Connecticut

St. Philip the Apostle Church // 1937

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In 1921, the Catholic Diocese of Hartford purchased a Federal style farmhouse with 135-acres of land in Ashford, Connecticut, with the intention of establishing a new parish in the area. The Diocese assigned Father William J. Dunn, a Connecticut native and son of Irish Immigrants, to this daunting task. Since they had no church building at the time, Father Dunn partitioned off a section of his own home to serve as a chapel for about 100 worshipers, until the purpose-built St. Philip the Apostle Church was constructed in the 1930s. Father Dunn convinced summer resident Paul Chalfin to design the new building. Chalfin was not an architect, but he was an architectural designer whose best known building is the Villa Vizcaya in Miami, Florida. Chalfin was openly gay, and his hiring by the Catholic Church to design one of its churches in the 1930s is noteworthy. There were certainly several Irish immigrants and people of Irish descent in the congregation, but many parishioners came from small villages in Slovakia. The dome is a typical feature of churches in those villages and Chalfin included it in his design as a tribute to them. Due to material and construction costs during the Great Depression, members of the church largely built the church themselves with rocks acquired from stone walls and farms nearby. The church was completed in 1937.

Mathewson-Dunn Residence // c.1815

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This Federal-style house sits on the heavily trafficked Pompey Hollow Road in the center of Ashford, Connecticut. Early history of the residence is sparse, but by the 1860s, it was the home to Charles Mathewson (1812-1880), who came to Ashford from Woodstock in 1850 and bought a saw and grist mill nearby. The mills were operated here until 1865, when he was succeeded by the firm of Lombard & Mathewson, manufacturers of fertilizers and wholesale dealers in agricultural implements. After successive ownership, the property, which included a 135-acre farm, was purchased by the Catholic Diocese of Hartford in 1921 with the intention of establishing a new parish in the Ashford area. The Diocese assigned Father William J. Dunn, a Connecticut native and son of Irish Immigrants, to this daunting task. Since they had no church building, he partitioned off a section of his own home to serve as a chapel for about 100 worshipers, until the purpose-built St. Philip the Apostle Church was built in the 1930s. The Federal style house here has an elaborated center bay which includes the entrance on the first story and a Palladian window on the second story. The main entrance is flanked by pilasters with Doric capitals which are replicated at the corners of the residence as well.

Church Farm // 1821

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Here is your reminder that you can find amazing, high-style historic houses even on the most remote back roads in New England! This is Church Farm, located in Ashford, Connecticut, in the state’s Quiet Corner (northeast section of the state). The main part of the Church Farm house was built by Zalmon Aspinwall (1769-1844) and Mary Snow Aspinwall, his wife, in 1821; it is believed the house incorporates an earlier dwelling built in 1791 by Robert Snow in the ell. The Aspinwalls were a well-to-do Mansfield Center family, with more than 1,500 acres of land. Zalmon Aspinwall, who was related by marriage to the Snows, also held mortgages on several other Ashford farms. In the 1840s the house came into the hands of Lucinda Aspinwall Church (1807-1876) and her husband John Church. John was primarily a farmer, with 135 acres under cultivation in 1850, probably most as pasture and fodder for his 140 sheep, with which he raised wool. Subsequent generations of the Church Family retained ownership of this property Church Farm as the family homestead and country retreat. Servant rooms were added to the ell, and a large barn (said to be the second largest in Windham County) were built in the 1890s. The large Colonial Revival portico, added c.1930 to replace Victorian verandas, completed the house’s transformation into a country estate. The property was most recently gifted to the Eastern Connecticut State University Foundation, Inc., in 2007 by Joseph and Dorothy (Church) Zaring, and the house and grounds are maintained by the University.

Babcock Library – Knowlton Memorial Hall // 1924

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In the 1840s, Archibald Babcock (1780-1862) from Ashford, Connecticut, went west to engage in the California Gold Rush to seek his fortune. He did well and upon his return, moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts and began purchasing property for redevelopment. Upon his death in 1862, Mr. Babcock bequeathed $3,000 to the Town of Ashford start a “free” library there. For the next 60 years the library was located in a variety of private homes and country stores in town until the 1920s when this stone structure was built to house the town hall and library. Construction was made possible by a gift from Charles Knowlton, whose family had lived in the area since the 18th century. When built, it featured a number of modern innovations, including electrical service (generated on site), and steam heat. In addition to town offices and the library, the building also has an auditorium which is used for town meetings. Architect Herbert Loud furnished plans for the building which is rustic Arts and Crafts in style with randomly laid fieldstone walls with wide mortared joints. The roof eaves show exposed rafter tails below the shallow hipped roof.

