Historic Homes

Silas Peavy House // 1905

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Silas Peavy (1858-1939) was born in Waterville, Maine, and with his brothers, Gustavus and Leopold, worked at his father’s clothing and merchandise store. The family moved to the Boston area and established J. Peavy and Brothers, continuing the family business in Boston with locations in New York. In 1904, Silas Peavy purchased a house lot on Kent Street and hired the architectural firm of Hartwell & Richardson to design a house there for his family. Peavy likely moved to this neighborhood as it became a Jewish enclave around the turn of the 20th century. The Silas Peavy House is an excellent example of the Neo-Classical style with symmetrical facade, porte cochere on the side, and monumental elliptical portico supported by two-story Ionic columns.

James W. Clapp House // c.1869

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In 1868, James Wilkinson Clapp (1847-1931) married Eliza Tuckerman and they soon after moved into this large Victorian-era house on St. Paul Street in Brookline. James was the second son of Otis Clapp, a politician, publisher, and promoter of homeopathy. Otis Clapp operated a large homeopathic pharmacy, Otis Clapp & Son, which continued as a business after his death, evolving to encompass different areas of medical technology. It was one of the oldest-operating pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United States by the time it was acquired by Medique in 2008. James Clapp was also a medical doctor and at the young age of 22, acquired a house lot here on St. Paul Street and had this large Second Empire style residence built for his family. Dr. James W. Clapp worked as a pharmacist and taught courses at the Boston University School of Medicine. He spent summers at his gentleman’s farm in Bolton, Massachusetts, until his death in 1931. The Clapp House was later used as a doctor’s residence and office and a nursing home, suffering from neglect, but was ultimately restored in the early 21st century.

Stoneholm Manor // 1865

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Stoneholm Manor is a historic estate tucked away in Sharon, Massachusetts, that remains one of the finest examples of a Second Empire style mansion and carriage house built of stone in New England. Stoneholm was built in 1865 for Horace Augustus Lothrop (1828-1898) within a year of his marriage to second wife, Sarah Gorham Swain. Horace A. Lothrop was a manufacturer and businessman with factories in Sharon and nearby towns and he invented innovative tools like hoes and wooden shanks for foot support in shoes and boots. He was also engaged in politics, serving in the state legislature and on the local school board. His country estate in Sharon is unique for its construction of locally quarried rock-face granite walls, fine mansard roof with cupola, and matching L-shaped carriage house, all in great condition. Stoneholm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains a private residence.

Aaron Fisher House // 1805

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The Aaron Fisher House on North Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, has stood over 220 years as the town’s finest example of Federal style residential architecture. The residence was built for Aaron Fisher (1762-1809) who is said to have had the house built of brick that was brought over to the United States from England as ballast on a ship and later made its way to Sharon for use as walls of this stately house. While the brick is slight different color than many other local bricks, this may be another example of an urban legend. In the mid-19th century, the house was modernized with an entry porch and brackets at the cornice, and is said to have been painted yellow. Luckily for us, the porch and paint have since been removed and the 1805 house shines once again on the town’s Main Street.

Mann’s Cotton Mill Double House // 1831

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Located on the aptly named Mann’s Hill Road in Sharon, Massachusetts, this historic double-house was built in 1831 as worker’s housing affiliated with the former Mann’s Cotton Mill. The first Mann’s Cotton Mill was constructed in 1831 by George Harvey Mann on Devil’s Brook on the East Branch of the Neponset River. George Harvey Mann (1793-1847) bought the water privileges from Joseph Warren Revere, the son of Paul Revere, and built a factory. The business carried on until a fire in 1840 destroyed the factory and it was rebuilt by George and his son, George Rodney Mann. As part of the original mill complex in 1831, a series of double-houses were built nearby for workers at the mill, making them always available for long days at work. The Mann’s Mill closed in 1900, and it was destroyed by fire in 1919. The double-houses like the one seen here, were sold by the heirs of the family at the turn of the 20th century and feature a stone base and wood frame second floor. 

