62 Garden Street - The Farmington Libraries

nl;)1 un 1" nt:>UUh "t:>tftvtftIUHY
BUILDING
AND STRUCTURES
H1ST
6
N[ .. s 77
FOR OFFICE
Town No ..
STATE
CONNECTICUT
59 SOUTH PROSPECT
OF CONNECTICUT
HISTORICAL
STREET, HARTFORD,
(203) 566-3005
•
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COMMISSION
CONNECTICUT
06106
QUAD:
I I.
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TOWN
2
(ComfIJoaJ
NAME
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CITY
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Farmington
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62 Garden Street
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ACCESSIBILITY
TO PUBLIC:
t STYLE
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EXTERIOR
OF
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o
Aluminum
5;ding
Load !rearing
o
I
ROAD
INTERIOR
Asbestos
Siding
Siding
o
Cobblestone
o
Conc,ete.
Type:
~
Cut stone
Type:
o
Po st and beam
liJ balloon
Flat
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Shed
OHiP
Wood Shingle
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Asphalt
Roll
Asphalt
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Mansa,d
STORIEli
PPROXIM
Excellent
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O,n original
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Carriage
house
SURROUNDING
:=J Open
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land
Comme,clal
28
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Shop
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foundation
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steel
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s,awtooth
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Slate
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DIMENSIONS
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Fair
Dete,iarated
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Good
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Deterio,oted
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YES
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St,uctu,al
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INTEGRITY,
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shingle
14! CONDITION
13
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(Specify)
B,ick
Stucco
o
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Fieldstone
masonry
Gambrel
NUMBER
IF
Revival
o
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~
@Na
with Colonial
",1I.. n app,op,ial~1
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II
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Public
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T,"''''
ROOF.
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14
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landscape
featu'es
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BUILDING
AND
SCall~,ed
buildings
building
VI
sibl"
from
Site
densdy
SURROUNDINGS
Located along the west side of Garden Street. the Henry Steinmetz House sits in a
residential neighborhood comprising other historic dwellings built in the nineteenth
Part of the Miss Porter's School complex lies across the
and twentieth centuries.
street to the east and the Farmington River is located to the west.
-
:
0 Pot_tiol
IResidence
...l.. SYS':"EM
Wood frame
10
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Asphalt
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STRUCTUR
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vernacular
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Twentieth-century
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OWNERlS)
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House
Henry.
VILL"GE
Albert and Violet T. Frascarelli
S USE I Pr~",,,r J
Residence
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Built in 1911
the Henry Steinmetz
House is oriented
gable-to-street.
The facade
exhibits
a single-story,
Colonial
Revival-style
veranda adorned with classical
columns
resting on a solid, flared balustrade.
Note the lattice-like
skirt trimming
the base
of the porch.
The porch has been partially
enclosed with screens.
The gable end
features a small one-over-one
sash and wide overhanging
eaves.
Double-hung,
one-overone windows with louvered
shutters
are displayed
throughout
the house.
A small brick
chimney rises from the center of the house.
The small wood-framed
garage which is
located to the rear of the house originally
sat at the front of the lot and served
as a barber shop.
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BUILDER
Henry Steinmetz
erected this house in 1911 on land he had previously
purchased
from
Frank Corbin in 1903 (FLR 71:623).
Born in Germany,
Steinmetz
(1863-1929)
was the son
of Henrich and Wilhelmina
Steinmetz.
His wife was the former Ottony Maria Mercher
(1877-1972)
of Braunschweig,
Germany.
A barber by trade, Steinmetz
operated a shop
in Unionville
with his brother John before opening his own barber shop on Main Street,
Farmington,
around the turn of the century.
In 1921 he built a small barber shop on
the front of his homelot along Garden Street, which was later moved off the street and
converted
to a garage.
Active in the Democrati~
Party, Steinmetz
also worked as a news
reporter
for the Farmington
Valley Herald.
In 1972 the property was willed to Steinmetzs'
three daughters:
Gertrude
(b. 1898), Elsa (b. 1905), and Martha (b. 1912) (FLR 248:497).
