Techbuilt in 1959 and founded Deck House, using the same principles. The exposed Douglas fir beams, wood panel ceilings and mahogany trim and window casements are what give the deck house a lot of its signature aesthetic. A wall of glazing, open floor plan with sloping roof rafters extending beyond the walls and a low placement in seemingly untouched nature are further elements that have endeared these houses to the modern homeowner.

Adin Wheeler House // 1790

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The Adin Wheeler House is significant as a rare house form found in this part of New England. Located in Southbury, Connecticut, the property includes the main house, a barn, and the wheelwright shop, a barn-like structure. The house is a 1-1/2-story Cape style wood-frame structure, with a front porch across the front that is sheltered by a bell-cast extension of the main roof. This type of porch roof is uncommon in Connecticut, being reminiscent of Dutch rather than English construction methods. The dwelling was built for Adin Wheeler, who owned the millworks on the nearby falls with business partner Enos Candee, a business partner (and brother-in-law) whose house also stands nearby. Theodore Wheeler, Adin’s great-grandson, built the wheelwright shop in the late 19th century, as well as the major addition to the house, which served as a tap room and public meeting space. The property is a well-preserved collection of 18th and 19th century structures.