North Stonington Bicentennial Walking Tour
HISTORY OF NORTH STONINGTON
The village of North Stonington was the outgrowth of the early settlement of the Town of Stonington, which was settled along the coast in 1649. Thomas Stanton, Thomas Miner, and Walter Palmer soon followed William Chesebrough, who brought his family to live in the wilderness. In 1658, the English plantation between the Mystic and Pawcatuck Rivers was named Southertown and declared under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts colony. In 1662, Governor Winthrop obtained a new Charter of Connecticut from King Charles II.
Settlers moved inland on territory occupied by Pequot Indians. The village of North Stonington is on land originally granted to Amos Richardson in 1667, which he gave to his son Samuel on his 21st birthday, April 20,1682.
Samuel Richardson, a farmer, built his house in the present area of the schools and his extensive farm included the land now occupied by Kingswood-Meadowwood. He operated a gristmill on the Shunoc River east of the village. He died in 1713, having no sons; the land was divided among his six daughters and his widow. In 1702, Nathaniel Ayers bought 30 acres, including the center of the village, from Richardson and the area was known as Ayers Mills. During the 1750s the western portion of the village was used for farming, while the eastern part remained engaged in milling.
The village began to take its current form beginning about 1790. The Ayers, on the eastern part of the village, were selling off house lots along the streets, and John Swan and Elias Hewitt were selling on the west. The mercantile center of the village began to develop with small industries making use of water power of the Assekonk Brook and Shunoc River.
TOWN OF NORTH STONINGTON ESTABLISHED IN 1807
At a town meeting on April 5,1806, it was voted to divide the Town of Stonington into two separate towns. The division of the towns was based on an ancient line creating a North Religious Society of Stonington nearly one hundred years prior to the separation of the country from Great Britain. The line was important because it delineated which of the two Congregational Churches people would attend. It was also decided that the new town to the north of the line was to be called Jefferson in honor of President Thomas Jefferson. The General Assembly of Connecticut confirmed the vote in May of 1807 naming the town, not Jefferson, but North Stonington, because the North Religious Society there had been so named in 1720 and the name had been become identified with the vital interests of the area. It is to be remembered that in colonial times, the church was the center of worship, government, commerce, and taxation.
MilLtown
The township of North Stonington contained many districts and settlements, each with its own character, schools, churches, post offices, and stores. Some of these villages developed around mills and others around clusters of farms and interrelated families. The largest and most notable village was Milltown. In about 1810, it was inhabited by 210 people and included a gristmill, sawmill, fulling mill, cotton mill, and wooden mill, all of which were powered by the Shunoc and Assekonk Rivers. The village continued to grow and by 1810, in addition to more residences, it also included a tannery, a trip hammer works (iron works) and other random mills. The woolen mill, built by Nathan Pendleton, was the major village industry through most of the 19th century. Craftsman also manufactured goods in the village with cabinet making being the most common. With six stores, the village became the trading center for people from miles around. Outfits of the finest silk and satin could be purchased, as well as fur muffs and satin hats trimmed with ribbons and flowers. Other fineries found included fine wool, thread lace, English carpets, and lovely china tea sets. The variety of goods available here suggests a large trade from the surrounding towns.
By 1840, Milltown was in its prime and the political interest of eastern Connecticut centered on this flourishing community. It was a place of considerable importance and there was talk of making it a railroad center for the Westerly and Jewett City Railroad Company. Even the construction of a large theater was contemplated.
Soon after this time the industrial decline of the village took place. Technological interventions moved weaving away from cottage industry toward factories and the prominence of commerce faded due to the Civil War. The village would still be called Milltown until the 1900s. The name Milltown began to fade with the advances in new technologies which entered the town in the form of a trolley that stopped at a station called North Stonington.
National register of historic places
On March 17,1983, North Stonington Village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Within the boundaries are fifty eight major structures, the majority of which were built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The North Stonington Historical Society sponsored the application.
Noah Grant, Jr. House 1791
37 Main Street
The front portion of the house was built in 1791 by Noah Grant Jr., who was indirectly related to Ulysses S. Grant. The rear ell originally stood as a separate building on Main Street and was used as a general store by Hosea and Ephraim Wheeler in the late 1700s and was later moved to the rear of the house. The sequence of what was done and when is not clear but the foundation of the ell is at least as old as the house.
