Old Saybrook Historic and Architectural Resource Survey REPORT

Transcription

HISTORIC AND ARCHITECTURAL
RESOURCE SURVEY OF PORTIONS OF THE
TOWN OF OLD SAYBROOK, CONNECTICUT
The Town of Old Saybrook, as depicted on an 1893 atlas map
Project Historians:
David L. Taylor, M. A., Principal
Mary Anne Reeves, M. A., Senior Historian
TAYLOR & TAYLOR ASSOCIATES, INC.
Project Director:
Tedd Levy
Old Saybrook Historical Society
Sponsors:
State of Connecticut
Dannel P. Malloy, Governor
Daniel Forrest
State Historic Preservation Officer
2015
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Board of Selectmen
Carl P. Fortuna, Jr., First Selectman
Scott Giegerich, Selectman
Steven Gernhardt, Selectman
Historic District Commission
Diane DePaola Aldi, Chairman
Christine Nelson, AICP, Town Planner
Old Saybrook Historical Society
Marie McFarlin, President
Tedd Levy, Project Coordinator
It has been with great pleasure that the Town of Old Saybrook undertook this survey of historic
resources which define the character of our community. The survey resulted in the expansion and updating
of an earlier survey project that documented the vast repertoire of the Town’s historic resources. The
2014-2015 survey prepared documentation and photography of a variety of historic properties of diverse uses
and styles spanning the centuries of the development of the community, from the Colonial era into the
post-World War Two decades.
The Town of Old Saybrook received support for this important historic preservation project from the
Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, with funding from the Community
Investment Act of the State of Connecticut. We particularly thank Mary Dunne, Survey and Planning Grants
Coordinator and Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer for the Department’s historic preservation
program for her guidance throughout the project.
This project has been financed in part by the Department of Economic and Community Development with
federal funds from the Historic Preservation Fund of the National Park Service, US Dept. of the
Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department
or the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute
endorsement or recommendation by the Department or the Department of the Interior. This program receives
Federal financial assistance through the Department for identification and protection of historic properties.
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S.
Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, or handicap
in its federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program,
activity, or facility described above, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. National Park Service,
1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.
Town of Old Saybrook Historic Resource Survey: Survey Report
2015
Table of Contents
I. Introduction ........................................................................................................1
II. Methodology .......................................................................................................4
III. Historic Resource Survey Forms..........................................................................7
IV. Historic and Architectural Overview of the Project Area....................................9
V. Bibliography .........................................................................................................26
VI. Resources Related to Minority and Women’s History........................................28
VII. National Register/State Register/ HABS/HAER
Analysis and Recommendations.........................................................................29
Additional Recommendations..................................................................36
VIII. Street Index of all Inventoried Resources..........................................................41
IX. Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development
Inventory Forms and Continuation Sheets.........................................................48
X: Appendix: 1915 U. S. Geological Survey Maps for the Project Area…………………..49
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I. Introduction
This 2014-2015 Historic Resource Survey of selected properties in the Town of Old
Saybrook, Connecticut marked the continuation of ongoing initiatives on the part of the
municipal government and the Old Saybrook Historical Society to identify, document, and
preserve the architectural and historical resources of this architecturally rich and diverse
Middlesex County community.
A 1970 survey by the Connecticut River Estuary Regional
Planning Agency had documented properties throughout the Town and the community’s
governmental leadership and historic preservation advocates recognized the need to re-examine
the community’s historic resources more than thirty years after the initial project, evaluating Old
Saybrook’s historic resources, gathering current digital images of these resources, and preparing
Historic Resource Inventory-Buildings and Structures Forms in the format being used by the
Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office.
Middlesex County is shown in the lighter red, with the Town of Old
Saybrook shown in the darker. [Wikipedia.com]
The Town of Old Saybrook has an area of 21.6 square miles (13,824 acres) of which 15
square miles is land.
This survey covered many sections of the Town at a reconnaissance-level
and some areas at a more intensive level.
The topography of the survey area ranges from
essentially flat to moderate-to-gently-sloping terrain.
1
Most streets in the Town are paved,
2015
many are illuminated with street lights mounted onto utility poles powered by overhead wiring,
and sidewalks are present in most areas of the community.
The downtown area has
undergone major public improvements and streetscape rehabilitation.
The Connecticut River
marks the eastern boundary of the Town. The Town of Old Saybrook is bounded on the north by
the town of Essex, on the west by Westbrook, and on the south by Long Island Sound. Fenwick,
located along the Sound, is a separate borough.
The above map shows the location of Old Saybrook with relationship to the
adjacent municipalities [from Wikipedia.com]
Given the fact that this surveyed covered much of the Town at a reconnaissance-level,
building lots vary widely throughout the survey area.
lots are long and narrow with minimal side-lot setback.
In formally platted neighborhoods, many
On the other hand, in the Town’s more
rural reaches, lots are significantly larger on multi-acre lots with wooded areas encircling
properties.
Dependencies include garages and a few barns and carriage houses, old and new,
and are found in all residential areas of the community.
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Old Saybrook contains a diversity of historic house types, building types, and
construction methods, all of which typically represent construction methods, building types,
architectural styles, and traditional house forms popular in Middlesex County from the earliest
days of settlement and thereafter.
Buildings range in height from one to three stories and
exterior finishes include weatherboard, brick, and wood shingle. Not surprisingly, many
properties have been subjected to the installation of non-historic finishes and materials,
principally vinyl siding and replacement windows.
Roof forms include the gabled--the most prevalent–as well as hipped, pyramidal, shed,
Mansard, and gambrel.
asphalt shingle.
Roof finishes include wood shingle, slate, standing-seam metal, and
Some roof forms often incorporate dormers and in the case of many
commercial buildings along Main Street, the roofs are shallow-pitched or flat and their finishes
cannot be discerned.
Buildings rest on foundations of stone, poured concrete, brick, and concrete block.
In
some cases, foundations are parged, precluding the identification of the material from the public
rights-of-way.
Patterns of fenestration vary throughout the Town. Many of the earliest buildings retain
historic multi-light sash, 6/6, 6/9, 12/12, etc., often with original operable exterior wood
shutters.
As glass technology improved in the mid-nineteenth century, larger panes of glass
were produced resulting in 2/2 or 1/1 units.
Windows on most domestic architecture are
flat-topped, although in some cases lancet-arched windows hint at the Gothic Revival style.
Historic commercial buildings in the community typically have large display windows on the first
story with recessed entryways.