Timothy Quinn House // 1892

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The Timothy Quinn House on South Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, is an extravagant example of the Queen Anne style that maintains its flourish and ornate details. The residence was built in 1892 for Timothy Francis Quinn (1863-1934), a first-generation Irish resident who owned and managed a shipping business with his brother, John. Timothy Quinn was active in local affairs and with the local Catholic church and historical society. After his death in 1934, the property was inherited by his wife, Elizabeth, and later by their daughter, Esther. Architecturally, the Quinn House has an irregular plan and features varied siding, brackets, a tower capped by a conical roof, and elaborate porch, all painted to highlight the many unique details. 

Hotchkiss-Shoninger House // 1854

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The Hotchkiss-Shoninger House on Chapel Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square district is one of three residences in a row developed and designed by the duo of architect, Henry Austin, and lumber dealer/developer, Nelson Hotchkiss. The finest of the three residences, this house, was built in 1854 and features a double bow-front facade, brick walls covered in stucco, and ornate two-story central porch with brackets and colonettes. Nelson Hotchkiss moved into this home from his first Austin-designed house and resided here for a number of years before moving back to the first home again. The second owner Frederick Betts, was an insurance commissioner, and in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the home was owned by Bernard Shoninger, a German-born, Jewish organ maker.

Nelson Hotchkiss House // 1850

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Nelson Hotchkiss was a New Haven lumber dealer and developer in the Wooster Square district and had this stately home on Chapel Street built for his family. While the architect is not confirmed, it is probable that the residence (along with neighboring homes also developed by Hotchkiss) was the work of Henry Austin, who partnered with Hotchkiss on developments in New Haven and Trenton, New Jersey. The Nelson Hotchkiss House was built in 1850 and is an excellent example of Italianate style with boxy form, broad overhanging eaves, brick walls covered with stucco and Austin’s signature Greek Doric columns with fluted shafts and foliate capitals. The house maintains a window hood over the upper floor window with delicate carved wood bargeboard.

Max Adler House // 1879

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The Max Adler House on Greene Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood is a flamboyant example of Victorian-era residential architecture that is hard to classify as an architectural style. The residence was constructed in 1879 for Max Adler (1841-1916) a German-born Jewish immigrant who grew up in New Haven and became a leader in industry at a young age. Max founded the Strouse & Adler Corset Company, which is said to be the first corset factory in the United States. The company did very well and he was able to erect this residence overlooking Wooster Square park for his family. Architecturally, the house has a mansard style roof, a feature of the Second Empire style; applied stickwork in the wooden bays, porch and dormers, a feature of the Stick style; and embroidered panel brickwork and terra cotta, elements of the emerging Queen Anne style. The Adler House has been lovingly preserved and is one of New Haven’s finest Victorian-era residences.

Elliott-Russo House // c.1835

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Located at the corner of Wooster Place and Chapel Street in the iconic Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, this early Greek Revival style house is a physical landmark showcasing the evolution of the neighborhood in the 19th and 20th centuries. The residence was built around 1835 either for or purchased early on by Matthew Griswold Elliott (1805-1892), a businessman who later engaged in politics and became Vice President of the New Haven Savings Bank and a director of the New York and Hartford Railroad. In 1890, the property was purchased by Paulo “Paul” Russo, an Italian immigrant who was born in 1859, in Viggiano, Italy. His family moved to New York in 1869 and then New Haven in 1872. Paulo opened a small market in New Haven which became the first Italian-owned business in the state of Connecticut. In 1893, Russo became the first Italian to graduate from Yale Law School and he helped foster and grow the local Italian-American community around Wooster Square. After Paul Russo, Michael D’Onofrio, also of Italian descent, purchased the home and along with his wife, brothers, and friends, D’Onofrio transformed the building into a funeral home for over a decade before the house was converted to condominiums. The Elliott-Russo House is a landmark example of a hipped-roof, Greek Revival style residence with smooth flushboard siding, pilasters dividing the bays, and unique Greek meander motifs in the window lintels.