This Federal style house also exhibits some Greek Revival and Italianate style characteristics. This house is Federal in overall form with its symmetrical five-bay façade, central entrance, interior end chimneys, and the two story pilasters. The principal entrance, fully pedimented gable, and gable-end fanlight are Greek Revival style elements and were probably added in the early to mid-19th century.
The first floor was “victorianized” around 1860-65. That is when the windows were enlarged, the bay window added, larger moldings were applied over the originals downstairs and the stairway was changed from a square landing to a curved one.
The house originally had eight fireplaces; today there are five and a wood stove. The house is unusual for its high ceilings (8 and 9 feet) and brick chimneys for such an early date. All of the timbers and planks are chestnut.
Stone walls behind the house were the foundation of a stable which disappeared from the property in the early 1900s.
For a short time in the early 1960s, the house was owned by the Congregational Church and it was used as a parish house and for Sunday school, then returned to a private home in the mid 1960s.
William Avery House (Stanton Hewitt) ca 1792
35 Main Street
This house was built by William Avery ca 1792. William Avery opened a tavern in this house in partnership with Nathan Pendleton. On this lot, Avery built a store with an apartment above. This store was at one time called Browning & Clark and later became the tailor shop of Cornelius Cornell. About 1850, the house and store was acquired by Charles Edwin Hewitt. In the 1860s, the store building was moved and is now the west wing of 37 Main Street.
This house is a good example of the Georgian style in overall form with the attic jetty on the flank gable roof and the symmetrical five-bay façade with a central entrance. The decorative door transom is reflective of the Federal style as are the separate double chimneys. The portico with the narrow Tuscan pilasters and delicate barrel-vaulted open-bed pediment is typical of late Georgians and early Federals.
Trolley
The
first trolley of Norwich and Westerly Street Railway Company arrived in North
Stonington on August 30, 1906. It prompted a great celebration with houses
decorated with flags and bunting. The trolley station, now nonexistent, was
next to the William Avery house on the corner of Main Street and Rocky Hollow
Road. The trolley line helped revive the village and provided transportation of
local farm products to New York and Boston. The state highway (Route 2) was
constructed in 1919 and the trolley abandoned in 1921.
A concrete bridge over the Assekonk Brook, found in the woods behind the Congregational Church, is the most obvious reminder of trolley transportation in North Stonington.
William H. Hillard House ca 1860
33 Main Street
In the
mid-19th century, this house was occupied by Deacon John D. Wheeler
and his wife. Later, the house became the parsonage for the Third Baptist
Church, located next door. Wheeler ran a small shop on the river bank in the
village where he made various tools. William Horace Hillard lived in this house
in the late 19th century. Hillard was born in North Stonington and
was both a teacher and a farmer. In 1861, he bought the general store of
Charles N. Wheeler (60 Main Street). He was deacon of the Third Baptist Church
beginning in 1881 and also became superintendent of the Sunday school.
This house is Gothic Revival in overall form with the prominent center cross gable on the flank gable roof and in the porch detailing with lace-like, flat-cut brackets. The house also exhibits some Italianate style details including the paired round-arched windows in the gable ends.
The Third Baptist Church 1833
29 Main Street
On
December 25,1828, at Samuel Chapman’s home, nine men and women adopted the
covenant and the 14 articles of faith and practice as drafted by Rev. Levi
Walker. They became the first members of the New Baptist Church inspired by the
evangelism of Elder Jebez S. Swan of New London. By June 1829, there were 39
members when the church joined the Stonington Union Association. This Third
Baptist Church held its meetings in dwelling houses and in the District #2
Schoolhouse on the riverbank opposite the Post Office. The land for the church
was donated by Mrs. Avery (widow of Stephen Avery). In 1833 the new church was
built, known as the Milltown Baptist Meeting House. This high-style Greek
Revival style church is a prominent element of the Village. It is an excellent
survivor of the Greek Revival style with its fully-pedimented front gable roof,
round window, and open-bed pedimented door crowns and pilasters. The fanlight
transoms are more indicative of the Federal style than the Greek Revival.
The Fourth Baptist Church, also know as the Laurel Glen Chapel, was dismantled in 1940 from its site in Laurel Glen and attached to the rear of the Third Baptist Church. The Christian Education Wing has been added to the rear of the church. Two wood burning stoves heated the church until 1919. Except for rearranging the pews, the original part of the church remains much the same as when it was built.