The Town’s historic churches have lancet-arched and
flat-topped windows with religious art glass.
Throughout the Town, homes exhibit entry doors of varying sophistication. Single-leaf
and double-leaf entry doors are found, characteristically of wood and often enframed within a
frontispiece, sometimes with sidelights and a transom along with classically-derived trim such as
pilasters and dentils.
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Porches and porticos of varying scale are seen in Old Saybrook.
Some of the
community’s early homes exhibit classically-derived porticos with fluted columns, most often of
the Doric order.
Later in the nineteenth century porches and wrap-around verandas were
trimmed with Eastlake- and Italianate-style ornament including turned and chamfered posts,
sawn trim, turned upper and lower balustrades, and brackets.
The areas under the eaves of many properties within the community have cornices of
varying detail.
In some cases the wall surfaces immediately beneath the eaves may be
unornamented or may contain only a dentil band or fascia board.
In other cases, cornices are
considerably more elaborate, with paneled friezes, brackets, pendants, and partial or full returns
on the gable ends.
Many buildings within the survey area retain original chimneys, located at gable ends and
within the roof slope of the buildings with which they are associated.
Some properties have no
chimneys, likely the result of their removal in the process of retrofitting of roofs and/or heating
systems.
Although inspection of the interiors of buildings within the survey area was beyond the
scope of the project, floor plans can sometimes be inferred from the exterior placement of
windows, doors, and chimneys.
Central-chimney Colonial and Colonial Revival-style houses,
Federal-style and temple-form Greek Revival-style houses, along with side- and central-passage
houses were identified within the survey area.
Along with these were Bungalows, Cape Cods,
and Ranch-style houses, each of which often incorporates a distinctive floor plan.
II. Methodology
This survey of the historic and architectural resources of the Town was conducted by
David L. Taylor, Principal, and Senior Historian Mary Anne Reeves, of the firm of Taylor & Taylor
Associates, Inc.
This firm and its personnel meet the professional qualification standards set
forth for historic preservation in 36 CFR 61.
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Fieldwork, photography, and research were carried out in the Fall of 2014. The
Consultants met with Project Coordinator Tedd Levy during the process.
was provided, with general survey areas indicated.
Initially a Town map
Later, Town Planner Christine Nelson, AICP
provided a list of addresses of properties to be recorded.
The final report and survey
documents were provided in hard copy and digital format to the Town and to the Historic
Preservation and Museum Division of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community
Development.
Microfiche copies of the report will be deposited by the DECD at the
Connecticut State Library in Hartford and at the Special Collections Department of the Dodd
Research Center at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
The objective of the project was a reconnaissance-level recordation of selected historic
residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial resources using the aforementioned list of
addressees provided by the Town.
well.
Several historic objects and structures were documented as
Using as a goal 230 properties to be documented, the Consultant photographed
properties both on the list and in specific areas that warranted documentation.
Those
dependencies which could viewed from the public right-of-way were photographed as well.
No attempt was made to identify archaeological sites, since such an investigation fell outside the
scope of this project and would have required specialized procedures and equipment, extensive
fieldwork, and a considerably greater expenditure of funds.
Since this was primarily a reconnaissance-level survey, a wide variety of properties were
surveyed in order to result in a representative sampling of Old Saybrook’s historic resources.
A
number of National Register-listed properties were recorded, along with properties in National
Register historic districts.
Beyond that, however, some properties were recorded that
possessed no identified historic or architectural significance. Such properties were surveyed
because they, too are part of the architectural fabric of the community.
In addition, properties
that had undergone alterations were recorded as well, and National Register potential was
evaluated based upon those alterations.
In some cases, National Register potential could be
changed by the reversal of alterations such as the installation of non-historic siding, but such
treatment is not typically likely.
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A total in excess of 600 digital images were taken and a disc containing all of these
images in a high-resolution digital format was provided to the Town and to the DECD.
Historical information was drawn from published materials, historic maps, and written
histories of the community, from the collection of the Old Saybrook Historical Society, and other
sources cited in the Bibliography which appears as Section III.
The Consultant prepared new Connecticut Department of Economic and Community
Development Historic Resources Inventory–Building and Structures forms for the properties
within the area described above.
The inventory forms were produced using the digital
inventory form in a Portable Document Format (.pdf) provided by the DECD.
Continuation
Sheets containing current photos of each resource were produced as .pdf files attached to the
files with the survey forms.
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III. Historic Resource Inventory Forms
For each historic property surveyed, a standard electronic version of the Connecticut
Historic Resources Inventory Form was completed according to the guidelines of the Historic
Preservation and Museum Division of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community
Development.
Each form is divided into three sections, providing background information on
the name and location of each building, along with its current owner, use, materials, an
assessment of integrity, site data, a brief architectural description noting special building or site
features, the identity of the architect or builder (if known), a statement as to its historic and/or
architectural importance, the identification of any known threats to the property, and a
photograph or photographs embedded onto Continuation Sheets.
building “footprints” were also embedded onto the forms.
In addition to the photos,
These footprints were taken from
Internet website of the Tax Assessor of the Town of Old Saybrook on the Vision Government
Solutions website. (www.vgsi.com/vision/Applications/ParcelData/CT/Home.aspx). Names and
addresses of current owners were also obtained from this website and the data was assembled
in November and December, 2014.
The Historic Property Inventory Forms incorporate 21 numbered fields, each of which
records specific data.
The survey was focused upon on the exterior appearance—primarily the
facades--of the individual properties.
Evaluation of structural systems of individual properties
was based upon professional expertise, the apparent age of the property, its outward
appearance, etc.
The architectural style assigned to each property characteristically reflects
the earliest and most prevalent stylistic influence, irrespective of additions or alterations.
some cases, buildings were reminiscent of particular styles but not pure examples.
In
In such
cases they were described as possessing elements of a particular style, e. g., “Colonial Revival
(elements).”
In some cases descriptions and/or statements of significance characterized
properties as “vernacular,” interpreting that oft-misinterpreted description as it is defined in
Ward Bucher s Dictionary of Building Preservation (Washington, D. C., 1996): “a building built
without being designed by an architect or someone with similar formal training; often based on
traditional or regional forms.” This characterization is by no means a pejorative, since so many
buildings built throughout the course of development of Old Saybrook reflect local building
traditions and the skill of local builders rather than formally-trained architects.
