Connecticut House

Jonathan Warner House // 1798

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The Jonathan Warner House in Chester, Connecticut, is one of the finest Federal style houses in the state and has been meticulously preserved for over two centuries. The house was built in 1798 by Jonathan Warner (1756-1828), a wealthy farmer who invested in merchant shipping ventures and also operated the nearby Chester–Hadlyme ferry transporting people across the Connecticut River for a fee. When he built his house Jonathan Warner used local workmen and timber, importing glass and paint from New York, wallpaper from Hartford, and stone and hardware were brought from Connecticut and New York. The farmhouse remained in the Warner family until 1922 when it was purchased by Malcolm Brooks, who retained all of the receipts and correspondence on the house’s construction and maintenance. Architecturally, the house stands out for its proportions and detailing, specifically at the front door with fanlight and sidelights, which are framed by fluted pilasters, pediment and dentil molding. There is a Palladian-esque window above the entry which is framed by two free standing Ionic columns on brownstone pedestals. What is your favorite detail of this house?

Gilbert-Zanardi House // 1830

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This unique Greek Revival style house is located on North Main Street in Chester, Connecticut, and was built around 1830 for John Gilbert. Johnʼs sister (Abby Gilbert Daniels) lived in a Greek Revival house on Liberty Street that had been built a few years earlier and was said to have been designed by Ithiel Town, a renowned Connecticut architect who specialized in Greek Revival style designs. It is thought that Town may also be the architect of John Gilbert’s residence seen here. The temple-front facade of the residence sits on a raised basement with the side-hall entrance and full-height hung windows on the facade sheltered under a portico supported by four square Doric columns. In the early 20th century, the property was purchased by Antonio Zanardi, who immigrated to Chester from Italy and worked as a watchman in a local factory. Antonio and his wife, Claudina, had a large family and expanded the house with a side wing in the early 1900s, also adding greenhouses and growing grapes on the terraced rear yard.


Dunk Homestead // c.1672

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The oldest building in Chester, Connecticut, is believed to be this First Period residence on North Main Street, which was originally built sometime after 1672, when land here was deeded to Thomas Dunk (1648-1683). The property was inherited by various members of the Dunk family, including Deacon Jonathan Dunk (1711-1781), who added onto what was originally a one-room, gambrel-roofed house as their families and wealth grew. The old Dunk Homestead is one of the many great landmarks in Chester and has been lovingly preserved for over 350 years!

Charles Daniels House // c.1826

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The Charles Daniels House in Chester, Connecticut, is a sophisticated and excellently proportioned and designed example of a single-family residence in the Greek Revival style. Features like the Doric portico, flushboarding and frieze windows are components of a skillful design that has been credited to architect Ithiel Town, but this is unsubstantiated. The home was built around 1826 for Charles Daniels (1799-1838), a gimlet manufacturer, who had his factory nearby. Charles died in 1838, and the property was inherited by his second wife, Abby Gilbert, who also remarried and lived here with her new husband, Clark N. Smith, and they resided here until the early 1900s. Later, the residence was owned by the adjacent mill company, and used temporarily as a storage facility. The location adjacent to the deteriorating factory threatened the significant Daniels House, so in 1978, architect Thomas A. Norton had the house moved a short distance away onto the present site. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been preserved, inside and out, by later owners.

Ezra L’Hommedieu House // c.1835

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Ezra L’Hommedieu (1772-1860) settled in Chester, Connecticut, in 1812 with his brother Joshua, and built a factory on the south branch of the Pattaconk Brook, which cut through the small village. The brothers manufactured gimlets (not the cocktail), a small wood-boring hand tool used to drill precise pilot holes for screws or nails, preventing wood from splitting and making driving fasteners easier. Ezra invented and patented the single-twist ship auger in 1812, which helped propel Chester into a prominent ship-building community. From his success, Ezra had this residence built on North Main Street in about 1835, which, like his brother’s house on Maple Street, blends Federal and Greek Revival styles elegantly.