HOUSE cA 1850
25 Main Street
This is an excellent example of the Italianate style in its overall cross-gable form, original materials (wood clapboards and wood shingle roofing) and details. The extant details of particular significance include the elongated first story 2/2 sash windows, window hoods with consoles, porch brackets, and cornice returns. This house is also significant for its prominent placement on a hill top.
William M. Hillard House ca 1840
28 Main Street
Although modified with non-original siding and roofing materials, this is a good example of the transition between the Federal and Greek Revival styles. It retains a Federal form with a symmetrical five-bay façade, central entrance and flank gable roof. The most prominent Greek Revival features are the principal door with transom and side lights and the cornice returns. The porch is a good example of Queen Anne style with turned posts and flat-cut brackets. It was probably added in the late 19th century.
Dudley Stewart House 1860
32 Main Street
This
Victorian house was built in 1860 by Dudley Stewart on the lot of the former
Stephen Avery house which was destroyed by fire. Mr. Avery was the town clerk
for the town of Stonington.
This house is an excellent example of a high-style Italianate in form and details. The front porch reflects this style’s picturesque origins and the growing importance of close relationships between indoor and outdoor spaces. This house is exuberantly ornamented with Italianate details such as the large cornice returns, drop pendants, finials, brackets, dentils, window hoods, and the round-arched door lights. A highlight for the house came August 30, 1906, when a celebration was held on the lawn for the arrival of the first trolley car. From here the party of townspeople took a ride up to Lantern Hill and back.
House - 1795
34-36 Main Street
About 1860, this house was occupied by Wheeler Hakes, a shoemaker. Hakes’ shop was located in the south west corner room which, at the time, had its own entrance near the exterior brick chimney. In the 1940s, this house was occupied by C. Ernest Gray, the postmaster.
This house is a good example of the Georgian style in overall form and details. The symmetrical five-bay façade with a central entrance is typical Georgian style and it is likely a massive central chimney was replaced with the current small off-center chimney. The front entrance portico (with its barrel vaulted pediment and narrow Tuscan columns) is typical of late Georgians and early Federals.
New Town Hall
40 Main Street
A referendum in 1978, that won by only seven votes, resulted in the renovation of an existing brick auto garage into offices for town use. The garage, constructed in the 1950s by Noah Carocari, had replaced an earlier structure that burned. The original building on the site was a stable that belonged to Dudley R Wheeler. His house, which was located across the street, burned on February 13, 1938. That site is now the town parking lot.
Old Town Hall
42 Main Street
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The
Old Town Hall was built just prior to 1809 by Daniel Packer and Jedidiah
Randall. The building was moved from another location
on the same lot in the late 19th century. At one time the building
housed a jail. It has been said that a frequent use of the jail was to enable
men who had overindulged to find sobriety. Since it was heated by wood stoves,
some even entered voluntarily on cold nights.
It was a general store [the T.S. & H.D. Wheeler Store] until it was deeded to the town and converted to the Town Hall in 1904. Today it is used for the offices of the selectmen, resident state troopers, and some town officials. This building is vernacular in style with a Federal entrance and early window configurations (12/8 double-hung sash). This building is significant for its overall form and placement on the street front which harmonize with the character of the Village.
The Holmes Block
2 Wyassup Road
The village store building, built circa 1800, was believed to have been first occupied by the store of Williams and Rogers and later by Augustus L. Babcock, a coffin maker. In the 1840s, it became known as the “Holmes Block”. Wheeler H. Holmes sold fruit, confectionary and baked goods in the South end, while his father David Holmes, opened a cabinet and coffin shop with undertaking rooms in the center and north ends. In 1908 it was sold to Frank H. Brown and George Stone, who sold merchandise for many years.
Park Hotel ca 1900
6 Wyassup Road
On
the right side of Wyassup Road, up the hill from the Holmes Block, is the former
Park Hotel (Boarding House). This property was the site of a fulling mill
before the present building was constructed. B. Ripley Park, Sr. built this
large house for his family in about 1900 and it was called Parkholm. The Park
family owned a grist mill and circular saw mill in North Stonington Village and
Ripley Park built this house in anticipation of a North Stonington economic
boom. It is an early example of the Colonial Revival within the village. The
stone foundation under the rear of this building supported the working mill of
Nathan Pendleton in 1820 and is the same site of an early gristmill of the
1600s.
Although altered with non-traditional siding and roofing materials, with many details removed, and some fenestration altered, this house is a good example of the Colonial Revival style in overall form and massing with its flared gambrel roof pierced with open-bed pedimented roof dormers. The house retains its 2/2 double-hung sash windows.