In general, the
consultant adhered closely to generally-accepted architectural terminology contained in
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standard reference publications such as Virginia and Lee McAlester’s Field Guide to American
Houses (New York, 1984), Steven Phillips’ Old House Dictionary (Washington, D. C., 1992), John
J.-G. Blumenson’s Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms,
1600-1945 (Nashville, 1977; rev. 1981), and to the aforementioned Ward Bucher publication.
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IV. Historic and Architectural Overview of the Survey Area
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Old Saybrook was founded in 1635 and is one of the earliest settlements in Connecticut.
Its
strategic location where the Connecticut River flows into Long Island Sound attracted early Dutch explorers
who established a trading post at Saybrook Point.
In 1620 a
syndicate of English nobles formed the Plymouth Council,
permitted by a royal grant conferred upon them by King James I
for the colonization of New England. This same Council was
responsible for the emigration of those on the “Mayflower” and
for the eventual settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Encouraged by the first efforts at North American settlement,
the King issued another patent through a personal land grant to
Robert Rich, the Earl of Warwick.
After the death of King James I in 1625, the throne
passed to his despotic son Charles I.
Englishmen with leanings
toward Puritan Protestantism and Parliamentary rule became
King
James
I,
by
Dasniel
Mytens
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_VI_and_I#/medi
a/File:James_I_of_England_by_Daniel_Mytens.jpg
clear objects of the monarch's enmity.
Among these were the
the Earl of Warwick, Viscount Saye and Sele, Lord Brooke, and
Oliver Cromwell.
evident that these opposing factions needed to seek safety.
As the situation deteriorated, it became
During a clandestine meeting at Saye and Sele's
castle, it was proposed that Warwick's Connecticut lands be colonized as a refuge for these threatened nobles and
like-minded settlers.
Under the leadership of Warwick, Saye and Sele, and Brooke, the Sayebrook Company
was established.
Among the company’s first actions was to commission John Winthrop (1606-1676), son of the
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Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who was known as John Winthrop the Younger,1 to serve as the
leader of the fledgling settlement for a period of one year. With
approximately twenty men, including carpenters and laborers,
Winthrop departed for the Saybrook Point site that at that time was
occupied by the Dutch traders. Winthrop’s crew unloaded their vessel
and took ashore tools, supplies, and two deck cannons with which to
thwart the return of the Dutch.
It is said that two rounds from the
English cannons at Saybrook Point were all that were required to halt
the approach of the first returning Dutch vessels. From that time on,
Saybrook was a British settlement.
In 1636, Lt. Lion Gardiner (1599-1663) joined the John Winthrop the Younger [from
group known as "Winthrop's Twenty" at Saybrook. Gardiner was
Wikipedia.com]
a gifted civil engineer with military engineering experience and
became the first commander of Saybrook Fort and was hired by
the English colonists to assist them in the planning and construction
of a community. The fort was completed in 1635, a date that
marks the actual birth of the Saybrooke colony.
The first
organized religious service in the colony of Connecticut were held
in the fort and continued there until the building was destroyed by
fire eleven years later.
A 1930 statue of Gardiner, commissioned by members of
the Gardiner family, stands at the foot of College Street near
the site of the fort.
This statue of Lion Gardiner at Monument Park is
the work of sculptor William Partridge.
1
The early years of the new settlement were
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Winthrop_the_Younger, accessed March 5, 2015.
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fraught with challenges.
Fluctuating political sentiments in England prevented the original
planners of the community to emigrate. Gov. John Winthrop declined to renew his gubernatorial commission
and his position passed to George Fenwick (1603?-1657), the only one of the original patent holders who came to
Saybrook. The municipality of Fenwick, adjacent to Old Saybrook, bears his name.
In addition, the fort
witnessed several conflicts during the1634-1638 Pequot War. In 1637, Lion Gardiner wrote that the fort was
under siege, "with but twenty-four in all, men, women, and children, there is not enough food for two months lest
the corn crops be saved." Though some settlers perished, the crops survived and the Native Americans were
ultimately defeated. In 1644 Gov. George Fenwick returned to England and turned Saybrook over to the
Connecticut Colony. A committee was formed to study the subdivision of the lands outside the Saybrook
settlement. The first subdivision was in the vicinity of Oyster River. The second, known as the Eight Mile
Meadow, was in the vicinity of present-day Essex, and the third was on the east side of the Connecticut River and
eventually became the settlement of Lyme.
Public documents from the mid-seventeenth century record that approximately fifty taxable citizens lived
in Saybrook in the 1650s. By the following decade that number fell due to the out-migration of a group under
the leadership of a local minister and the Town Clerk to establish the new Town of Norwich. About the same
time another group left to the west to establish Hammonasset, later known as Killingworth.
The Boston Post Road as it passed through Connecticut [from Wikipedia]
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Old Saybrook developed along what would become known as the Boston Post Road, portions of which were the
Pequot Path, a Native American trail in use long before European settlement. The Boston Post Road extended
along the northeast coastline and consisted of a series of roads that beginning as early as 1673 served the delivery
of mail up and down the coast.
This map, known as the Chesbrough Map, illustrates some of the roadways the pass through Old Saybrook, along
with their dates of opening [Old Saybrook Historical Society]
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The Church and State were one unit in early Connecticut and in 1708 Congregationalism was recognized
as the official religion of the Connecticut colony. Expansion to the east bank of the Connecticut River occurred
early following the initial settlement at Saybrook Point. Before departing for England in the 1640s, Gov. Fenwick
gave Matthew Griswold land on the east side of the river. In 1665, Lyme was established separate from Saybrook,
by which time some thirty proprietors of record had holdings on the east side. The General Court granted
permission to establish a new colony in 1663; three years later the first congregation was formed under the
leadership of the Rev. Moses Noyes and the new town was officially named in 1667. Originally the town was
considerably larger, including portions of Hadlyme, Salem, along with Lyme, Old Lyme, and East Lyme.
The population grew slowly but
steadily; it reached 1,931 in 1756, and as it
spread inland from the costal territory
new congregations were formed since
travel was often a challenge. Citizens in
the
Eight
Mile
Quarter
received
permission to establish a Second Society in
1722 and two years later the Third, or
The “Yale Boulder” on College Street commemorates the founding of this
institution in Old Saybrook early in the eighteenth century.
West Society was born in present-day
Westbrook.
By 1740 yet another
congregation, the Fourth Society, was established in Chester.