Stebbins-Tremko House // 1773

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Ashford, Connecticut is located in a part of Windham County at the northeast part of the state which is sometimes referred to as the Quiet Corner, due to its limited access to larger cities and more bucolic scenery. Formerly known as New Scituate, Ashford was settled in 1710 and incorporated as a town in October of 1714. One of the town’s early houses is this cape style dwelling, built around 1773 for Thomas Stebbins (1748-1826). By the 20th century, the small house was owned by George Tremko (1907-1981) who worked as the town’s postmaster for some years in the post office just nextdoor. After Tremko’s death, the town acquired the property through eminent domain, with the hopes of redeveloping the prominent site for a new library. Luckily, the local historical society advocated for its preservation, and grants were acquired, which helped to restore the 1770s house.

The Congregational Church of Union // c.1841

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The small town of Union, Connecticut was established in 1734 and as with many towns at the time, religion and community were some of the first things to be codified when settling in a new area. The town’s publicly supported religion, Congregationalism permeated everyday life in Union. Even after disestablishment in 1818, the Congregational church continued as Union’s predominant religious organization well into the twentieth century. By 1841, the members built this edifice, the congregations second, on a hill overlooking the town’s modest green. The vernacular church features a Gothic lancet window, classical belfry, and later pent roof porches over the entrances on the primary facade.

Old Union Town Hall // 1847

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Union, Connecticut is the smallest (by population) town in the state and it was the last Connecticut town east of the Connecticut River to be settled, largely because of its rough terrain and poor soil. The small town of under 800 residents was incorporated in 1734 and named Union, likely named after the fact that the new town was formed of a “union” of different sections of land which were left over when the boundaries of surrounding towns, though it is still speculation. Union erected this Town Hall building in 1847 which was fitting for the town’s small (and then-declining) population at the time. The one-story clapboard building is vernacular and lacks much adornment of other town halls and institutional buildings of the time period in nearby towns. Eventually, the town built a new city offices building and the small town continues to maintain the former building to this day and it houses the Union Historical Society.

High Ridge Manor // 1893

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Edward Payson Dutton (1831–1923) was a prominent American book publisher who founded the E. P. Dutton bookselling company in 1852 in Boston, Massachusetts. The business sold fiction and non-fiction, and within a short time expanded into the selling of children’s literature. In 1864, he opened a branch office to sell books in New York City and in 1869 moved his company’s headquarters there and entered the book publishing business. The company did very well, allowing Edward and his wife, Julia the means to build this large summer “cottage” in Ridgefield, Connecticut to escape the rustle and bustle of New York City. The couple purchased the lot in 1893 and appear to have built it soon after. High Ridge Manor is a stunning example of the Queen Anne and Shingle styles of architecture with its asymmetrical plan, continuous shingle siding with rubblestone foundation and chimney, gambrel roof, and towers.

Overlook Mansion // 1882

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Raised in an intellectual home of his widowed father, William Allen Jenner (1844-1915) graduated from Middlebury College as the youngest in his class with highest honors. He would go on to graduate from Columbia Law School and be admitted to the New York Bar in 1867, becoming a partner in a prestigious New York City law firm. Outside of practicing law, William Jenner studied and authored textbooks on the Latin language and was an avid horticulturalist. His landscape architecture passion was fulfilled when he purchased a large house lot on High Ridge Road in Ridgefield Connecticut, and built this home in 1882, named “Overlook”, where he and his family would spend their summers outside of the city. Mr. Jenner and his wife, Josephine Curtis Jenner, raised three daughters between New York and Ridgefield. One of their daughters, Anna, would marry Sterling Foote, a New York City cotton broker. The Foote’s would inherit Overlook and spend their summers here until their death. The Queen Anne/Shingle style mansion showcases the shift of Ridgefield from sleepy farming town to summer destination for wealthy New York residents, a trend which continues to this day.

“Good Cheer Estate” // c.1820

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Originally built as a Federal period farmhouse, this gorgeous estate is the epitome of what happened to Ridgefield… city money! By the end of the 19th century, wealthy New Yorkers were flocking to small towns every summer for clean air, rest, and relaxation. Ridgefield, Connecticut became an obvious option for its close proximity to New York and bucolic setting of farmlands bounded by old stone and rolling hills. As a result, wealthy summer residents purchased older estates and either demolished or renovated the homes there. Aaron Lockwood Northrop was raised in Ridgefield and was educated in its private schools before moving to New York as a young man, being awarded an apprenticeship as a dentist. Dr. Northrop went on to establish a prominent dental practice and would serve as President of the American Dental Association. As a wealthy adult, he acquired a circa 1820 house on this lot and renovated it, doubling its size and giving the residence its current Victorian flair. The summer house was affectionately named “Good Cheer”. Aaron died unexpectedly in 1908 while overseas in Paris, France. His widow, Caroline, resided at Good Cheer until her own death in 1927.