House ca 1830-1840
1 Babcock Road
The
barn on the lot (east of the house) was a cider mill, blacksmith shop, and paint
shop (in that order). When it was used as a cider mill by William J. Richmond,
steam provided the power to grind one hundred bushels of apples per hour. Two
large hydraulic presses took the juice from the ground apples. The barn was
moved by Richmond after it was used as a cider mill and blacksmith shop (used by
Gib Miner) east of this house. The barn was then used by Richmond as a paint
shop.
This is an excellent example of the Greek Revival style in form and details, including the full pediment with elliptical fanlight, the frieze-band windows, and the principal door. This house exhibits prominence due to its style and its visibility on Wyassup Road.
NORTH STONINGTON GRANGE FAIR GROUNDS
21 Wyassup Road
In
the fall of 1910, the North Stonington Grange Fair was held on West Street, now
part of Main Street. During the third annual fair (1912), the Grange Hall was
under construction and the fair that year was held on the present fair grounds.
George Brown, a carpenter, built the Grange with the assistance of Elisha P.
Lewis. The fair was held continuously for 20
years, with the fourth fair having the largest attendance at 6,000 people in one
day. The year 1938 was the first without the annual fair. Until 1965, fairs
were held sporadically by the 4-H Club and in 1965, the Grange and Volunteer
Fire Company began holding fairs again.
This complex is an excellent example of an early 20th century agricultural fairground and is generally vernacular with some Queen Anne details in the porte cochere of the Grange such as the turned posts.
HOUSE ca 1870
19 Wyassup Road
Although this house has been modified, it is a good example of the Italianate style in its overall cross gable form and in some of its detailing such as the window hoods with consoles.
HOUSE ca 1844
13 Wyassup Road
This
house was constructed about 1844 and appears to have been altered around 1860.
At one time, this house was the parsonage of the Third Baptist Church in North
Stonington Village. In the 1940s, this house was occupied by Calvin Vivian
Geer.
The overall form of this house with its paired gables on a flank gable roof and the simple vergeboards is typical of the Gothic Revival style. The details of this house, however, are more typical of the Italianate style, including the round-arched windows and door lights; doorhood with oversized brackets and pendants; and the octagonal bay window.
CENTER SCHOOL 1870
9 Wyassup Road
This building was constructed in 1870 as the new District #2 School House and was called the Center School. The cost of the new school was approximately $4000 and was built by Henry A. Tomlinson. At the time of construction, North Stonington had 16 district schools. Many meetings were held in the Center School until the Grange Hall was built in 1912.
Although this building has been altered with an exterior end chimney on the principal façade, it is a good example of a Greek Revival school house with its fully-pedimented front gable roof, round attic vent, and elongated 9/9 sash windows. An elliptical fanlight transom is extant on the north façade.
DISTRICT #2 SCHOOL HOUSE ca 1820
7 Wyassup Road
A portion of this building was the District #2 School House that was originally located in the North Stonington Village center. The school house was moved by Stephen Main and incorporated into this building when it was constructed in about 1870. This house was originally owned by Frank York.
Although this house has been altered with non-traditional siding and roofing materials, it is a good example of the Italianate style with its double round-arched windows in the gable-end and 2/2 double-hung sash windows.
HOUSE ca 1815
5 Wyassup Road
This house was built about 1815 and was known as the Jeremiah Fellows House. This house has also been called the Bee Hive and the Potter House (the house was never owned by Potters). The Fellows family sold the house to Stephen Main.
Although the massive central chimney is more indicative of the Georgian style, this house is an excellent example of a Federal style house with its symmetrical five-bay principal façade with a central entrance, 9/6 double-hung sash windows, and a Federal style door surround with slender fluted pilasters, a flat entablature, and transom lights.
HOUSE ca 1790
3 Wyassup Road
This house was built about 1790. Calvin A. Snyder lived here (probably in the late 19th century). Snyder was a clerk at Judge Hillard’s store in North Stonington Village (1884-1906) and the town clerk and treasurer. After Hillard sold his store to Charles N. Brown in 1906, Snyder devoted his time to his town duties. Snyder was one of the men who frequently socialized at the Brown and Stone General Store. This house is a good example of an asym-metrical Georgian style house with a principal façade of five bays and a central door. The house exhibits late 2/2 double hung sash which was common in the late 19th century. The Colonial Revival central porch obscures the original form of this house.
