Historic Homes Connecticut

David Nevins House // c.1746

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This house across from the Town Green in Canterbury, Connecticut, is believed to have been built by David Nevins, Sr. (1729-1758), a merchant who settled in Canterbury from Nova Scotia, Canada. Nevins tragically died in 1758 when overseeing the reconstruction of a bridge spanning the nearby Quinebaug River. It is said that while standing on a cross-beam, giving directions to the workmen, David Nevins lost his balance and fell into the river and was swept away and drowned. The property remained in the Nevins Family until 1842, upon which, it served as a parsonage for the Congregational Church, just across the street. The clapboard exterior, small-pane sash, center-chimney plan, and five-bay facade of this house give it architectural significance as a representative example of 18th-century Connecticut architecture. The stately Georgian doorway with swan’s neck pediment was installed by a local house restorer based upon physical evidence uncovered during the house’s restoration (and removal of Victorian-era porch) and while may be conjectural, it enhances the already beautiful old home.

John Carter House // c.1765

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One of the many stunning and well-preserved Colonial homes in Canterbury, Connecticut is this residence, the John Carter House on S. Canterbury Road. Records show that the house was built around 1765 for John Carter and his wife, Mary Smith. This house is a good example of the domestic architecture of 18th-century Connecticut and while there have been some changes over time, it continues to exhibit all the major hallmarks of the colonial type, such as a center-chimney plan, clapboard exterior, and five-bay facade. The house originally had a saltbox roof sloping to the rear, but was removed sometime in the 19th or 20th centuries, likely when the projecting Colonial Revival-era porch was added at the entrance. What a spectacular home!

William Moore House // 1803-2019

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Formerly located at the intersection of two historic turnpikes in Canterbury, Connecticut, the William Moore House was a historic and architecturally significant residence that stood over 200 years until its demolition in 2019. The large, Federal style house was built in 1803 for William Moore, a merchant who operated a store and also served as the town postmaster. The upper floor of this house at one time accommodated a ballroom where the local Masonic organization met. Later in the 19th century, the house became the home of prominent merchant, banker, and politician Marvin H. Sanger, Connecticut Secretary of State from 1873 to 1876. In 1921, it was the home of Lillian Frink when she became one of the first women ever elected to the Connecticut General Assembly, along with four other women elected that same year. The house with its projecting center pedimented bay, elaborate corner pilasters on pedestals, and elegant Palladian window represented the height of country Federal-period architecture until destroyed by a fire in 2018, leading the town to raze the building a year later in 2019. The lot remains vacant as of 2025.

Samuel Pellett House // c.1752

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The Samuel Pellett House in Canterbury, Connecticut, dates to the mid-18th century and is an excellent example of a Colonial-era home in this part of the state. Research in the land records suggests that this house may date from the time of Samuel Pellett’s second marriage in 1752 to Hannah Underwood. The couple planted two sycamore trees in front of the house to signify husband and wife but one was lost in the 1938 hurricane while the other survives to this day. According to historians, Sarah Harris Fayerweather, the first Black student at Prudence Crandall’s school nearby, worked as a servant in this house, then owned by Jedediah Shepard. The Pellett House is an excellent example of a Colonial Georgian home in Connecticut, with clapboard siding, center chimney, five-bay facade and small pane sash windows. 

Turnpike House // c.1810

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This house in Canterbury, Connecticut, is known as the Turnpike House and dates to the early 19th century. A great example of a Federal style residence, the symmetrical, five-bay home exhibits pair chimneys, multi-light double-hung windows, and an elaborate center entry with sidelights and fanlight transom. The house was built along the Windham Turnpike (now Connecticut Route 14), which was an early toll road established in 1795. Behind the main block of the house is a squat gambrel-roofed ell, that is believed to be made from an older house that previously stood on this site, perhaps dating as early as 1745. According to tradition, this early house, which was also at one time supposedly used as a jail, was the home of Rev. Dr. James Coggswell when he ran a school for boys in Canterbury. One of his pupils at that school was Benedict Arnold, the infamous turncoat.