By 1670 there were upwards of twenty churches in the colony and the need for a system of formal
education became evident. A college was established at Saybrook in 1701 for “the liberall [sic] education of
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This 19th-century map shows the settlement patterns of the community at that time and the intersection of the
two railroads, the New York and New Haven and the Connecticut Valley. [University of Connecticut]
youth that by God’s blessing may be fit for public service.”2 A single-story building and ten acres were given to
2
Barbara Maynard and Tedd Levy, Old Saybrook. (Charleston, SC, Arcadia Publishing, 2010), p. 14.
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the school by Nathaniel Lynde, with the provision that it remain in Saybrook. Such was not to be, as the
institution moved to New Haven in 1716 and was renamed Yale College, honoring Elihu Yale (1649-1721), a
prosperous Welsh merchant and philanthropist and a leading benefactor of the institution.3 The “Yale Boulder”
on College Street memorializes the founding of the great institution in Old Saybrook.
An 1894 alas map of Old Saybrook including Fenwick, which was being developed by this time
3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elihu_Yale, accessed March 3, 2015.
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Saybrook
Colony
remained
essentially geographically and culturally
unchanged throughout the balance of the
eighteenth century, operating as a rural
fishing settlement along the Connecticut
River and Long Island Sound.
The
population grew as the area developed,
reaching 3,996 in 1800, 4,115 in 1820, and
The Acton Library, for decades a local educational center, was
established in 1854. The above building was built at 40 Old Boston
Post Road and served the library until the 1990s.
5,018 in 1830. During the second and
third quarters of the nineteenth century
new political subdivisions were formed
from the original colony, resulting in the Town of Old Saybrook as it exists today. Chester and Westbrook
became independent towns in 1836 and 1840, respectively. In 1838, Killingworth had been divided into two
sections, the northernmost remaining Killingworth and the southern named Clinton.
In 1852 the balance of
Saybrook was subdivided again when Old Saybrook was created. In 1854 Essex was created, and in 1853 Lyme
and South Lyme, the latter of which changed its name to Old Lyme. These partitionings resulted in a net
population loss for the municipality of Old Saybrook; it stood at 1,484 in 1890.
The remainder of the original
town of Saybrook became Deep River in 1947.
Between 1900 and 1920 the population rose only slightly, from 1,431 to 1,436. A significant increase
occurred between 1930 (1,643) and 1950 (5,274). From 1970 to the present the population continued to
increase, rising from 8,468 in 1970 to 10,242 in 2010.4
4
Census data drawn from the Secretary of the State’s website http://www.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view. asp?a=3188&q= 392400,
accessed February, 2015.
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Throughout the nineteenth century maritime industries drove the economy. Shipbuilding was a
leading economic force, linked inextricably to the West Indies shipping trade. Mariners and shipbuilders alike
made their homes here, as did those who invested in the lucrative water-dependent industrial endeavors.
Notable among these was Capt. George Dickinson (1770-1857), who built a spacious 1830 Federal-style brick
house along what would become North Cove Road.
Located on the waterfront, a portion of Dickinson’s
house served as a ship’s chandler, ”a retail dealer
who specializes in supplies or equipment
for ships, known as ship's stores.
For
traditional sailing ships, items that could be
found
The theater and former post office on Main Street, shown in a
1940s tinted post card view.
in
a
chandlery
might
include: rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch(resin), li
nseed
oil, whale
The route of the Shore Line Electric Railway [from Wikipedia.com]
oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, oakum, tools (hatchet, axe, hammer,
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chisel, planes, lanterns, nails, spikes, boat hooks, caulking irons, hand pumps, marlinspikes),
brooms, mops, galley supplies, leather goods, and paper.” 5
Several historic lighthouses were
built along the shore, to guide mariners away from the Saybrook shore.
Old Saybrook was a major transportation hub through much of its history.
As noted earlier, the
Boston Post Road provided land-based mail service between New York and Boston and passed through the
community, eventually carrying passengers in stagecoaches and trolleys. Sailing ships and Connecticut River
steamboats called at Saybrook with freight and passengers. The nineteenth century brought with it the railroad
and significantly increased ease of transportation up and down the shoreline and into the inland. The Shore Line
Electric Railway operated for 15 non-consecutive years beginning in 1910 and provided trolley services from a
concrete car barn located on Ford Drive. The line ultimately included a network to Hartford, Chester, and Stony
Creek, but was destined to ultimately close in 1929.
With the fading of maritime industry, Old Saybrook developed a new economic base, also linked to the
river and the Sound. In 1994 the Connecticut River estuary and tidal wetlands complex, from the
mouth of the river to a point above Middletown, was identified under the International
Ramsar Convention Treaty as a “Wetland of International Importance,” one of only 15 such
designations in the entire United States. In 1993 the Nature Conservancy designated the
tidelands, including the wetlands of North and South Coves, as one of 40 biologically
important ecosystems in the western hemisphere, known as the “Last Great Places.”
In 1998, President Clinton designated the entire Connecticut River, from the Canadian border to the
Sound, as one of America’s fourteen Heritage Rivers. The community became known as a popular vacationer’s
destination, with hotels, inns, restaurants, and shops dotting portions of its commercial areas. Vacationers also
built substantial seasonal homes along the shoreline, many of which have since been converted to year-round
occupancy.
5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship-chandler, accessed February 26, 2015.
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This image shows on the left an aerial photograph of the community from 1934 by the U. S. Department of
Agriculture and on the right a contemporary satellite photo. Of particular note is the undeveloped land shown in
the 1934 image as compared to the contemporary view [University of Connecticut Libraries Map and Geographic
Information Center - MAGIC. (2012).Neighborhood Change in Connecticut, 1934 to Present. Retrieved from
http://magic.lib.uconn.edu/otl/dualcontrol_aerialchange.html]
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Architectural Character
The Town of Old Saybrook is indeed rich in architectural character, and the architectural
styles that appear throughout the Town for the most part mirror those that were popular across
America from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. Principal styles found within
the community include the following:
Cape Cod
These houses are
ubiquitous throughout New England
and date from the earliest days of
settlement. They are typically one or
1½ stories in height, of wood
construction, with a side-gable roof and
a 3- or 5-bay façade with a centered
entry and usually a central chimney.
In some cases the presence of a rear
shed-roofed wing creates a saltbox
house.
The 1740 James Chapman House at 116 Old Post Road is a
characteristic Cape Cod house with a central chimney and, in this
case, an asymmetrical 4-bay façade.
Georgian These pre-Revolutionary
houses bear the name of the rulers of
England during the period. Characteristically two stories in height, Georgian-style domestic
architecture has a side-gable or hipped roof, often a symmetrical 5-bay façade with a centered
entry, often a decorative frontispiece
surrounding the front door, and in many
cases an elaborate cornice beneath the
eaves.
