Historic Home

Alexander King House // 1764

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located on Suffield’s idyllic Main Street, the Alexander King House stands as a well-preserved example of a Georgian home in Connecticut. 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 is owned and maintained today by the Suffield Historical Society, who operate the home as a house museum with exhibits on the town’s rich history.

Phelps-Hatheway House // c.1762

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Set back from tree-lined Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, the Phelps-Hatheway House stands as one of the largest, and best-preserved Colonial era homes in New England. The center-chimney residence was built by 1762 by Thomas “Shem” Burbank, where he and his wife, Anna Fitch Burbank, raised nine children. Due to the unstable national economy during and after the American Revolution, the family’s financial situation suffered and they would sell the residence in 1788 to Oliver Phelps. at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Phelps joined the Continental Army and fought in the Battle of Lexington. He served as Deputy Commissary under George Washington and following the War, he became a prominent businessman and was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1785 and served on the Governor’s council in 1786 (Suffield was still a part of Massachusetts at this point). In 1794, Phelps commissioned the addition of a substantial wing designed by Thomas Hayden of Windsor. Under the employ of Hayden, a young Asher Benjamin, later to become one of the most important architects of the Federal period, was one of the workers on the new wing and is believed to have carved the Ionic capitals of the wing’s entryway. Inside, the addition was decorated with imported Parisian wallpaper. When Phelps died, the house was owned by the Hatheway family for a century and is currently open as a house museum, the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden, administered by Connecticut Landmarks.

Gay Mansion // 1795

Buildings of New England1 Comment

In 1795, Ebenezer King Jr. (1762-1824) bought 26 acres of land on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, to build this stately manse. He at the time was at the height of his prosperity and lived lavishly from his new mansion until he sold his property in 1811. King’s estate was purchased by William Gay (1767-1844), a prominent lawyer and the son of Ebenezer Gay, who had been the longtime pastor of the Congregational church and lived nearby. Aside from his law practice, William Gay was also the postmaster of the town for 35 years, and for much of that time the post office was located here in his living room. The home remained in the Gay Family for generations until it was eventually purchased by Suffield Academy for use as the headmaster’s home. The symmetrical Federal style residence features a five-by-five-bay square form with center entrance. The facade is dominated by an elaborate Federal style entry with fanlight transom and Palladian stairhall window on the second floor, which is mimicked with a smaller version in the gabled peak at the roof.

Williston Saddle Shop // 1776

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Before the invention of the automobile, horseback was the most effective way to get around. In nearly every town in New England, a saddler would make harnesses, straps, and saddles from leather in small, vernacular shops like this structure in Suffield, Connecticut. The Williston Saddle Shop is said to have been built in 1776 by Consider Williston (1739-1794), who served as a Lieutenant in the American Revolution, and is sited on the town’s iconic Main Street, which is lined by stately homes, churches, and institutional buildings of all eras. The vernacular Williston Saddle Shop retains its unique character, even since it was converted to a private residence.

Charles Loomis House // 1862

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located on Suffield’s iconic Main Street, this enchanting 19th century residence stands as a testament to the impact and role the tobacco industry had on the community historically. The residence seen here was built for Charles Loomis of the Loomis Family, who made their fortune in the tobacco farming and rolling industry in Suffield, Connecticut. Charles F. Loomis used his tobacco money to have this asymmetrical Italianate Villa constructed in 1862. The home features a prominent three-story tower capped with iron cresting, broad overhanging eaves with brackets and some stickwork, and a gorgeous door with arched transom and sidelights.

Dr. Asaph Bissell House // c.1835

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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 (1791-1850) became one of Yale’s earliest medical graduates and built this stately Greek Revival style home on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, where he practiced medicine. Dr. Bissell often made house calls from his home right on Main Street until his death in 1850, after which, it was inherited by his eldest son, Charles Bissell. The house is Greek Revival in style with its entrance on the side elevation sheltered by a Classical porch, all facing southwards. The street-facing facade is four bays with large corner pilasters, a massive entablature, and pedimented gable-end with fanlight set within it.

Charles Shepard House // 1824

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The Charles Shepard House on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, is a stately and well-proportioned Federal period residence that contributes to the iconic streetscape of historic homes that have been lovingly preserved by centuries of ownership. The residence was built in 1824 for newlyweds Charles Shepard (1792-1867) and Cordelia King of the wealthy local King Family of Suffield. Charles was a local attorney who practiced in town for a few years until he moved to Hartford following the death of Cordelia in 1825, soon after this house was completed. The large residence was later owned by William Henry Fuller a local businessman and politician. The house features larger first-floor double-hung windows, fan motifs in the flushboarded gable ends, dentilled cornice, and early 20th century rear addition and entry portico on the facade.

Rowe House // 1767

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the older homes on Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, the Moses Rowe House was built in 1767 was later “modernized” to its present appearance. The house was constructed as a two-story Georgian home with minimal detailing, as the family home of Moses Rowe (1733-1799), his wife, and nine children. According to historical maps of the area, the home appears to have been purchased by Horace Sheldon, who in the 1830s, modified the home in the Greek Revival style, increasing the height of the home, adding side porches and the entablature at the roofline.