Buck-L’Hommedieu House // c.1755

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This beautiful Federal style side-hall house is located on Maple Street in Chester, Connecticut, and (at least a part of it) was built by 1755 by Isaac Buck, who deeded half of the property to his son, Justus, during his lifetime. In the early 1800s, the property was purchased by Joshua L’Hommedieu (1787-1880), a manufacturer, who had the property redeveloped or redesigned in the Federal style giving it the appearance we see today. The house has its gable end oriented to the street with an elliptical fan and dentil block detailing.

Leet-Ely House // c.1787

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One of the finest homes in Chester, Connecticut, can be found on Liberty Street, a short distance to the village green. The Federal style house dates to about 1787 and was built by Gideon Leet, a Revolutionary War veteran and joiner as his own residence. After Gideon’s death, the property was purchased by Dr. Richard Ely (1765-1816), who may have expanded the residence, and worked locally as a town doctor. The property remained in the Ely familyfor generations and minimal changes have occured to the exterior as a result of this. The modillon cornice, corner quoins, and fanlight transom sheltered under a columned portico add to the charm of this great house. 

James Baldwin House // c.1785

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James Baldwin (1742-1818) lived in present-day Chester, Connecticut, and upon the outbreak of the Revolution, joined the forces of Capt. Richard Douglass’ company as a private and fought for liberty. Upon the conclusion of the war, Baldwin returned to Chester and had this house built facing the village green. The transitional late-Georgian and Federal style house has a center chimney and very simple trim with an elliptical fanlight transom over the central door. The house has a wood shingle roof, typical of the early houses of the time. Pvt. Baldwin died in 1818 and his property was inherited by his daughter, Lydia Baldwin Sawyer and her husband, David Sawyer, and later in the 19th century by their eldest daughter, Lucina Morgan, and her husband, Jonathan. The home has been meticulously preserved by the later owners, important as one of the early surviving homes near the village green.

Captain John N. Saunders House // c.1835

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In around 1835, this stately Greek Revival style residence was built on Kirtland Street in the town of Deep River, Connecticut. With a symmetrical five-bay facade dominated by a classic Greek doorway with Doric pilasters supporting a broad entablature with smaller window above, the house is evocative of many residences built in New England in the 1830s and 40s by well-to-do merchants and industrialists. This house was seemingly built for Captain John Nelson Saunders (1815-1899) a year or so prior to his marriage to Ann Peters (1815-1904) in 1836. Captain Saunders was listed in the census as a ship master and sailor who likely utilized his property’s access to the Connecticut River just a short walk away. The Saunders House and its lovely stone retaining wall are preserved and tell the story of the town of Deep River’s maritime industry. 

Southworth House – Deep River Historical Society // 1842

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The Southworth House, also known as the Old Stone House, in Deep River, Connecticut, is a significant example of a stone, Greek Revival style house built for an important local family. The Southworth House was constructed in 1842 for Deacon Ezra Southworth (1803-1859) from stone harvested from one of the Southworth family’s quarries. Ezra was the son of local shipbuilder, Job Southworth who began building ships at the Deep River landing in the 1790s. Ezra Southworth branched off into manufacturing, becoming a partner and patent holder producing ink wells. His son, Ezra Job Birney Southworth (1844-1919), went into business with his father-in-law in shipping and served as a member of the State Legislature twice. In 1882, Ezra Jr. added the wooden ell onto the rear of the Stone House along with the wrap-around veranda and likely the rear barn as well. Ada Gilbert Southworth Munson was Ezra J. B. Southworth’s only child to live to adulthood and inherited the family home. She was a founding member of the Deep River Historical Society and bequeathed her family home to the Society in 1946, who have maintained the significant home here ever since. 

