History Blog

Bronson Windmill // 1894

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Located in a more rural part of Fairfield, Connecticut, I drove past this massive tower just off the road. Intrigued, I doubled back to find out what it was, and learned it was once a windmill! The over eighty-foot tall shingled tower was constructed in 1894 as part of a large country estate. Frederic Bronson (1851-1900) was a prominent, gilded age lawyer in New York City. He accumulated massive wealth representing many elite families, eventually becoming a member of the “Four Hundred”, a list of the 400 most powerful (rich and connected) people of New York society. In the early 1890s, Bronson constructed a summer estate in Fairfield, CT, known as Verna Farm. A part of this estate the windmill which pumped water from a well 75 feet below ground into a 7,500-gallon wooden storage tank inside the tower. The estate eventually became the Fairfield Country Day School, and the windmill (no longer in use) was gifted to the town. Eventually, it was leased by Sprint, and the telecommunications firm restored the windmill and installed a cellphone tower in its interior.

Burr Mansion // 1794

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Originally built in 1775, the first iteration of the Burr Homestead, home of Thaddeus and Eunice Burr, which actually saw the marriage of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, to Dorothy Quincy. Thaddeus was the cousin of the famous Aaron Burr, Jr., who was the 3rd vice-president of the United States alongside Thomas Jefferson as President. Aaron Burr Jr. is best-known today through his portrayal in the popular play “Hamilton,” where he shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel. The house was rebuilt in 1794 in its former location in Fairfield, Connecticut after a fire by the British in Fairfield destroyed the first. The home was willed to Thaddeus’ son General Gershom Burr, who eventually sold the mansion to Obadiah Jones. Mr. Jones updated the home by, ““taking out the dormer windows and lifting the roof, taking away the porch and building the broad veranda with its lofty massive fluted columns”. The home was eventually gifted to the Town of Fairfield and is presently maintained by the Fairfield Museum and History Center.

DeForest House // c.1800

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

At the beginning of the 19th century, Fairfield, Connecticut was slowly recovering from its destruction by the British at the end of the Revolution. By around 1800, a member of the DeForest family appears to have built this home, across from the Town Common, overlooking the recently completed Fairfield County Courthouse. Before the American Civil War, the home was significantly altered, with a central pavilion, new round arch windows, and a full-length front porch, showcasing early Victorian-era desire for detail. The house changed hands several times over the next century, at one point becoming a boy’s school from 1891 to about 1909. In 1930, the house was renovated by architect Walter Bradnee Kirby, who restored the home back to its Colonial past, showing how the pendulum of architectural tastes can change back-and-forth with every passing generation.

Old Fairfield County Courthouse // 1794

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Located at the Fairfield Town Green, the Georgian-style Fairfield County Courthouse stands as a reminder on the town of Fairfield’s Colonial-era history. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1720. After a fire destroyed the first (which housed the jail as well), a second structure was built in 1767. That second courthouse was the center of a thriving, wealthy village with a port just blocks away. In July 1779, the British landed in Fairfield and destroyed much of the town, harming its prosperity for decades to come (though it has clearly recovered since). In 1794, a new courthouse was built, also housing town offices. In 1870, it became solely a town hall (the County Court moved to Bridgeport years before) modified and altered in the Second Empire style to ‘modernize’ the building. As Colonial Revival resurged in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th- centuries, the town sought to bring back the Georgian style Town Hall building, in 1936 hiring architect Cameron Clark, to restore the building.

Ames Mansion-Borderland // 1910

Buildings of New England1 Comment

One of the more stunning homes and parks in Massachusetts is located in Easton, known as the Borderland State Park. Borderland was the 1,200-acre estate of Blanche Ames Ames, an artist, political activist, inventor, writer, and prominent supporter of women’s suffrage and birth control. Blanche Ames’ husband, Oakes Ames (of the Ames Family of Easton), came from a wealthy Massachusetts family that owned the Ames Shovel Works. Marrying in 1900, Blanche and Oakes (who were not related even though they had the same last name) constructed their stone mansion in 1910 and created a system of ponds and dams on their property. Blanche and Oakes, who wanted a fireproof house, became displeased with the work of their architect because of the challenges he faced with their design and engineering requirements. Dismissing the architect, Blanche took over the design and construction management of the mansion and hired the Concrete Engineering Company to draw plans according to her specifications. Also on the grounds is a hunting lodge with fireplace, overlooking the large pond on the estate.

Once the mansion was completed, Blanche set up a studio on in the house and developed a scientific color system for mixing paints. She became the sole illustrator of her husband’s botanical books (Oakes was a renowned authority on orchids and taught botany at Harvard from 1900 until his retirement in 1941). Later in life, Blanche became the co-founder of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts and the Treasurer of the League of Women Voters from 1915 to 1918. She also gained notoriety for her political cartoons depicting the struggle for women’s suffrage. In addition to these many accomplishments, Blanche was an inventor who, in 1939, designed a hexagonal lumber cutter. During World War II she designed, tested and patented a method for ensnaring enemy airplanes in wires hung from balloons. Remaining active her entire life, Blanche received a patent for a water anti-pollution device in 1969, a year before her death.

The estate remained in the Ames family for 65 years, until 1971, when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was gifted the Borderland Estate and all furnishings inside for use as a State Park.