The present owners purchased
the house in 1976 (FLR 2~8:824).
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Historically
significant
for its association
with the Steinmetz
family, this wellmaintained,
early twentieth-century
home contributes
to the overall historic
character
of Garden Street.
Farmington
Land Records;
Farmington
Probate Records;
Farmington
Vital Records;
Farmington
Cemetery Inscriptions,
W.P.A.,
1934; Avon Cemetery
Inscriptions,
W.P.A.,
1934; 1853 E.M.
Woodford Map; 1855 E.M. Woodford
Map; 1869 Baker and Tilden Map; 1878 O.H. Bailey & Co. Map.
Prentice,
Dudley. History of Farmington
Houses. 9 vols., N.p., 1974; Farmington
House File
Collection.
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ACME
OWNER'S
STEThTMf<:TZEST.
NAME
HENRY
ADDITIONAL
514"-
INFORMATION
1 qc;()-rl'\~
h'/ Gar-d en Strl"!l'lt
ADDRESS:
DATE
BUILT:
. 1911
H
F~nr'V ()
Hl"lnrv
ARCHITECT
MASTER-BUILDER
FORMER
OWNERS:
,
FOR:
Henrv Steinml"!t7.
lA.!io:<:rm,(
H~?l;('mY
None - land nut-chased
bv Herir-v S-ho'; nm"'!t7. f'r-orn Fr-ank
L Cnrbin
7h /1 co '3. on Cana l Strp.et
Steinl11~tz. states
that
th'i~ W::l~ the f'Lr-st house
Hrs
bu'ilt
tv Mr \Vilcnx
1
:
REFERENCES:
OWNER
ST~INMZTZ,
EST. HENRY
AS
OF11~50
PHOTO
NO.
~~~
.
1"119j;t
17
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62 Gardea Str.et
98A1tlaouSlltil. Stei ... tll fa.ily va. ia Faraiaato. ia
1906, tat. lum •• laad •• t y.t b••• bUilt, .0 do ••• oet .pp •• r i.
til. F.raia.t •• Book. Til. faaily v.~ liyi •• at t•• t ti.. i. v ••t
••• b ••a k.o.a •• til. Loomi. laou•• , d•• iaaat.d by tile writ.r aF
829 Farailllt•• Ay ••u., aad pictur.aat
10w.r l.ft oa p••• 112 of
the Far.tllst•• Book.
Whe. til. Looai. fam11y vi ••• d to occupy tlaat .ouae
t••••• 1y •• , •• d t•• St.l ... ta f"11y Ja&~ to ••• &t., tae, built
t.1. laou•••• Gud •• Street., k. a.l ... ta Ilayia. b... provid ••t
.ad purc ••••• 't.1 •• ou •• lot i. 1903 fro. Fr.ak L. Corbl •• Tile
.ctual build.r .f til. Ilou•• waa H••., O. Wilcox of 157 M.ia Stre.t,
who bul1~ lt i. 1911. Mr.. St.l ••• t& Il.r •• idtaat it v •• tile
firet oa. h. buitt, .1tllouSIl•• bul1t otller.'l.ter.
B.ary SteiUl.t&, bora i. G.T.aay ta 1863, laaa boe. a
p.Tt.er wida Ili. brot.er J•• a i•• barlter allop ia Daio •• llle
b.f.re aett1as up .1a ova ••ep aere ia Faniaste.,
b.£ore la.
w •• aarrled.
Ia all probability Il. reated apec. for aia aa.~
fre. "-a. nu.phry.
Ie waa til•• il1&se barber ia 1906, .ad tae
Faraiast •• B•• k laaa laia paeto •• pa.o 27, at .. d1•• o. fr.at ef
aia allep. It vaa e. Maia Stroet, .tead1.s to the Y.at of "Ilat
i••• v 19 M.i. Street, vlliea .ta.d.- baek fr•• tae .tr •• t, ..,ilile
tlae e.rlier ••uae. "ere aet risllt at tllo .ide.alk'. edse. Hr.