They appear with central
chimneys as well as with gable-end or
interior chimneys, usually of brick.
The 1767 Gen. William Hart House at 350 Main Street is a
characteristic 5-bay Georgian-style house with gable-end
chimneys, 12/12 windows, and a centered entry shielded by a
Doric portico. The house museum of the Old Saybrook
Historical Society, it is individually listed in the National Register
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of Historic Places.
Federal
The first post-Revolutionary
architectural style to emerge in
America, the Federal style borrowed
some form and detail from earlier years,
including the use of hand-crafted
ornament based on English pattern
books and builders’ guides. It appears
2015
in Old Saybrook in brick and wood, and in many cases elaborate entries incorporate
round-arched and semi-elliptical fanlights and sidelights with delicate tracery. In addition, the
three-part Palladian window often is
seen on houses of this style.
Federal-style brick houses occasionally
employ
the
alternating
header-stretcher-header Flemish bond
brick pattern.
Greek Revival
The young America of
the early 1800s embraced Greece’s
history of democracy and its quest for
independence.
The Greek Revival
style became the modern style of
design following about 1800 and
remained in vogue even to the time of
the Civil War. It employed the form
and detail from classical Greek
architecture, including the use of the gable roof with partial or full returns of the cornice,
classically-derived porticos large and small, and universally flat-topped windows. The
gable-end temple-form house type and the upright-and wing are among the characteristic Greek
Revival-style building types.
The 1810 home of shipbuilder Bushnell Kirtland House at 110
North Cove Road is a 5-bay central-chimney Federal-style house
with an elaborate entry with a frontispiece with pilasters and a
fanlight over the door and a centered Palladian window on the
second story.
Victorian
This is a generic term
applied to architecture dating from the
late 1830s until the turn of the
twentieth century. England’s Queen
Victoria reigned from 1837 until 1901
and many of the styles and
embellishments that appeared during
these decades are sometimes generally
termed “Victorian.”
A c. 1800 Greek Revival-style house at 14 Pennywise Lane, this is
a temple-form side-passage house with a frontispiece with
pilasters enframing a single-leaf entry door.
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Gothic Revival This style harkens back
to Medieval European design and
emphasizes verticality, often through
the use of lancet-arched windows and
door openings on religious buildings and
the use of vertical board-and-batten
siding on domestic architecture. Often
elaborate, lacy sawn or turned
bargeboard appears under the eaves
and sometimes the style is hinted at
with the presence of a pointed-arched
window in the pediment of a gable. Its
twentieth-century manifestation is
referred to as the Late Gothic Revival
style.
St. John Roman Catholic Church on Main Street, with its
lancet-arched windows and delicate tracery, is an example of
late Gothic Revival-style religious design. It dates from the
1930s.
French Second Empire
This style bears the name of the 1852-1870 reign of French emperor
Napoleon III. Its defining characteristic is the Mansard roof, consisting of steeply-pitched sides
typically penetrated by dormers. This
roof
style
was
pioneered
by
seventeenth-century French architect
Francois Mansart. Buildings of this style
often incorporate elaborate cornices
beneath the eaves. In some cases
earlier buildings were modernized with
the addition of a dormered Mansard
roof.
Italianate
A
quintessential
late-nineteenth-century
style,
the
Italianate style borrows form and detail
from
northern
Italian
domestic
architecture. Italianate-style buildings
typically have tall, narrow window proportions and cornices beneath the eaves that are
ornamented with paneled friezes, brackets, pendants, etc. Italianate-style houses often have
one- or two-story bay windows with their own stylistic cornices. Italianate-style detail is
This substantial French Second Empire-style house at 341 Main
Street has the characteristic mansard roof penetrated by gable
formers and a bracketed cornice under the eaves. It also
exhibits paired bay windows and a centered entry on the façade,
shielded by a portico.
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employed on the French Second Empire-style house shown on the previous page.
Eastlake This is a type of ornament used
late in the nineteenth century. It consists
of elaborate turned and sawn wood trim,
characteristically appearing on porches.
At 122 College Street is this Italianate–style house with a
wrap-around veranda and a belvedere with a bracketed
cornice atop the roof.
The Samuel H. Pratt House at 334 Main Street is an
Italianate-style residence with a 2-story bay window on one side,
tall window proportions, and partial returns of the cornice. It
also has a wrap-around veranda with Eastlake-style
embellishment.
Colonial Revival
In 1876, America celebrated its Centennial, an event that rekindled a
passion for pre-Revolutionary domestic architecture from the eighteenth century. Architects
and builders built new houses that had as their precedents the homes, large and small, that
characterized the original thirteen colonies. In some cases, these buildings were faithful
replications of eighteenth-century buildings and in other instances only some details—a
Palladian window for example—appeared on otherwise modest homes lacking a profusion of
23
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Colonial-era detail.
The properties surveyed in the 2014-2015 Old Saybrook survey included a variety of
Colonial Revival-style domestic and commercial architecture dating from the turn of the century
into the 1950s. Chief among them was the Cape Cod house, one of the Colonial Revival house
types that grew in popularity during the “small house” movement of the 1920s and continued to
be built well into the 1950s.
Universally 1 or 1½ stories in height,
Cape Cods have side-gable roofs and
characteristically a 3- or 5-bay façade,
often symmetrical with a centered
single-leaf entry door accessed from a
small masonry stoop, sometimes
enclosed with a cast metal railing.
Front porches are typically lacking on
Cape Cods. Cape Cods appear with
This is a 1954 Cape Cod with a 3-bay facade, a centered entry,
wood and brick finishes.
Most and paired dormers. Located at 93 College Street, it is a
examples of these houses have product of its time, it also incorporates an attached garage.
dormers—usually gabled--on the façade and often appear with central chimneys that penetrate
the ridgeline of the roof.
More
substantial
Colonial
Revival-style houses, such as Georgian
Revivals, have 2 or 2½ stories, with
highly detailed accoutrements including
porticos and frontispieces, sidelights,
transoms or fanlights enframing singleor double-leaf entry doors. Except for
the presence of the three-part Palladian
window, fenestration is typically
flat-topped, often with multi-light sash
with true divided lights and exterior
This 3-bay Colonial Revival-style house at 14 College Street has a
In some cases
centered entry on the façade and a hip-roofed sunroom on the operable shutters.
side elevation.
lunettes appear in the pediments of the
gable ends.
Sunrooms became popular in the 1920s and thereafter, and often appear on gable ends.