Huntington Homestead // c.1715

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The Huntington Homestead in Scotland, Connecticut, was the birthplace and boyhood home of Samuel Huntington (1731–1796), a Founding Father, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a distinguished statesman during the Revolutionary War and early Republic. The remarkably well-preserved site includes an eighteenth century house on its original foundation surrounded by acres of farmland and is now protected as a museum. The house was built sometime between the transfer of land in 1715 from Deacon Joseph Huntington to his son Nathaniel, and Nathaniel’s marriage in 1723 to Mehetabel Thurston. As originally constructed, the house consisted of a two-story structure with an end chimney on the west end and one large room on each floor. By the time of Nathanielís death in 1767, the house had been doubled in size with the addition of two rooms west of the chimney, giving the house its current five-bay form. The Georgian style Colonial-era home features a symmetrical facade, twelve-over-twelve windows, and a saltbox roof and is one of the finest Colonial-era homes in this part of the state.

Barnes-Kellogg House // 1809

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The main village in Cornwall, Connecticut, looks like a postcard. Mature trees and beautiful, historic homes line the bucolic streets with sweeping views of the Litchfield Hills in the distance; it is what many envision when they think of “New England charm”. This stately Federal style mansion is sited deep on its lot beyond a field and dates to the first decades of the 19th century, it is the village’s grandest early home. The house was built for Amos Barnes, but supposedly remained unfinished when he died suddenly. Barnes’ widow sold the property to the local Foreign Mission School as a dormitory for students. The school’s (in my opinion, problematic) mission was to educate students of non-Christian cultures, including Native Americans, East Asian, and Hawaiian pupils, for them to become missionaries, preachers, translators, teachers, and health workers in their native communities in the Christian faith. These types of programs furthered the erasure of other cultures and promoted Christianity in all corners of the world, but I digress. In 1826, this home was acquired by Frederick Kellogg, the long-time town clerk and Judge of Probate, who owned the property
until his death in 1891.

Hidden Valley Castle // 1921

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Photo from listing.

A castle can be found in the small town of Cornwall, Connecticut! Set amongst 275 acres of woodland and streams, with several outbuildings on the property, this whimsical castle looks like it was dropped here from Cornwall, England, but it actually dates to the 1920s. Hidden Valley Castle, had its beginnings when socialite Charlotte Bronson Hunnewell Martin envisioned building a unique country retreat for herself and her husband, Dr. Walton Martin, in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut as a summer retreat. Just before this, Charlotte had bought a group of 20 brownstones in Manhattan on 48th and 49th Streets, between Second and Third Avenues, and converted them into charming townhouses around a central Italian-inspired garden. Called Turtle Bay Gardens, the houses were highly acclaimed and almost immediately attracted prominent and celebrated residents. The Cornwall Castle was designed by architect, Edward Clarence Dean, who also redesigned the Turtle Bay Gardens for the couple. Dr. Martin imported many of the materials as well as the 100 workmen required to build the castle, a project that lasted five years. Charlotte would also have a cottage built on the estate and hired young Italian artist, Vincenzo Rondinone, to be her resident artist on the estate to create unique vases, bowls, and pots to be used at the house and to be given as gifts to visitors and friends. The property was restored in recent years and put up for sale, with the cottage sold as a separate dwelling.

Foster-Beck House // c.1845

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This attractive Greek Revival style residence with later porch was likely built in the 1840s and is one of the finest homes in the village of West Cornwall, Connecticut. The house was likely built for Stephen Foster (c.1816-1863), a merchant and railroad contractor who had constructed a portion of the Housatonic Line railroad near West Cornwall, further opening the village up to trade. Stephen and his wife, Helen, lived here for some time until around 1860 when they relocated to a larger, Italianate style mansion nearby. In 1867, this property was purchased by George Beck, a German immigrant and partner of the Vollmiller Shear Shop, who manufactured metal shears and scissors in West Cornwall. It is likely that Beck was owner of the house at the time the wrap-around porch with scroll-sawn columns.

Birdsey Hall // c.1804

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Built circa 1804 in the form of an English country estate house, Birdsey Hall stands as the finest property in the town of Goshen, Connecticut. The residence was built for Birdsey Norton (1763-1812), a wealthy cheese merchant who was said to have been inspired to build a country estate after travelling the American south on business. The high-style Federal/Adamesque mansion features expansive grounds bounded by brick walls and Victorian gardens. The property was later owned by Fred Favorite and Robert Devoe, friends of Liberace, who operated an antique store. Birdsey Hall remains one of the finest Federal estates in Connecticut.