Stephen Main House
1 Wyassup Road
The
Stephen Main House was first owned by Luther Avery in 1781, the owner of Avery
Mills. Stephen Main, born in North Stonington on June 8th, 1805,
went to New York City at age 17 where he ran a very successful butter stall and
became an extensive dealer in real estate. Stephen returned to North Stonington
in 1856 and ran a grist and shingle mill. He bought the house in 1861.
The house was later owned by artist Fred Stewart Greene, who lived in North Stonington, Westerly, and also had a studio in Clearwater, FL. His will left the property to “Ezekiel Main and William Stewart Memorial Association.” It was deeded in 1980 to the North Stonington Historical Society. It now serves as their headquarters and houses the A. Morgan Stewart Memorial Library.
HILLARD’S GENERAL STORE
(THE OLD POSTOFFICE)
60 Main Street
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This
building was built between 1816 and 1828. It housed Hillard’s Store in the
early 1900s. Before the Town Hall was established in 1904, the Town Clerk’s
office was located here. It had the first telephone in town. Although this
building was probably built in an earlier style (Federal) due to its
construction date (ca 1816), it is a good example of the Greek Revival style
with a fully pedimented front gable and fine details. Greek Revival details
include modillions, the triangular gable-end window, and the front porch which
is supported by octagonal posts and also ornamented with modillions.
The Post Office once housed in the Holmes block (now the hardware store) moved to this location, where it functioned until August 1986. It is now home to the law office of William H. Hescock, Esq.
Levi Robinson House ca 1802
62 Main Street
This house was built ca 1800 by Colonel Nathan Wheeler. Nathan Wheeler was the brother of Hosea, Ephraim, and Russell. Nathan’s son, Giles, acquired the building after his father and probably built the store on the abutting property. Levi Robinson owned a trip hammer works where iron was forged.
This house is an excellent example of the Federal style with its fanlight transom, open-bed pedimented door crown, symmetrical five-bay façade with central entrance, graduated clapboards, and interior end chimneys. Italianate influence is exhibited in the principal door with two round-arched door lights. The house has also retained integrity of materials with wood clapboards and wood shingle roofing.
S. B. Wheeler House ca 1860
64 Main Street
Although the siding and roofing materials have been altered, this house retains a basic Greek Revival form with its front gable roof with cornice returns and also retains a Greek Revival style door surround. This house also exhibits a wrap-around Queen Anne style front porch that was probably added in the late 19th century.
theodore S. Main House ca 1900
66 Main Street
This house was built ca 1900 by Theodore S. Main (Stephen Main’s son). Stephen Main was a large landholder throughout the mid-late 19th century.
Although this house has been moved and heavily altered, some Queen Anne features are intact, such as the turret and variety of surface textures created by square and staggered imbricated shingles.
VILLAGE GREEN
The
present Town Green, created in 1976, was the site of a blacksmith’s shop, a bark
mill, and a cobbler’s shop. Nearby on Main Street were cabinetmaker’s shop and
a hatter’s shop. In the 1970s, the houses on the site had to be removed because
of inadequate sewage facilities, which threatened the brook that ran under one
or two of the homes. The last to be torn down had served as the Masonic Hall.
Larson’s Store, known as the arcade, which sold a variety of necessities
including ice cream, candy, newspaper, toiletries, band-aids, and bread, was
also torn down.
The Green was planted by the
North Stonington Garden Club in 1976 as a project for the national bice
ntennial
and included a flag pole with several memorial plantings. The beauty of the
brook may also be observed by crossing the bridge to the other side of the
Green. Across the bridge is an oak tree which was given as a seedling to the
town from the State of Connecticut during the
1976 bicentennial celebration. This seedling came from the Original Charter Oak
Tree of Connecticut.
A Garden Club project to replant and create walkways in 2003 resulted in eight regional and national awards. The current bridge and wooden pergola were projects built by local boy scouts so that residents of North Stonington could further enjoy some quiet time at the village green.
House ca 1900
86 Main Street
According to some histories, this house was built ca 1900. However, according to others, including George Stone, this house traces back to ca 1845, when the village tailor, Cornelius Connel, lived here. Stone claimed that in 1860, this house was occupied by Joseph Frink, the village carpenter and cabinet maker, and his daughter Mary L. Frink. M. Frink delivered a patriotic address, on short notice, when local men departed for the Civil War. Also, Stone’s aunt and uncle occupied this house when his uncle was the town tax collector.