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Characteristically one-story in height, sunrooms have bands of windows on the exposed sides.
Craftsman
An early twentieth-century style, this design mode developed from the
Arts-and-Crafts movement of late nineteenth-century England. It ws popularized by the
California architect- brothers Greene and Greene and by Gustav Stickley. It is most often
appears in Old Saybrook as a side-gable
Bungalow, 1½ stories in height, with an
engaged front porch and typically with a
substantial dormer on the façade. They
were among the popular house types
marketed in mail order catalogs by
Sears, Montgomery Ward, and others.
This is a substantial 1919 side-gable Bungalow at 355 Main
Street, finished in wood shingles, with a stylized Palladian
window in the peak of the gable dormer on the façade,
Minimal Traditional
This style
developed in the wake of the “small
house” movement and flourished from
the mid-1930s into the 1950s. They do
not exhibit any formal style and are
modest in scale and detail, typically 1 or
1½ stories in height, often with
low-pitched side-gable roofs and with a
forward-projecting gable-end wing on
one side of the façade.
Their eaves
and roof overhangs are minimal and
This Minimal Traditional-style brick-finished house at 18
windows are often trimmed with fixed College Street is sparsely detailed, with a side-gable roof, very
exterior shutters. Some have small shallow eaves and, in this case, an attached single-car attached
chimneys on gable ends or on the garage.
interior slope of the roof and others may have substantial chimneys on the façade. Minimal
Traditional design is associated with tract housing such as Levittown in New York, which was
built from 1947 to 1951. Many Minimal Traditional houses were also built before and well
after World War Two as infill in established neighborhoods with builders and owners using
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2015
plans from commercial plan books.
Ranch
The quintessential house type of the late 1940s and ‘fifties, the Ranch style had its
genesis in California as early as 1932 from designs by architect Cliff May, who is credited with
being the acknowledged father of the
style.
Ranch-style houses are one
story in height, low in profile, with
gabled, hipped, or combination roof
forms.
Unlike
Minimal
Traditional-style houses, the eaves on
Ranches are deep and obvious.
Facades are often irregularly massed,
with projecting wings. Dating as they
do from the 1940s and after, most
Ranch-style houses have attached
garages at one end or the other. Often
a substantial chimney penetrates the roofline and services a fireplace on the interior. Floor
plans are open, with easy access to outdoor amenities such as patios, terraces, and the
occasional swimming pool.
The Ranch style is seen here in the 1952 house at 32 College
Street, with a low-pitched gable roof with a projecting wing on
one end and an attached garage on the other.
Industrial Vernacular These buildings
were erected for a variety of
industrial/commercial purposes and
typically have little relationship to any
formal architectural style. They are
typically of masonry construction and
are often penetrated by bands of
multi-light windows to allow maximum
natural light into interior working
spaces.
The former Shore Line trolley barn on Ford Drive was one of two
industrial vernacular properties recorded in the survey. The
other was the Power House for the trolley system, located at
Ferry Point. Both are of concrete construction.
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V. Bibliography
Public Documents
Public records, Town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Collections
Middlesex County Historical Society, Middletown
Old Saybrook Historical Society Archives, Old Saybrook
Books and Published Materials
Beers, J. H. History of Middlesex County, Connecticut with biographical sketches of its
prominent men. New York: J. J. Beers & Co., 1884.
Chesebrough, Harriett Chapman. Glimpses of Saybrook in Colonial Days. R. R. Donnelly and
Sons, 1985.
Gates, Gilman C. Saybrook at the Mouth of the Connecticut River: The First 100 Years. New
Haven: Wilson H. Lee Co,. 1935.
Jaffe, Eric. The King’s Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That
Made America, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010.
Levy, Tedd. Remarkable Women of Old Saybrook. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.
Maynard, Barbara J. and Levy, Tedd. Old Saybrook. Postcard History Series. Charleston: Arcadia
Publishing, 2010.
Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce. “Walking Tour: Railroad to the Millstone Via Main Street.”
Old Saybrook: Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, 2012.
Old Saybrook Historical Society. The Faces and Places of Old Saybrook: A Historical Album. Old
Saybrook: 1985.
Staplins, Elaine F., ed. The Founders of Saybrook Colony and their Descendants, 1635-1985. Old
Saybrook: The Founders Committee, 1984
Van Name, Fred. Old Saybrook: Cradle of Connecticut Colonization—its Transition into a
Modern Town. Old Saybrook: Old Saybrook Historical Society, 1969.
Unpublished Materials
Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency. “A Survey of the Connecticut River Estuary
Area.” Old Lyme: Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency, 1970.
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__________. “Historic Survey of Old Saybrook.” Old Lyme: Connecticut River Estuary Regional
Planning Agency, 1970.
National Register nominations for the North Cove Historic District and the South Green Historic
District and for individually-listed properties.
“Historic Resource Survey.” Old Saybrook Historical Society, 1979
Maps
Chesebrough Map. Old Saybrook Historical Society, n. d.
Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Middlesex County, Connecticut. New York: F. W. Beers, 1874.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Old Saybrook, Connecticut. New York: Sanborn Map Company,
1923, 1933, 1933-1943.
Internet Sources
www.cthistoryonline.org, accessed on various dates during January and February, 2015.
www.wikipedia.org, accessed December, 2014-January, 2015.
www.memory.loc.gov, accessed January 15, 2015 (HABS/HAER databases)
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2015
VI. Resources Related to Minority and Women’s History
Tedd Levy’s insightful Remarkable Women of Old Saybrook offers a well-documented
look at many of the women who made their home in Old Saybrook over the centuries.
The
amazon.com review of this book notes
Situated at the mouth of the Connecticut River, Old Saybrook has been home to generations of
remarkable women. The women of this quintessentially New England town have faced and
overcome overwhelming adversity to leave indelible marks on their town and its history.
Katharine Houghton Hepburn, mother of the legendary actress Katharine Hepburn, organized
the Hartford Political Equality League to battle for women's right to vote. Anna Louise James
fought to become the first black female pharmacist in Connecticut, and she took care of her
community, serving them medicine as well as ice cream sodas at James Pharmacy. There is also
local restaurateur Steffie Walters, who after emigrating from Austria remained at the helm of
the much-loved shore eatery Dock and Dine for eleven years. Historian Tedd Levy chronicles
the achievements of these extraordinary women who broke barriers, changed their
communities and expanded opportunities for future generations.
6
It is incorporated by reference into this report.