Ames Free Library // 1883

Buildings of New England2 Comments

The Ames Free Library first opened its doors in 1883. Under the terms of the will of Oliver Ames II, $50,000, in trust, was left for the construction and support of a library for the benefit of the inhabitants Easton. The library was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1877 and opened in 1883, becoming one of the finest public libraries in the region. The library is built of Milford granite with the same Longmeadow trim used on his famous Trinity Church in Boston. The very low cavernous arch over the doorway was used here by Richardson for the first time and became one of the most prominent and widely imitated characteristics of his style.

Burton Hall, Thetford Academy // 1845

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Burton Hall was constructed in 1845 as a boy’s dormitory for Thetford Academy on a lot given by Orange Heaton (who lived nearby), just north of the original Academy Building. The structure was named Burton Hall in memory of Asa Burton, one of the Academy’s founders. The structure was sold by the Academy by about 1860 for $200, to a J.H. Huntington, who moved it across the street to its present site to replace his house which had burned the year prior. In the late 1930’s, Dwight Goddard, the owner of the home at the time, gifted the building back to the Academy since which time it has been known as Goddard Hall.

Fun Fact: Buildings historically were much more likely to be moved than demolished as the cost of building materials was much more than labor. Today, the opposite is true so many developers and owners prefer to demolish.

Hoosac Tunnel // 1877

Buildings of New England1 Comment

It is impossible to overstate the significance of the railroad in the 19th century to the industrial growth and economy of New England and American cities. In order to connect Boston and its ports to the Hudson Valley in New York, a western rail line was constructed in the southern part of Massachusetts but was not an ideal route. In response, businessmen and politicians began to envision a more direct rail line across Massachusetts, but with one problem: trains hate climbing mountains! Instead of going around Hoosac Mountain, a massive detour, engineers thought they could tunnel through it, and that’s what they did, creating the Hoosac Tunnel. The tunnel through Hoosac Mountain is just under 5 miles long. Its active construction period consumed roughly a quarter-century and cost at least $17 million in 1870s dollars – an enormous sum. The cost was paid in dollars and the lives of nearly 200 miners (many of whom suffered terrible deaths as you can imagine). The first train passed through the tunnel in 1875, with the eastern portal wall constructed in 1877 (seen here). By 1895, roughly 60% of Boston’s exports traveled through the tunnel. Since then, some small collapses and deferred maintenance have left their mark on the tunnel, though it is still in operation today!

New Kimbell Building // 1902

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located on Main Street in North Adams, you’ll find this monstrous commercial block looking like it belongs in New York, not in Western MA. North Adams in the early 20th century was booming as an industrial center with a rapidly growing population. Due to this, business owners had the capital and clientele needed to erect large commercial buildings. A man named Jencks Kimbell owned a couple large parcels of land on Main Street and ran a livery stable there until his death in 1858. The business was ran by his sons until their death and the property was willed to their widows Clara and Lydia who saw the potential for the site to make them money. In 1902, the two widows erected this magnificent block on Main Street, with a stone facade. Built on top of a quicksand pit, it was the first building in North Adams to be built on steel pilings. I could find no information on the architect, but it is Eclectic to say the least! It has Romaneque arches, monumental pilasters with Corinthian capitals, and a Swan’s neck broken pediment at the parapet.

Charles Cutting House // 1881

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This stunning Stick style house in North Adams was built for Charles Cutting (1850-1940), founder of the C. H. Cutting Company, a prosperous clothing company in town. The company started as a partnership between 20-year old Cutting and a Mr. Silsby, who retired just a year after co-founding the company. Cutting used his business connections to help establish other local clothing companies including the Bay State Clothing Company in Adams, the Orange Clothing Company in Orange, MA, and the Athol Clothing Company in (you guessed it) Athol. With his wealth, he had this amazing Victorian home built on East Main Street where he lived until his death in 1940.

Old State House // 1713

Buildings of New England3 Comments

Nestled among the towering skyscrapers of Downtown Boston, the Old State House stands proudly, giving us a glimpse into pre-Revolutionary life and events. Happy Fourth of July!

Built in 1713, the “Town House” as it was originally known, served as a merchants’ exchange on the first floor and the seat of colonial and later state government on the second floor throughout the 1700s. The royal governor, appointed by the King of Great Britain, held his office in the building until 1775, and from the balcony gave voice via decrees and speeches to the King 3000 miles removed from London. Above the balcony, a lion and unicorn—royal symbols of the King of Great Britain—graced the main façade facing the public square.

“A cobblestone circle beneath the Old State House balcony marks the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre. Tensions ran high in Boston in early 1770. More than 2,000 British soldiers occupied the city of 16,000 colonists and tried to enforce Britain’s tax laws, like the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. American colonists rebelled against the taxes they found repressive, rallying around the cry, “no taxation without representation.” On the frigid, snowy evening of March 5, 1770, Private Hugh White was the only soldier guarding the King’s money stored inside the Custom House on King Street. It wasn’t long before angry colonists joined him and insulted him and threatened violence. Calling reinforcements, a group of British soldiers stood near the Town House and were pelted with snowballs and rocks, with one soldier firing out of panic. Once the first shot rang out, other soldiers opened fire, killing five colonists–including Crispus Attucks, a local dockworker of mixed racial heritage–and wounding six. The event was one of the flashpoints which began the American Revolution.

Six years later, on July 18, 1776, Colonel Thomas Crafts read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House as a statement of strength from where the King’s declarations were given just years prior.