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Although some confusion exists over the construction date of this house, it is a good example of Cape form. Also, the side porch is a good example of the vernacular Colonial Revival style.
Gilbert Sisson House ca 1819
88 Main Street
Gilbert
Sisson was a cabinet maker in the late 18th century. His son,
Benjamin, established a department store in Binghamton, New York, which became
very successful. According to George Stone, this house is known as the Deacon
Ezra Miner House. This house was occupied by Captain Worth and Clarence Brown.
Although the construction date is an earlier period, this house is a good example of the Greek Revival style with its fully pedimented front gable roof, triangular gable-end window, and an abbreviated Greek Revival door surround (sidelights and no transom). The front porch is a good example of the Italianate style with its square posts and brackets.
William Denison House ca 1860
90 Main Street
Known
as the William Denison house, it is believed that Mrs. Denison and her sons,
George and John, sold the house, auctioned the household goods and moved west.
Stephen Main purchased the house and sold it to Francis J. Bentley of
Stonington. In 1872, Bentley sold the house to Mary A. Avery and it eventually
was occupied as a home and office by Dr. Edwin H. Knowles. Knowles was born in
1842 in Smithfield, RI. He served in the First Rhode Island Light Artillery in
the Civil War and was wounded in Fredericksburg in December, 1862. He began
practicing medicine with his father, John H. Knowles, in Westerly, RI. Knowles
received a medical degree in Philadelphia and in 1878 he moved to North
Stonington and succeeded Dr. Lot W. Kinney as town doctor. Knowles died in
1910.
This is a good example of the Gothic Revival style in overall form with its central cross gable roof and porch. The most prominent extant picturesque detail is the flat-cut brackets on the porch.
OLIVER AVERY HOUSE ca 1818
92 Main Street
Oliver Avery, a cabinet maker, purchased the land on West Main Street from Elias Hewitt in 1818. Stephen and Roswell Avery, second cousins to Oliver, built Oliver the house in order to repay a loan. It is called a half house, constructed so that another half could be added. Although this small half house has lost some historic integrity due to modifications (such as the chimney, roofing material, and additions), it harmonizes with the scale and character of the Village.
THE J.O & T.W. WHEELER HOUSE ca 1840
104 Main Street
This
large Victorian home was built in the 1840s by John Owen Wheeler and his brother
Thomas W. Wheeler, who were blacksmiths and store keepers. The remnants of the
Blacksmith shop are a foundation, now a garden to the left as you face the main
house. This house was home to the Wheelers until it was bequeathed to the
Wheeler School and Library by the will of Henry Dwight Wheeler in 1899. This
building then served as the boys’ dormitory.
It came to serve a variety of functions for the Wheeler School around 1911, including science class room, a printing shop, and home of the Headmaster.
This house has a good example of an elaborate Italianate style door hood with drop pendants and oversized brackets. Other Italianate style elements of the house are the tripartite window in the gable end and the bay window on the east façade.
George E. Burdick House 1915
112 Main Street
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This vernacular early 20th century house harmonizes with the character of the village in form, scale and materials.
House 1914
118 Main Street
The builder and original owner of the house is unknown. In the 1940s, this house was occupied by Rev. and Mrs. Inor Partington. Rev. Partington was the pastor of the North Stonington Congregational Church.
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This bungalow has some Craftsman characteristics including the exposed rafter ends and the flared shingles. The Colonial Revival features include the Tuscan column on the recessed front porch. Like its neighbor, this house harmonizes with the general character of the Village in scale, form and materials.
Wheeler Cemetery
main Street
The land on which the cemetery is located was originally part of a farm owned by Elias Hewitt. The cemetery was first known as the Elias Hewitt Cemetery and later became known as the Wheeler Cemetery.
Major Dudley R. Wheeler and his family are at rest here. Dwight Wheeler left a fund of $4,000 to Ecclesiastical Society of the Congregational Church for the upkeep of the cemetery.
“HEARTSEASE” 1870
125 Main Street
This house was built by Robert Wheeler in 1870, after his farm was destroyed by fire. The house is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style with its variety of surface textures, Eastlake detailing, cross bracing, and overall cross-gable form. The house also retains material integrity with its extant wood clapboards and wood shingle roofing. It is probable that when this house was constructed, it exhibited Italianate style elements. The Queen Anne modifications were probably made in the late 19th century. Behind the house is a three-stall carriage house with haymow and storage on the second floor. Its structure matches the house. The Wheelers are buried at the intersection along Mains Crossing and the tombstone matches the trim of the house. The current paint scheme closely approximates the original.