With reference to minority history, Anna Louise James became the first
African-American female pharmacist in Connecticut and operated the James Pharmacy at 2
Pennywise Lane for decades.
Ann Lane Petry (1908-1997) was a noted Harlem Renaissance writer who was born in
an apartment over the James Pharmacy.
She later lived at 113 Old Boston Post Road and
became the first black woman writer with book sales exceeding a million copies for her novel
"The Street."
15 North Main Street was the birthplace of educator Maria Sanford (1836-1920), who
served as professor of history at Swarthmore College from 1871 to 1880 and from 1880-1909
taught rhetoric and education and was a lecturer on literature and art history at the University
of Minnesota.
6
http://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Women-Saybrook-Tedd-Levy/dp/1609498666, accessed April 26, 2015.
29
2015
Selected resources on women’s history, drawn from Remarkable Women include the
following:
Allis, Marguerite. The Splendor Stays: An Historic Novel Based on the Lives of the Seven Hart
Sisters of Saybrook, Connecticut. New York: Putnam, 1942.
Grant, Katherine Houghton. Marion Hepburn Grant 1918-1985, A Biography. West Hartford:
Fenwick Productions, 1985.
Hepburn, Katherine. Me: Stories of My Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
Petry, Elisabeth. At Home Inside: A Daughter’s Tribute to Ann Petry. Jackson: University Press of
Mississippi, 2009.
Whitney, Helen, Maria Sanford. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1922.
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VII. National Register/HABS/HAER Analysis and Recommendations
National Register Analysis
The National Register of Historic Places is the official federal-level list of properties
which are significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture.
Properties listed in the National Register may be recognized for their significance on a national,
state, or local level.
The National Register recognizes several distinct types of properties:
individual buildings
districts
structures
objects
sites
The National Register sets forth four Criteria for Evaluation with respect to potential
designation.
National Register policy requires that one or more of the criteria must be met in
order for a property to be listed.
The Criteria evaluate properties which:
A:
are associated with events that have made a significant contribution
to the broad patterns of our history
B:
are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
C:
embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction or that represent the work of a master, or that possess
high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable
entity whose components may lack individual distinction
D:
have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in
prehistory or history
In addition to the above factors, historic integrity must be present in order for a
property to be eligible for the National Register.
The National Register defines integrity as “the
authenticity of a property’s historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics
that existed during the property’s prehistoric or historic period.”
the composite of the following qualities:
31
Historic integrity consists of
2015
location
design
setting
materials
workmanship
feeling
association
National Register policy also states, “not only must a property resemble its historic
appearance, but is must also retain physical materials, design features, and aspects of
construction dating from the period when it attained significance.”
The National Park Service database for the National Register of Historic Places was
consulted and the following Old Saybrook properties are listed in the Register as of the date of
preparation of this document:
Source: Connecticut State Historic Preservation website: http://www.cultureandtourism.org,
accessed December 12, 2014
Name of resource
BLACK HORSE TAVERN
Address
175 N. Cove Rd.
BUSHNELL, ELISHA, HOUSE
(Older Bushnell House)
1445 Boston Post Rd.
11/29/78
BUSHNELL-DICKINSON HOUSE
170 Old Post Road
08/28/13
Off Main St. in Ft. Saybrook
Monument Park in
Saybrook Point
04/28/94
DUDLEY, JEDIDIAH, HOUSE
Springbrook Rd.
04/12/82
ELIOT, SAMUEL, HOUSE
500 Main St.
11/09/72
FENWICK HISTORIC DISTRICT
Roughly, along Agawam,
Neponset and Pettipaug Aves. 04/13/95
CONNECTICUT VALLEY
RAILROAD ROUNDHOUSE AND
TURNTABLE SITE
32
Date of Listing in the National Register
12/01/78
2015
Name of resource
Address
HART, GENERAL WILLIAM, HOUSE
350 Main St.
11/09/72, HABS*
JAMES PHARMACY
2 Pennywise Lane
08/05/94
LYNDE POINT LIGHTHOUSE
(OPERATING LIGHTHOUSES IN
CONNECTICUT MPS)**
SE terminus of Sequassen Ave. 05/29/90
NORTH COVE HISTORIC DISTRICT
OLD SAYBROOK SOUTH GREEN
HISTORIC DISTRICT
Date of Listing in the National Register
Roughly, N. Cove Rd. from
Church St. to the Connecticut
River and adjacent properties
on Cromwell Place
07/22/94
Old Boston Post Rd., Pennywise
Lane, and Main St.
09/03/76
OLD SAYBROOK TOWN HALL
AND THEATER
300 Main St.
06/21/07
PARKER HOUSE
680 Middlesex Turnpike
11/29/78
PRATT, HUMPHREY, TAVERN
287 Main St.
11/07/72, HABS*
SAYBROOK BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSE
(OPERATING LIGHTHOUSES IN
CONNECTICUT MPS)**
S. terminus of Saybrook Jetty
at mouth of Connecticut River 05/29/90
TULLY, WILLIAM, HOUSE (Heartsease)
135 North Cove St.
03/15/82
WHITTLESEY, AMBROSE, HOUSE
14 Main St.
08/23/85
WHITTLESEY, JOHN., JR. HOUSE
40 Ferry Road
10/26/84
*Indicates that the property was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey
**Indicates that the property is part of a Multiple Property Submission
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In addition to the already-listed National Register properties, it appears that the
following are also individually eligible for National Register designation:
1560 Boston Post Road
56 College Street
70 College Street
116 College Street
7 Cromwell Place
23 Cromwell Place
9 Ferry Road
Ferry Point Powerhouse
1 Lynde Street
56 Main Street
St. John Roman Catholic Church
Saybrook Theater, 162 Main Street
226 Main Street
Town Hall, 302 Main Street
380 Main Street
385 Main Street
395 Main Street
480 Main Street
4 North Cove Circle
12 Old Boston Post Road
These properties are generally eligible under Criterion C for architecture.
Like many other states, Connecticut maintains a State Register of Historic Places.
The
following information is taken from the State Historic Preservation Office website: 7 The State
Register of Historic Places is Connecticut's official listing of structures and sites that characterize
the historical development of the state. It was created and authorized in 1975 under
Connecticut General Statute 10-321(b)(2) which defined the State Register as an “itemized list
7
http://www.cultureandtourism.org, accessed July 1, 2015,
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locating and classifying historic structures and landmarks throughout the state. It includes the
following:
•
the Connecticut Historical Commission’s 1966-1967 survey of historic properties
•
all National Register nominations approved by the Review Board and all properties listed
on the National Register of Historic Places or determined eligible for listing (D.O.E.),
•
all properties approved for Local Historic Districts and Local Historic Property designation
by the Historic Preservation Council (even if they are not subsequently approved by the
local municipality),
•
all of the resources included in the 1987 survey of state-owned buildings completed for
the Commission,
•
All individual nomination of properties and districts approved by the Historic
Preservation Council at their regularly scheduled meetings.
