connecticut history

Southbury Training School // 1940

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The Southbury Training School occupies about 1,500 acres of land in Southbury, Connecticut comprised of two major sections: a self-sustaining 400-acre institutional campus and its contiguous 1,100-acre farm complex. Planning for the Southbury Training School began in 1935 at the height of the Great Depression. The State needed to provide housing and services for 1,200 residents on the waiting list for the Mansfield Training School, the state’s only facility for the mentally handicapped at that time. Site planning and development were the responsibility of architect Edwin A. Salmon, later Chairman of the NYC Planning Commission, along with A. F. Brinckerhoff, who was hired as the landscape architect. Two buildings of the nearly 100 that comprise the campus stood out to me the most, they are the Roselle School and the Administration Building. Both structures were built in 1940 and are hallmark examples of inter-war Colonial Revival style buildings for institutional use. Both structures have large cupolas at the roof and symmetrical facades with applied wood ornament over the brick. The Roselle School has a recessed entry and the Administration Building is notable for its hipped roof and pilastered façade. In recent decades, the State of Connecticut has been under-funding the complex, leading to lawsuits and concerns statewide. The state has been moving residents and patients to other facilities, likely in order to sell-off or redevelop the campus in the future. This is one to watch out for!

St. Sergius Chapel // 1932

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Formerly known as “Churaevka,” the community known today as Russian Village in Southbury, Connecticut, was established in 1925 as an artistic community for Russians who fled to America after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The village was created by two Russian writers, Count Ilya Tolstoy, the son of Leo Tolstoy (the author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina), and the famous Siberian novelist George Grebenstchikoff. Although Tolstoy was first to discover the area while visiting his translator in Southbury, it was Grebenstchikoff who dreamed of establishing a cultural center and planned to create a rural community of cottages where Russian writers, artists, musicians and scientists could live and flourish statestide. The village was named after a mythical Siberian village mentioned in the works of Grebenstchikoff and the centerpiece is this chapel, St. Sergius Chapel, which was built in 1932-33 from plans by Nicholas Roerich. The small square-plan chapel was likely built of stone gathered from the neighborhood.

Benjamin Stiles House // 1787

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Built for Revolutionary War veteran and local lawyer Benjamin Stiles, this stunning Georgian mansion is unique for its use of brick in construction, a material not too common for some of Southbury’s earliest homes. Local tradition holds that a French engineer in General Rochambeau’s army provided assistance in designing the building, using the metric system, likely on the march from Newport to Yorktown. Benjamin’s father was one of the original settlers who migrated from present-day Stratford to the un-developed Southbury. The hip-on-hip roof with pedimented dormers is really a stunner, and unique for the town!

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.

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.

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.

Benjamin Osborn House // c.1808

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This charming cottage shows that you do not need a stately or elaborate house to have some serious curb appeal and house envy. This is the Benjamin Osborn House, located in Southbury Connecticut. The house was built in the early 20th century for newlyweds Benjamin B. Osborn and Sarah Stiles, who married in 1808. As a gift to the couple, Sarah’s father Ephraim Stiles, who lived in a house across the street, seemingly deeded a portion of his property for his daughter and son-in-law to build their family. Tragically, Sarah died one year later, possibly during childbirth. Benjamin would marry another of Ephraim’s daughters soon after… messy. The home is a four-bay Cape, with its off-center entrance sheltered by a Colonial Revival hip-roofed portico supported by Tuscan columns.

Reuben Curtiss House // c.1840

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The Reuben Curtiss House is a classic example of a Greek Revival farmhouse from the mid-19th century, located in Southbury, Connecticut. Local history states that a house built here by Israel Curtiss (1716-1795) who farmed the land with his large family. In 1798, Israel’s large estate was distributed among three of his sons, Joseph, Benjamin, and Reuben. This was complicated by the fact that in the same year, both Joseph and Benjamin died, leaving the entire estate to Reuben. From about 1840 and possibly until he sold the property in 1866, Reuben B. Curtiss ran an academy here, known as “Buck Hill Seminary for Boys.” It was a large operation, as suggested by the size of the addition and confirmed by the 1850 federal census. At that time there were 23 students in residence, ranging in age from 8 to 12, along with four adult supervisors. It was likely that the former farmhouse was expanded and the present 1840s Greek Revival block was added which now is the main facade.