Edvard B .... 1•• , Jr., .ad ..otll.r pilot. of at., i.aide Ilia
a•• p •• d ..,itll
a euat ••• r, ..,.tekMr. n.. 1•• u.e4 ... c.le.d.r
••• ye.r, ••• of aeay plaot.a ..,Iliela
•• uaed for pieturlas
Ferai.at •• to lat.r reaide.ta.
.1.
Mre. Stei .. etz ..,
•• til. for.er Otto.y Mercker, bora
ia Ger... y, "Ilo c.. e to F.raiasto • ..,itktile Hardy f.. ily of
27 Maia Street •• t~eir retura fr•• a Europea. trip. Ber •• Ile
.et Mr. Stei_eta,
aad .fteJ: atoppla. f.r a "laite i. 1Iew Ba" ••.
•Ilo J:eturaed to Faral.ltoa and tll.y were aarried.
Who. Noala wallace pureh ••• d tile houe •• t 19 Maia
Street aad ..,ialle4
to aoye aad r.... del it, Mr. St.i ... tz obt.ined perai •• io. to build • alaop •• Garde. Str~t, ••4 built
a ... 11 •• e .ear the aidewalk at the fr.at .f lai. let. Tile
f•• ily .. yed it to the rear after hia deatla, aad it ••" eerve.
a. tile .araS ••
1. additioa to beias tile to... barber, Mr. Steillmeta
"'a. ne..,.reporter f.r tile Far.inston Valley Herald, wa. in the
real e.tate buaifte•• , aad Yaa a Yery .ctlY8 .e.ber of the
Democratic party, .erviaa o. the T... Co_itt.e.
Be was' ala.
yery acti.o ia tlae .uccea.ful .o.eae.t to claaase the a•• e of
Ca.al Street t. Garden Str ••t, n.t 101l& after they ROved t.
thie .lte.
Be.ry Steinaetz laad • brotlaer Willia. living ia N•..,
Ha••• , and wh.a Willi .... dauslater Hele. ceae to w.rk ia Hartford ia 1921,
roomed Itere "ita her URcle Heary .ad k1.
faai1y, later .arry1as Williaa Delaney.
.Ia.
May 15, 1974
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Hr. Steiametz died in 1929 at the rather early age of
sixty-six. His widow, fourteen years younger than he, lived
until the age of ninety-fi?e, having died' in March of 1972.
Hr. and Mrs. Steinmetz had three daughterS', Gertrude,
Elsa and Martha, all bora in Farmington.
Gertrude Steiametz li?e~ at home and worked in Hartford' for the Travelers Insurance Company until her retirement
ia 1963. She cared for her mother at home until the last year
and a hal'f before her mother t s death, when her mother bact to
be placed in a convalescent h08pita~ in A?oa, needing mor~care
thaa could be gi?ea at home.
Elsa Steinmetz studied tor teaching, at Beaver CoLlege
in Glen.ide. Pennsyl?ania. She raa a private kindergardten in
Wethersfield tor a time. She later taught kindergarten pupil.
in Blloomtield, ia Winste,d, and at the Vine Street School. in
Hartford. She left schoot teaching when in 1938 she married
Joha James JOy4e. He had been born in Avon, attended grade
schools there and .igh School in Simsbury, after-which he was
graduated from Beatley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.
After
graduation he worked for the Hartford accounting firm of Hadfield,
Rothwell, Soule and Coates, later becoming a partner. In 1944
they merged with Erust aad Ernst. Mr. Joyce retired as partner
and consultant, in 1963. He was on the rationing board in A?on
during the years of World War II, and on the Board of Directors
of the Avon Visiting Nurses Association when first organized.
Hr. and Hrs. Joyce lived in A?on and New Hartford,
now reside in Farmington. Hrs. Joyce hae beea a CUb Scout Daa
Kother, a member of Democratic Town Committees and of the
Bartford Symphony Auxiliary, Democratic R.egistrar of Voter.,
and Sunday School teacher at A?on and Farmington.