Captain Calvin Williams House // c.1820

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This Federal period stone house with a later Victorian-era porch, is located on Kirtland Street in Deep River, Connecticut, an area dominated by homes built for sea captains and ship builders in the 19th century. Calvin Williams (1785-1833) married Eunice Southworth of Deep River in 1809, and in 1820, built this stately home from granite from the Southworth family quarry. Captain Williams did not get to enjoy his home much as he was often out at sea commanding shipping vessels out of New York. Likely due to failing health, in 1832, Capt. Calvin Williams retired from the sea and returned to his home on Kirtland Street before he died in August of 1833. Federal style features of the house, like the elliptical fanlight and modillons in the gable and a fanlight over the main entry remain, while later alterations after his death include the spectacular enclosed porch from the late 19th or early 20th century. 

Randall House // 1927

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This handsome stone mansion in Derby, Connecticut, was built by industrialist Walter Randall (1868-1949) and his bride, Olive Vouletti Whitlock Randall (1870-1938), in 1927 on a tract of about 200 acres of farmland. Olive was a granddaughter of Isaac Merritt Singer, the inventor of the first practical sewing machine for home use, which made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. It is unclear as to who the architect was, but the stone residence was built in an English Tudor/Arts and Crafts style, possibly from stones taken from the 200-acre estate. The property was sold in 1950 to Harold and Ida Yudkin, who developed much of the land into a shopping center and housing development, but maintained this stone house and a smaller parcel surrounding it. That smaller parcel was purchased in the 2010s by a developer who restored the old house, and developed a small cul-de-sac of “green” homes on the aptly named, Singer Village Drive.

Dr. Albert Phillips House // c.1875

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Dr. Albert W. Phillips (1838-1929) was born in Marcellus, New York, the son of immigrant parents from England. He studied medicine in the Midwest and later opened a medical practice in Rockport, Illinois, but in response to President Lincoln’s first call for volunteers, he returned to New York and enlisted as a private in the Union cause. He served as assistant surgeon with the 149th N. Y. Volunteers, where he saw action in many battles, including at Gettysburg. After the war, Dr. Phillips moved to the rapidly developing industrial city of Derby, Connecticut, where he opened a family practice. By the 1870s, he built this Stick style residence on Caroline Street. While working as a doctor of great esteem, Dr. Phillips was elected as the fifth mayor of Derby in 1901 and in 1903, was elected as a state senator.His home on Caroline Street in Derby maintains its unique entry porch and trusswork in the gables.

Smith-Curtiss House // c.1714

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The Smith-Curtiss House, which is possibly the oldest extant building in Derby, Connecticut, has sat vacant and decaying for years and is owned by the State of Connecticut. Believed to have been built sometime between 1714 and 1740, this historic saltbox farmhouse at 411 Hawthorne Avenue is slowly decaying due to lack of maintenance and funding. Early ownership is difficult to determine, but by the 19th century, the property was owned by Ms. Alice E. Curtiss. The old estate was sold by Ms. Curtiss in 1913 to Frances Osborne Kellogg, a businesswoman, philanthropist and environmentalist, as part of her 350-acre dairy farm and land-conservation holdings. The Smith-Curtiss House was used as a residence for the herdsmen who ran the farm nearby. Before her death in 1956, Frances deeded the property to the state as a public park, and allowed her head herdsman life-occupancy of this house for the remainder of his life. The State of Connecticut assumed possession of this house in 1981. The building has suffered from deferred maintenance since this period, with the State attempting to lease the building to tenants. I hope that local and statewide preservation groups can mobilize to secure grants and funding to restore this important property.

James Adams Farmhouse // c.1785

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This handsome New England farmhouse is located in rural Canterbury, Connecticut, and showcases the type of farmhouses available to local wealthy residents in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The construction dates to about 1785, just after James Adams, a Lieutenant in the American Revolution, purchased land here. The property remained in the Adams Family until 1859. The structure rests on
a fieldstone foundation and is sheathed with clapboards. The Georgian farmhouse incorporates a five-bay facade with central entry with five-light transom and a large stone central chimney and jettied gable ends on the sides.