Windham County National Register

St. James Catholic Church, Danielson // 1870

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The St. James Catholic Church in Danielson, Connecticut, is an imposing and architecturally ornate example of a church built in the Victorian Gothic style. Catholics in town had their first Mass conducted by Rev. Michael McCabe, a Franciscan friar from Ireland, and the first service was held in a private home. They met in different halls until 1864 when they purchased the old Second Advent Chapel on Winter street and it became the first St. James Church. The congregation, largely of working-class Irish immigrants, eventually was able to afford a new church, this large brick structure, built in the form of a cross. A parish hall and school were also built next door and the campus serves as an important piece of the town´s immigrant and working-class history. 

Temple Beth Israel, Danielson // 1955

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Temple Beth Israel is a unique, Mid-Century Modern former synagogue, that can be found in the village of Danielson, in the town of Killingly, Connecticut. Ground was broken on the temple in 1951 and the foundation and basement were completed soon-after. Funding was tight and the building remained unfinished for years. During the first years that the congregation used the unfinished synagogue, while continually striving for additional funds to complete the building. A congregation member Mary Riseman’ s son William Riseman, an architect, designed the building and the Riseman family donated the fieldstone for the building from a quarry on their farm. The building was eventually completed in 1961, ten years after its ground-breaking ceremony, with young, recently graduated architect, Maurice Finegold as designer of the interior of the main floor sanctuary and more, completing the project. The congregation, a blend of Orthodox and Conservative adherents, was generally served by itinerant rabbis, often religious students. Dwindling membership forced the congregation to merge with another in nearby Putnam, and the building was eventually sold. A secular preservation society was organized to keep it, which has transformed it into a cultural and historical center, dedicated to preserving the history of the Jewish experience in the area.

Goodell-Bill House // 1828

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One of the finest houses in the small town of Chaplin, Connecticut is this Federal manse, located right on the edge of the town center. The brick residence was built in 1828 by Isaac Goodell (1770-1856) who raised his family in the stately home. After Goodell’s death, the property was inherited by his daughter, Mary and her husband, Lester Bill. The house stands out for its painted brick walls, symmetrical facade with fanlight and sidelights at the entry, and the large Palladian window on the second floor.

Babcock Library – Knowlton Memorial Hall // 1924

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In the 1840s, Archibald Babcock (1780-1862) from Ashford, Connecticut, went west to engage in the California Gold Rush to seek his fortune. He did well and upon his return, moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts and began purchasing property for redevelopment. Upon his death in 1862, Mr. Babcock bequeathed $3,000 to the Town of Ashford start a “free” library there. For the next 60 years the library was located in a variety of private homes and country stores in town until the 1920s when this stone structure was built to house the town hall and library. Construction was made possible by a gift from Charles Knowlton, whose family had lived in the area since the 18th century. When built, it featured a number of modern innovations, including electrical service (generated on site), and steam heat. In addition to town offices and the library, the building also has an auditorium which is used for town meetings. Architect Herbert Loud furnished plans for the building which is rustic Arts and Crafts in style with randomly laid fieldstone walls with wide mortared joints. The roof eaves show exposed rafter tails below the shallow hipped roof.

Reuben Winn House // 1840

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The main part of this stunning Greek Revival house in Whitingham, Vermont was built by Reuben Winn around 1840 and was originally located on the town common, southeast of the present village of Whitingham. The building was the only one to be moved from the hill to the valley as development shifted westward to the current town center and its access to water power for industry. This house was moved in 1889 and was run as the Sadawga Lake House hotel by Charles E. Putnam who also was listed in local directories as a slate dealer. The present slate roof was likely added by Putnam! The architectural element which stood out to me was the three part Palladian window directly above the front door that uses the motifs of the Greek Revival pilasters and entablature common to the other façade elements. The home is very well-preserved and even maintains a detached barn on the property!

Four Columns Inn // 1832

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One of the best examples of a temple-front Greek Revival house in the state of Vermont is this stunner, found in Newfane Village. The house was constructed in 1832 for General Pardon T. Kimball (1797-1873), a cattle-broker, general of the state militia and later, a state senator. Kimball made a name for himself locally as he donated much of his money to social causes, from a local almshouse to other charitable organizations. Kimball died in 1873 after falling from his carriage. The house was converted to an inn in 1965-6 and has since been known as the Four Columns Inn, so-named after the four monumental Ionic columns that dominate the house’s facade.

Vermont National Bank // 1884

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One of the few brick buildings in Newfane’s Village Center is this charming old bank, right on Main Street. The building was constructed in 1884 as the Vermont National Bank and is a vernacular example of the Romanesque Revival architectural style with the arched openings and brickwork. Vermont architect George A. Hines designed the modest building, which was built for $6,650. The bricks for the building were brought into town by ox cart. Those for the front facade cost 5 cents apiece; those for the sidewalls 3 cents; and those for the back wall 2 cents, showing how the best materials go on the highly visible facades.

Church House // c.1840

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When you think of the quintessential New England Village, what do you think of? These villages of white houses around a town green, usually anchored by a congregational church with a tall, white steeple, have been the subject of myriad photographs and memories for decades. Why are so many like this? Well, historically, the bright white we know of as a common house color was not available until the 1920s. Before the early 1900s, “white” paint was more cream or off-white as we would describe it. Many such villages started seeing white paint proliferate as Titanium Dioxide was mixed with pigments to generate the bright white, about at the same time Colonial Revival style homes saw a second resurgence in popularity. The bright-white paint was more expensive and represented stability and prestige. Publications like Yankee Magazine showed photographs of these charming villages blending into the freshly fallen snow or fall foliage and the romanticization of New England truly began. Newfane, Vermont is one of these villages, which are dominated by the bright white paint. It is an obvious choice, especially due to the number of classically inspired Greek Revival style houses.

Newfane Odd Fellows Hall // c.1830

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Constructed circa 1830 for Anthony Jones, this clapboard building in Newfane, Vermont originally contained tenements and was called the “long building” during the nineteenth century. Around the turn of the 20th century, a federal judge acquired the building and some of its rooms were used as offices during sessions of the county courthouse across the street. Subsequently, the local Odd Fellows Group (I.O.O.F.) occupied a hall on the second story, and for a half century after 1910, part of the first story served as Newfane’s telephone exchange. In 1971, the building was converted to apartments and has remained so since that time.

Windham County Courthouse // 1825

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When the Windham County courts were transferred from Westminster in 1787, they were housed in the village known as Newfane on the Hill. Four decades later, influential residents convinced their townsmen to shift the village down to their land in a flat part of town, a location better suited for waterpower and commerce and ease of travel in the winter months. The first two buildings constructed were the courthouse and jail on a common. The village center grew rapidly as people moved old buildings down the hill and remodeled them or built anew, establishing a particularly unified townscape. This courthouse building is very stately for such a small town and packs an architectural punch. The two-story building is capped with a belfry and was designed in the Federal style with fan motifs over the windows and door. In the 1850s, nearby Brattleboro tried to usurp Newfane’s county seat status, so they in turn expanded the courthouse, raising the ceiling on the upper floor and adding the monumental Doric portico and pediment to give the building a decidedly Greek Revival appearance.