New England Blog

Latham-Kendrick Houses // 1817

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This unique double-house was constructed in 1817 for Capt. William Harris Latham and Dr. Thomas Kendrick, brothers-in-law, merchants and partners in a store which stood until it was destroyed by fire about 1845. Latham served as a Captain in the War of 1812, and later was an important benefactor of the nearby Thetford Academy, donating money and building materials for the original construction. Wallpaper from this house depicting the City of Leon was donated by a previous owner, Mrs. Charles Vaughan, to the Currier Gallery in Manchester, NH. The homes are an excellent example of the Federal style with a vertical board at the center of the main house facade demarcating the property line. Blind fan transoms and multi-light double-hung windows add a lot of charm to the historic homes.

First Congregational Church, Thetford // 1785 & 1830

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Attempts were made to organize the Congregational Church in Thetford, Vermont as early as 1771, making this congregation among the five earliest in the state. As was typical of the day, the meetinghouse was intended to serve both public and religious functions, before the separation of church and state. Following the customary dispute over the location of the meetinghouse in town, the structure was erected on the Town Common, marking the beginning of the village of Thetford Hill. Construction began on the meetinghouse in 1785, being completed within a couple years. Sometime between 1807 and 1812, the Congregational Church ceased to be supported by taxes as the separation of church and state resulted in the sale of the meetinghouse and its subsequent move in 1830, from the town-owned common to its present site just north of it. In 1830, the pavilion, tower, and pilasters were added to give the church a Greek Revival flair. The church is reportedly the oldest meetinghouse in the state still in continuous service.

Frederick Henshaw House // 1888

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After the completion of the Waban Station, providing opportunity for residential and commercial development due to transit to and from Boston, two men sought to develop the area into attractive housing lots. In 1886, Dr. Morrill Wyman, founder of Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, sold the old Wyman Farmhouse (still extant) and 150 acres of farmland to real estate speculators. The speculators, Charles Page and Frederick Henshaw, proceeded to subdivide the land into 87 house lots, creating this suburban neighborhood in Waban we know today. Frederick Henshaw sought to build his own home adjacent to the old farmhouse and hired H. Langford Warren (who then owned the farmhouse next door), esteemed architect and then Dean of the Harvard School of Architecture to complete designs. The Queen Anne mansion with its bold octagonal bay commands the corner lot and is a well-preserved significant home in the neighborhood.

Second Baptist Church, Suffield // 1840

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In early New England, the Congregational Church had a near monopoly on churches. Congregational churches had lost much of its hold on its members and on government by 1725. Eventually, some of its ministers decided a religious revival was needed, creating the emergence of new Baptist and Methodist churches all over the region. Baptists erected a church in West Suffield, far from the town center, which began to rapidly develop in the early 19th century. In 1805, they petitioned to create a second Baptist church, and succeeded. By 1840, the members collected funds to erect this stunning Greek Revival church on Main Street. The congregation hired architect Henry Sykes, who had trained under Chauncey Shepherd of Springfield, Mass and Ithiel Town of New Haven, clearly learning a lot on church design.

New Kent Memorial Library // 1972

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Between 1900 and 1970, the town of Suffield doubled its population, and the 1899 public library was outgrown. The city gathered funds to construct a new library, knowing that the endowment for the day-to-day operations of the library by Sidney Kent, in memory of his parents, would transfer to a new building as long as the name carried with it. The town hired Warren Platner, an architect, interior designer and furniture designer, based out of New Haven. Platner designed the Modern library with a concrete frame, faced with pink stone and white painted brick above, surrounds a central garden court. The flat coffered concrete roof and overhanging concrete project outwards over the terraced exterior courtyards. The interior is on five floor levels connected by gradual ramps with no stairs inside (at least at the time of construction). The town proposed a plan to demolish the library in 2008, replacing it with a larger library, but it was voted down by residents, saving (what is believed to be) the only free-standing Platner building remaining in the country.

Old Kent Memorial Library // 1899

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In 1897, Sidney A. Kent, a Suffield native, graduate of Suffield Academy and successful Chicago businessman sought to build a $35,000 library as a memorial to his parents in his home town. Land was purchased from the academy, demolishing a significant academic building, and the new Kent Memorial Library erected. Kent hired architectural giant Daniel Burnham (architect of the famous Flatiron Building in Manhattan) who also designed Kent’s home in Chicago. It sat on the site of land purchased by the first Kent ancestor in Suffield. Sidney Kent furnished nearly 7000 books and periodicals and left an endowment of $25,000. The building was dedicated on November l, 1899. It was eventually outgrown and a new building was constructed across the street.

John W. Loomis House // 1740

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This stunning home on Main Street in Suffield, CT was apparently built in 1740. By the 1840s, it was purchased by John Wells Loomis, and altered to fit the then-fashionable Greek Revival style, replacing the center chimney with two chimneys, adding pilasters and a Greek Revival entry. John Loomis was the head of the Loomis family which made a fortune in the tobacco industry in Suffield, rolling and shipping products as far away as California. Before his death, John Loomis built his son George a house nearby, knowing that his son would carry on the business, which he did until a couple years after his father’s death when he sold the business and moved to New Haven.

Thaddeus Leavitt Jr. House // 1800

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One of the (many) grand homes on Main Street in Suffield is this Federal style home built in 1800 for a 21-year-old Thaddeus Leavitt. Like his father, Thaddeus was a merchant with a store in Suffield, and was known by the title Colonel, meaning he probably served in the local militia after the Revolutionary War. Immediately after the home was completed, Thaddeus got married and moved into the home with his new wife, Jemima Loomis. They lived happily in their mansion until Thaddeus’ death in 1828 and his wife’s death in 1846. The home was altered in the 1850s with Italianate features including a belvedere and bay windows, which lasted into the 20th century. The home was recently restored back close to original conditions with the removal of the belvedere at the roof.

First Church of Christ, Suffield // 1869

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Located adjacent to the Town Common, the First Church of Christ in Suffield showcases the grandiose architecture seen in many churches after the Civil War in New England. This brick edifice is the fifth in the history of the church which dates back to around 1680. The church was designed by local architect John C. Mead, who designed many churches in the region. The church is a blending of Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles and originally featured a tall spire and secondary tower. In 1938, the New England Hurricane destroyed the tall spire (a similar event occurred to many New England Churches, including Old North in Boston). Even without the steeple, the church remains as a great architectural treasure in town.

Dr. Aretus Rising House // 1854

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Dr. Aretus Rising was born in Suffield, CT in 1801, part of one of the oldest families in town who settled here. His father was a farmer of modest means who could not afford the ability to let his eight children attend school routinely as he needed help on the family farm. He eventually moved to Western MA where he graduated the Berkshire Medical School in 1826, soon after opening a practice in Florida, NY before moving back to Massachusetts. He operated a doctors office in Suffield starting in 1845, running it until 1871, stopping due to poor health and failing sight. He lived most of his later years in this modest Italianate home. The house features broad overhanging eaves and a porch supported by stunning lattice columns.