From 1928 to 1932 this house was the summer home of Dr. Francis Peyton Rous, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1966 for his pioneering research on the link between viruses and cancer.
ELIAS HEWITT HOUSE
On the present site of the Middle School, there once stood a large colonial house first owned by Elias Hewitt. Later it was known as the Sheriff Gilbert Billings Home. Mr. Billings was Deputy Sheriff for New London County for over 40 years.
This house later served as a girls’ dormitory for the Wheeler School. It was removed in the early 1950s.
WHEELER SCHOOL AND LIBRARY
101 Main Street
To provide higher education for
the young people in North Stonington, Miss Sarah J. (Jennie) Wheeler, a daughter
of Major Dudley R. Wheeler, started the Edgar H. Wheeler School in memory of her
brother.
The first classes were held in the house east of the Congregational Church and later the site of Larson’s Store. The students dubbed the school “Over Brook Academy” because the brook ran underneath the building. Francis H. Kimball, architect of several New York City and Philadelphia buildings, undertook the design project to construct a new school and library.
In 1901 the school moved to this building constructed of Westerly granite. The lions guarding the steps are made of Italian marble. The school provided a free education to North Stonington students and welcomed boarding students from outside the community.
The new school building was based on the Richardson Romanesque style which utilized different building materials such as pink granite around the windows and gray granite for the rest of the building. Other features of the building are arched second floor windows, a recessed door, and polished columns of red granite.
The land for the first Elementary School (now the Middle School) and the High School was given by the Wheeler Trustees. A Board of Trustees continues to oversee the funds left by the Wheeler family in support of the library.
THE PARSONAGE 1852
91 Main Street
The parsonage was built in 1852 and owned by William Williams, Dudley Wheeler, Samuel Wheeler, and Russell Wheeler and was deeded to the Congregational Church on March 6, 1878. Reverend Stephan Hubbell and his family were the first to occupy the house when they moved in April of 1853. The cost for construction was $600. Electricity was installed in the house in 1921. For a period in 1944, the Parsonage and the Church Vestry were used by the Wheeler School due to furnace trouble at the school.
The Congregational Church sold the parsonage in 1999 and it is now a private residence.
This house is an excellent example of the Greek Revival style with its fully pedimented front gable roof and three bay principal façade. The house also has some Italianate influence with the triple round-arched windows in the front gable end, the bay windows, and the door surround with round-arched side lights. The varying surface texture is indicative of the Queen Anne style (popular in the late 19th century).
Etchings in Beer’s Atlas, 1868 (Congregational Church Dedication Day) indicate that the house was originally flat board sided similar to the front of the Church. Clapboards, cedar shakes and the flair between the first and second story were added at some time during the multiple renovations.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ca 1817
89 Main Street
The Congregational Church, first known as the North Society, began with the early settlement of the town and was formally organized in 1721.
The first meeting house was built
in 1723, on a hill facing Wyassup Road, near the present intersection of Chester
Main Road. It was called the “Old Black Meeting House” because of its unpainted
dark weathered exterior.
The Union Meeting House, bringing together the original church and the breakaway church, was built on the current site in 1817 reusing the materials from the 1723 Meeting House. In 1848, the present sanctuary was built and dedicated. In 1887, the stained glass windows, cherry pews and woodwork were added as a gift from the Wheeler family and a rededication of the sanctuary took place. In 1921 the church was provided with electricity. A pipe organ was added in the 1940, and rebuilt in 1992 along with the remodeling of the balcony.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s the Church needed more space and the house at 31 Main Street was purchased (now privately owned). In 1965, more growth led to the construction of Hewitt Hall, the kitchen, offices and class rooms. Additional information on the church’s history is available from the church.
This building is an excellent example of high-style Greek Revival church architecture. Defining elements are the fully pedimented front gable roofs, the colossal front porch supported by Ionic columns, the corner pilasters and the tall steeple defined with small Ionic columns.
Gilbert Sisson House ca 1790
85 Main Street
This house was built ca 1790 by Gilbert Sisson. Sisson was a cabinet maker in the late 18th century. His son, Benjamin, established a department store in Binghamton, NY, which became successful. Susan Main (daughter of Ephraim Wheeler Maine and Catherine Thompson) lived here in the latter part of her life (probably in the early to mid-20th century). Susan Main was a school teacher. In 1905, she and her sister Mary Talulah, ran a College Preparatory School at Brantwood Hall in South Orange, NJ.