Nash-Wood House // 1858

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The finest Gothic Revival style residence in Milford, Massachusetts, can be found tucked away on Claflin Street, and it features the iconic hallmarks of the style. With its steeply pitched roof, blind lancet windows, drip moulds at the windows, and intricate barge boards with hanging pendants, the Nash-Wood House does not disappoint! The residence was built in 1858 and owned at different times by men who worked in the local shoe and boot manufacturing companies in Milford; William Nash and Peleg E. Wood. The property, with its playful paint colors, has been lovingly preserved my subsequent owners.

Benjamin D. Godfrey House and Stable // 1854

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Benjamin Davenport Godfrey (1813-1888) was a wealthy boot and shoe manufacturer and inventor who built this stately mansion and detached stable in Milford, Massachusetts. The residence was built in 1854 in the Italianate style and was once one of the largest properties in the community, a true show of his success and wealth. Benjamin Godfrey would eventually retire and move to Newton, selling the property to Frank Harvey, a medical doctor, who resided here and operated a private hospital next door. The property would sell again in 1944 and has operated as a funeral home ever-since. The stately residence and stable echo similar architectural similarities, including the boxy forms, hipped roof, flushboard siding, and bracketed cornice and windows.

Chapin – Reed Octagon House // 1854

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the rare examples of an intact Octagon house in New England, the Joel Chapin House in Milford, Massachusetts, is the only of its kind in the town. The octagonal brick residence was built for Joel Chapin (1822-1864), a produce and meat dealer in town, who resided here until his death. By the end of the 19th century, the house was owned by Anna Jourdain, who married James E. Reed, an early African-American photographer based in New Bedford They resided in the octagon house and their family members owned the property for nearly 100 years.

Luther P. Jones House // c.1868

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

While the town of Milford, Massachusetts is arguably best known for its commercial and institutional architecture, there are some excellent examples of preserved homes of nearly every style and vintage. The Luther P. Jones House on Pearl Street is an interesting example of the Italianate style with unique low-sloped gable roof and typical bracketed cornice, side piazza, and bay window on its facade. While the former arched window has been enclosed and the porch columns have been replaced, the house still maintains its architectural significance as an excellent example of its style. The property was owned by Lydia and Luther P. Jones, a provisions dealer, until their deaths in the early 20th century. 

Jones-Corbett Farmhouse // 1723

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Possibly the oldest extant building in the town of Milford, Massachusetts, the Jones-Corbett Farmhouse stands as a well-preserved example of a rural, First Period residence for early settlers to the area. The Jones Family first arrived in present-day Milford in 1703, when Elder John Jones (1669-1753) settled in the area from Hull, and raised his family in the first wood-frame dwelling in the area, which was still occupied by the Nipmuc Tribe. Elder John Jones raised six children from their home (demolished in 1874), including John Jones Jr., who built this house. John Jones built this house by 1723 but after a few years, traded properties with his brother-in-law, Daniel Corbett, and sister, Sarah. The house was likely added onto with the saltbox roof as the family grew in size and prosperity, and a barn was built on the estate to house horses and other livestock. When Daniel Corbett died in 1753, among his listed property included “a negro boy, his bed and hoe”, with his enslaved young man likely residing in this home and working the property. The residence is an important piece of Milford history that tells the full story of early America.

Converse-Brown Townhouse // 1912

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the most amazing townhouses in Beacon Hill can be found here on Lime Street, where an oversized mansard roof addition with multi-light dormer, dominates the facade. The townhouse was built in 1912 from plans by architect Richard Arnold Fisher, who lived a few houses away, replacing a livery stable formerly on the lot. The site was developed on speculation by the Brimmer Street Trust, a real estate firm run by Gerald G. E. Street and William Coombs Codman, who sought to develop the area into high-end residences and art studios, protecting the area from unsympathetic developments. A few years after the house was built, it was owned by Frederick Shepherd Converse, a composer who also taught at the New England Conservatory of Music. By 1927, the house was owned by a young Waldo Hayward Brown, who at 32-years-old, occupied the house with his wife, Frances, three young children and four servants. The year he purchased the property, he hired the original architect, Richard Arnold Fisher, to add a In 1927 Brown filed a permit application to build a tall new room over an existing roof terrace at the front of the house, where the architect designed it as a mansard addition, which is of a large scale and broken up by the massive studio window. The blending of Tudor Revival and the later mansard roof surprisingly work here to create the unique composition we see today.

Noyes Studio – Lee Residence // c.1860 & 1939

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This handsome building at 81 Chestnut Street in Boston, began as a two-story brick stable and was later modernized with an additional floor and renovated for use as an artist’s studio, a perfect encapsulation of the history of the Flat of Beacon Hill from the “horsey end of town” to upper-class enclave and artist community. The stable was built around 1860 for Harleston Parker (1823-1888), the father of the more well-known, architect, J. Harleston Parker, and remained as a stable throughout the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the two-story building was converted to a auto repair shop but changed use in 1916 when owner, Edward H. Noyes hired architect, Harry Browning Russell, to convert the old stable to an artist studio. The second-story windows were enlarged and former carriage door were enclosed with small rounded art glass, likely for and by George Loftus Noyes, a painter who worked for a time at the New England Glass Company. Inside, a central landscaped courtyard flooded the spaces with natural light. In 1936, George Noyes moved to Vermont, divorcing his wife, Maybelle, but leaving her with the Boston studio. Maybelle remarried to George Lee, and soon-after hired architect, Frank Chouteau Brown, to add a third-story to the studio for conversion to a year-round residence. Brown added the unique Moorish arched windows and brickwork at the third floor.