The Joycee ha?e two sons, Stephen and James. Dr.
Stephea John Joyce is married to the former Katrina CurreBa.
They and alao James Benry Joyce pre8eatly li?e in Boeton.
Martha Steinmetz, a graduate of the Hartford Hospital
School! of Nur8ing, took employment with Honolulu' 8 Hilo Memorial Hospital arouad 1938. She was night 8upervisor thera oa
Sunday. necember 7. 1941, the "nay of Infamy". She was the
first nurs& to ?olunteer for service at the blood bank in the
Queena Hospital in Honolulu, and joined the Army Nursing Corps
on Dec.mber 11. She lived the war years in Honolulu. and in
all spent eight years in Rawaii.
Claude Newton Rolwill. Jr •• born in China, a graduate of Kent School in Connecticut, who had worked ten years
with Air Reduction in New York, was also at Rono1ulu during
the raid on Pearl Barbor. He was then with Hawaiian Gaa
Product8. the Hilo branch manager. and dro?e a truck to!Pearl
Harbor that day with medical oxygea for the burn cases. He
worked at Pearl Harbor during the war years. helping with the
raising and repair of ships of war.
May 15. 1974
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Upon asking the Holwills for more information on
Mr. Holwill's family background, Mrs. Holwill gave the writer
the following information, which he quotes verbatim, seeing no
opportunity of improving or clarifying it. She said:
"Claude's grandfather was Ernest Goodrich and he
adopted the name of Holwill, so went by the name of Ernest
Goodrich Holwill.
Claude stem~ from the Goodrich family.
He
i. a direct descendant of Major Butler Goodrich whose father
was one of the first settlers of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
The Major went to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and was one of th~
early settler .. in Pittsfield.
He built the family homestead at
823 North Street during the late l7001s or early 18001_,
and it
has remained in the family until the Berkshire County Historical
Society purchased it in 1963. It is called Goodrich House, and
open to the public.
Claude spent his summers in that house
with his grandmother while attending Kent School.
)
"Claude Newton Holwill, Sr., Claude's father, was
born in Canton, China, the son of Ernest Goodrich Holwill. He
was educ~ted in Pittsfield and Brookline, and attended Harvard
in the class of 1904. In his sophomore year his father received
a nomination from the late Sir Robert Hart to the Imperial Chinese
Maritime Customs.
At his death he was second ranking commissioner
in the service, and the only American holding that office.
He was
honored by both the Chinese and Italian governments.
During the
Communists' outrages in 1927 he kept his office running.
"Claude Newton Holwill, Sr., was married in Peking to
Miss Katoo de Luca, daughter of the Italian Minister to China
and Indo-China, in 1907.
"Claude Newton Holwill, Jr., was born in Chin-Wang-Ta~ in
1909. he lived in Chin-Wang-Tao, Antung, Ichang, Shanghai, and
Harbin, China, before attending Kent School with his older brother,
the late John Anderson Holwill.
She also says: "Our daughter Katoo was named after both
her grandmothers. Katoo Ottony Holwill.
Ottony was my mother's
name, and I have never heard or known of anyone ,'liththese names".
Martha and Claude were married in Honolulu in 1942, and
their daughter Katoo Ottony HoIwill was born there during the war.
After a couple of years in Farmington in the last half of the 1940'g,
during which their daughter Roxannne Marjorie was born in Hartford,
they moved to Seattle, Washington.
Mr. Holwill ha~ been employed there
by Boeing Aircraft since 1954 aa a welding consultant, in quality control, manufacturing development, and specifications and standards. He
plan. to retire in December of this year. Mrs. 11olwil1 started work
in 1954 with Group Health Co-op, the first prepaid mediacl plan in
America, and retired last year.
1
The Holwill girls are both married.
Katoo is Mrs. Roger
Sherrard.
They live in Tacoma, Washington, with young Wade Newton
Sherrard.
Roxanne is Mrs. Roger Plichta.
They live in Jonesboro~
Georgia, with tiny Andrea Irene Plichta.
May 15, 1974
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