South Main Street Suffield

Bryon Loomis House // c.1850

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This Italianate mansion was built around 1850 for Byron Loomis (1831-1896) possibly as a gift from his father Neland. Neland Loomis was the brother of John Loomis, and was part of the wealthy tobacco farming family who later packaged, rolled, and shipped tobacco from Suffield all over the country. The home is a large Italianate mansion is in the symmetrical form and covered with flush board siding. The low sloped roof with broad overhanging eaves is topped with a large belvedere. The home is somewhat difficult to photograph due to large bushes in front.

Moses Rowe House // 1767

Buildings of New England1 Comment

One of the older homes on Main Street in Suffield CT, the Moses Rowe House was built in 1767 and exemplifies the architectural history of town. 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.

Dr. Aretus Rising House // 1854

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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.

St. Joseph’s Church // 1952

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The congregation’s second sanctuary, this Colonial Revival church building was constructed in 1952 for the large Polish population in town. In the 1890s, Polish immigrants settled in rural Suffield in large numbers, many working on tobacco farms. The St. Joseph’s Polish Society was formed in 1905, with increasing demand for a sanctuary to worship. The lot at 140 S. Main Street was purchased in 1916 and the stable was converted to a church, with the home converted to the rectory. After WWII, the stable was clearly insufficient, and the site was cleared for a larger sanctuary which we see today.

Henry P. Kent House // 1871

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located on South Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, this stunning Second Empire mansion showcases the tobacco wealth seen in the town in the mid-to-late 19th century. In 1810, a Cuban man who seemingly drifted into town, was hired by a local farmer to grow tobacco and roll cigars for sale. Decades later, dozens of farmers in Suffield erected tobacco barns and cultivated tobacco to be rolled in cigars and sold. One of the first to box the cigars as a pack for shipping and sale was Henry Phelps Kent (1803-1887). Kent’s business did very well and he eventually hired local architect John C. Mead to design a mansion to display his success in business. The large Second Empire mansion features flush-board siding, full length porch, and a projecting mansarded tower with convex roof. The home was later owned by Samuel R. Spencer, a politician who served as a Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, the first as a blind man. The home is now operated as a bed & breakfast “Spencer on Main”.