New Kent Memorial Library // 1972

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Between 1900 and 1970, the town of Suffield doubled its population, and the 1899 public library was outgrown. The city gathered funds to construct a new library, knowing that the endowment for the day-to-day operations of the library by Sidney Kent, in memory of his parents, would transfer to a new building as long as the name carried with it. The town hired Warren Platner, an architect, interior designer and furniture designer, based out of New Haven. Platner designed the Modern library with a concrete frame, faced with pink stone and white painted brick above, surrounds a central garden court. The flat coffered concrete roof and overhanging concrete project outwards over the terraced exterior courtyards. The interior is on five floor levels connected by gradual ramps with no stairs inside (at least at the time of construction). The town proposed a plan to demolish the library in 2008, replacing it with a larger library, but it was voted down by residents, saving (what is believed to be) the only free-standing Platner building remaining in the country.

Gay Mansion // 1795

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In 1795, Ebenezer King bought 26 acres of land on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut for the development of his own house. He at the time was in the height of his prosperity and was estimated of having a net worth of $100,000. He eventually sold his property in 1811 to William Gay, who was a leading lawyer in Hartford County, and the postmaster of Suffield, actually running the town’s post office out of this home for over 30 years. The home is currently owned by Suffield Academy as the headmaster’s home. It is an excellent example of Federal style architecture and features two Palladian windows!

Alexander King House // 1764

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Located on the idyllic Main Street of Suffield, Connecticut, the Alexander King House stands as a well-preserved example of a high-style Georgian home. Alexander King (1737-1802) is a prominent figure in Suffield’s history. He was a graduate of Yale, and later practiced medicine in town, as well as serving as Selectman and Town Clerk for almost thirty years. He was also a Justice of the Peace, Representative to the Assembly, participant in agitation against British colonialism, and delegate to the Connecticut Ratifying Convention of 1788, when the state ratified the U.S Constitution. The home eventually was acquired by the Suffield Historical Society, who operate the home as a house museum and holds exhibits on the town’s rich history.

Old Kent Memorial Library // 1899

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In 1897, Sidney A. Kent, a Suffield native, graduate of Suffield Academy and successful Chicago businessman sought to build a $35,000 library as a memorial to his parents in his home town. Land was purchased from the academy, demolishing a significant academic building, and the new Kent Memorial Library erected. Kent hired architectural giant Daniel Burnham (architect of the famous Flatiron Building in Manhattan) who also designed Kent’s home in Chicago. It sat on the site of land purchased by the first Kent ancestor in Suffield. Sidney Kent furnished nearly 7000 books and periodicals and left an endowment of $25,000. The building was dedicated on November l, 1899. It was eventually outgrown and a new building was constructed across the street.

John W. Loomis House // 1740

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This stunning home on Main Street in Suffield, CT was apparently built in 1740. By the 1840s, it was purchased by John Wells Loomis, and altered to fit the then-fashionable Greek Revival style, replacing the center chimney with two chimneys, adding pilasters and a Greek Revival entry. John Loomis was the head of the Loomis family which made a fortune in the tobacco industry in Suffield, rolling and shipping products as far away as California. Before his death, John Loomis built his son George a house nearby, knowing that his son would carry on the business, which he did until a couple years after his father’s death when he sold the business and moved to New Haven.

Bryon Loomis House // c.1850

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This Italianate mansion was built around 1850 for Byron Loomis (1831-1896) possibly as a gift from his father Neland. Neland Loomis was the brother of John Loomis, and was part of the wealthy tobacco farming family who later packaged, rolled, and shipped tobacco from Suffield all over the country. The home is a large Italianate mansion is in the symmetrical form and covered with flush board siding. The low sloped roof with broad overhanging eaves is topped with a large belvedere. The home is somewhat difficult to photograph due to large bushes in front.

Thaddeus Leavitt Jr. House // 1800

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One of the (many) grand homes on Main Street in Suffield is this Federal style home built in 1800 for a 21-year-old Thaddeus Leavitt. Like his father, Thaddeus was a merchant with a store in Suffield, and was known by the title Colonel, meaning he probably served in the local militia after the Revolutionary War. Immediately after the home was completed, Thaddeus got married and moved into the home with his new wife, Jemima Loomis. They lived happily in their mansion until Thaddeus’ death in 1828 and his wife’s death in 1846. The home was altered in the 1850s with Italianate features including a belvedere and bay windows, which lasted into the 20th century. The home was recently restored back close to original conditions with the removal of the belvedere at the roof.

Dr. Asaph Bissell House // c.1835

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Dr. Asaph Bissell was born into the wealthy Bissell family which started here when John Bissell, the progenitor of the family in America, came from Somerset, England, and landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1628. He became one of the settlers of Windsor, CT. His descendant, Asaph Bissell became one of Yale’s earliest medical graduates. Dr. Bissell, a member of the school’s second class, practiced in Suffield, often making house calls from his home right on Main Street. The house is Greek Revival in style with a stunning fan light in the pediment, echoing the Federal style.

Williston Saddle Shop // 1776

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Before the invention of the automobile, horses cluttered American streets. Every town would have a saddle shop with a skilled leatherworker who would manufacture saddles, bags, stirrups and other equestrian gear. In Suffield, Connecticut, a man named Consider Williston had a shop built to make and sell saddles. According to the sign on the building, it was built in 1776, which is odd as Consider Williston fought in the Revolutionary War at that same time. The building was eventually converted to a private home and was listed for sale, with images showing the stunning Colonial era wood beams and floors.

First Church of Christ, Suffield // 1869

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Located adjacent to the Town Common, the First Church of Christ in Suffield showcases the grandiose architecture seen in many churches after the Civil War in New England. This brick edifice is the fifth in the history of the church which dates back to around 1680. The church was designed by local architect John C. Mead, who designed many churches in the region. The church is a blending of Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles and originally featured a tall spire and secondary tower. In 1938, the New England Hurricane destroyed the tall spire (a similar event occurred to many New England Churches, including Old North in Boston). Even without the steeple, the church remains as a great architectural treasure in town.