This house is a good example of Gothic Revival style with its central gable wall dormer, drop pendants, and wrap-around porch with flattened arches and drop pendants.
William M. Wheeler House ca 1838
77 Main Street
This house is an excellent example of the Greek Revival style with its fully pedimented front gable roof, typical Greek Revival door surround, elliptical gable end fanlight, and corner pilasters. The side porch appears to be more influenced by the picturesque with its segmental arches and was probably added in the mid-19th century.
William Sisson House 1776
69 Main Street
This
home is the earliest surviving house in North Stonington Village and was built
in 1776 on a ¾ acre lot purchased from Nathan Avery by William Sisson. A joiner
by trade, Sisson made furniture in a shop north of the house until his death in
1798. His son Gilbert enlarged the business employing many journeymen and
apprentices.
In 1814 Stephen L. Avery purchased the house and he and his brother Roswell became the owners and partners of a cabinet making business until 1833. Horace Babcock, who ran the dye house in the village for the Wheelers, acquired the house in 1836.
This is a rare example of a hip-roofed Georgian style house, a form which is more common in the southern United States. This house retains its massive central chimney and a typical Georgian style door surround. The 5 bay façade, central doorway flanked by pilasters supporting an entablature, 5 light transom above the door, hipped roof, and center chimney of the house illustrate the Georgian style popular during that period of time.
Black Smith Shop, House and School
63 Main Street
Past the stonework is a barn and a reconstructed, fully-operational blacksmith shop built in 1817 by Sam Slocum. Working blacksmith tools are still here, and in the barn, the horse stalls still have the original fixtures. A hole in the barn floor was used to raise water from the brook for the horses. Mr. Slocum also ran a saddlery in the blacksmith shop.
The
adjacent house was built in 1819 by Andrew Baldwin, a carpenter. One of the
first post offices of the town was in the basement of this house and the mail
slot can still be found in the door to the basement.
This house is a good example of the transition between the Federal and Greek Revival styles. The overall form of the house is predominantly Federal with its symmetrical five-bay façade with a central entrance, the flank gable roof, and the separated centralized double chimneys. The predominant Greek Revival features of the house include the fully pedimented gale ends, the elliptical fanlights in the gable ends, and the door surround with abbreviated lights (side lights only) and pilasters supporting a denticulated flat entablature.
The mill wheel, built by Frank Limpert, was copied from a 1600s vertical wheel of the snuff mill owned by Gilbert Stewart of Rhode Island. There are plans to repair the waterwheel. The series of dams built in the waterway were also done by Frank Limpert in response to a 1960s carriage house fire that made the town aware of the need for water access in case of fire emergencies in the village. (These are best viewed in the rear of the building from the town parking lot.)
At the corner is a one room Schoolhouse that was placed on the original foundation of the District #2 School. It matches the original schoolhouse in size, and was moved by Limpert from the Vargus Farm in Stonington. He restored it from a four-room home to its original design as a school, using the original doors and windows, which were still in the building.
A picture of Marcia Bentley, when she taught at the Clarks Falls School in 1913, was used as a guide to restore the interior. In 1984 the building was dedicated to Marcia Bentley Thompson, who served as a teacher in North Stonington for over 40 years. At the time of the dedication, she wore the same dress that she had worn in the 1913 picture. The clock was set at the time shown in the picture and pussy willows were displayed in the same vase. Kellene Limpert still conducts guided tours of the schoolhouse for the elementary school’s second grade class. It is also available for tours throughout the year by appointment.
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Walking Tour Committee members: Stephanie Annino, Brian Boldt, Deb Burnside, Chris Chrissos, Michael Costanza, Lara Fowler, Amy Kennedy.
Color Photos property of Heather C. Chrissos.
Sources used:
Brown, Sarah A. "North Stonington 50 Years Ago and Today." Commencement. Wheeler School, North Stonington, CT. June 1927.
Niemi, Irja, and Jean P. North. North Stonington Old Houses and Village Buildings. Westerly: Utter, 1976.
A Walking Tour: North Stonington Village in Celebration of Stonington’s 350th Anniversary. North Stonington Historical Society Inc. 1999.
Youngken, Richard C., and Jennifer M. Lutke. Historic Resources Survey, North Stonington, Connecticut. Newport, RI: Newport Collaborative Architects, 1997.
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