The State Register uses similar criteria for listing as the National Register except that
special-case considerations (such as a 50-year age requirement) are not applicable. Properties
are listed on the State Register by the SHPO’s Historic Preservation Council following review and
recommendation by the SHPO staff. Since 1975, over 75,000 properties owned by private
citizens, organizations, municipalities and the State of Connecticut have been listed on the State
Register.
All State Register files are currently held at the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)
in Hartford. The SHPO staff is in the process of compiling a database of all State Register
properties, but currently there is no database or list available.
The Old Saybrook Historical Society has reported that the current Town Hall, formerly the
Main Street School, is on the State Register. As noted above, all individual National Register
listings and districts are also included on the State Register. In an e-mail from Deputy State
Historic Preservation Officer Mary Dunne, it was noted that analysis of State Register-listed
properties is not a part of a survey project such as this.
The Historic American Buildings Survey began as a New Deal WPA project in the 1930s
and continues to the present, also encompassing the Historic American Engineering Record,
both of which document historic properties photographically and graphically through the
preparation of floor plans, some historical narrative, measured drawings, etc.
A diverse variety of Old Saybrook properties have been recorded by HABS beginning in
the 1930s.
A complete listing of these properties, including no fewer than 50 individual files,
including
photos
and
drawings,
is
available
on
the
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=old%20saybrook%20ct&co=hh.
35
Internet
website
2015
NATIONAL REGISTER RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the foregoing, the following National Register-related recommendations are
offered.
This list is far from exhaustive and is based only on the properties and areas
investigated in the course of this reconnaissance-level survey.
It is recommended that the Old Saybrook South Green be expanded to include more of
Pennywise Lane, Old Boston Post Road, and portions of Main and College Streets.
These
areas contain a rich array of historic properties that did not meet the National Register
50-year age threshold when the district was first nominated.
ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Many different avenues exist by which municipal governments, nonprofit preservation
organizations, local landmark and historic district commissions, historical societies, and similar
bodies may become advocates for the preservation of significant cultural property.
1. Continue the systematic surveying of historic architecture within the Town of Old
Saybrook. Consider broadening the focus to twentieth-century architecture, including
neighborhoods developed from the 1940s into the early 1960s, since National Register
eligibility has a 50-year threshold, meaning that neighborhoods that developed in the
1950s and into the mid-1960s may now be eligible. The Survey Coordinator for the
State Historic Preservation Office should accompany preservation and municipal leaders
on a community-wide driving tour to identify areas for possible survey activity. Such a
“windshield survey” will allow local leaders and the SHPO staff to agree upon potential
areas for additional survey activity.
A possible thematic survey could research and record the homes of the women featured
in Tedd Levy’s Remarkable Women of Old Saybrook. While some of these individuals
may have made their home in Fenwick, thematic surveys follow their respective theme
rather than geographical boundaries. Linking these women to the homes they lived in
would be a valuable architectural history initiative. Other thematic surveys could focus
upon summer cottages, etc.
2. Seek funding to prepare a National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form for
the Town. Such a document would likely be entitled, “Historic and Architectural
Resources of the Town of Old Saybrook, 1636-1965.” The MPDF serves as a cover
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2015
document for future nominations of properties and districts to the National Register of
Historic Places. It also greatly streamlines subsequent nominations to the National
Register since it includes the discussion of the variety of historic contexts of the Town
from its earliest beginnings, the identification of property types within the Town, a
narrative setting forth the National Register registration requirements for Old Saybrook
properties, a bibliography of references for Old Saybrook, a summary of how properties
are to be selected and evaluated for nomination, and a geographical description of the
area covered by the MPDF. Rather than re-state such information in future
nominations, preparers may reference the MPDF without having include excessive
verbiage in the nomination documents. The MPDF process is explained in detail in the
National Register Bulletin “How to Complete the National Register Multiple Property
Documentation Form.”
3. To promote widespread awareness of the community’s historic districts, it is
recommended that distinctive street signs be designed and installed within the
already-listed and future districts, along historic and scenic roadways, etc. Such devices
serve to set apart these historic areas from the rest of the Town whose streets and
intersections are likely marked with conventional generic signage. An example appears
below.
4. As a community and tourist education initiative, and perhaps in conjunction with No. 3,
above, consider the installation of interpretive historical panels and plaques identifying
historic sites throughout the community, incorporating historic photos and text to
interpret the various vistas depicted by each panel or plaque. These could be funded by
business sponsorships, tourism grants, etc.
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This interpretive panel focuses upon one historic building
This panel focuses upon an entire downtown
5. Develop a school-age local history and historic preservation program designed to foster a
more comprehensive approach to enhance the school curriculum with local history.
Develop appropriate programs for elementary, middle and high school levels to include
an elementary school-level coloring book and other materials, as well as oral and/or
visual history programs at the middle and high school levels. Encourage the use of local
resources for participation in the Connecticut History Day program.
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This coloring book includes a sketch of a historic building
suitable for coloring, a short history of the property, and
the identification of important architectural detail.
6. Partner with appropriate like-minded organizations in sponsoring, publicizing, and
overseeing an “Old Saybrook History Day” encouraging citizens to bring their memories,
photographs, and artifacts to share and discuss at a central locale—likely the Historical
Society’s Archives Building--on a specific day or over a weekend. An oral history
segment could be included, with interviewers asking older citizens about their
recollections of life in the community, and younger citizens about the stories their
parents and grandparents might have told them about growing up in the neighborhood.
Arrange to have a digital scanner at the event, enabling historic photos and documents
to be scanned for archiving and for the future interpretation of the historic character of
Old Saybrook--and assuring that treasured historical materials will not leave the custody
of their owners. This could be a collaborative effort between the Historic District
Commission and the Old Saybrook Historical Society, along with other similar
organizations.
7. The Historic District Commission, in cooperation with the Historical Society and others,
may wish to establish an annual “Preservation Award” to recognize those in the
community who save historic resources. In addition, consideration might be given to
establishing an annual “Endangered Places” announcement to draw public attention to
the potential loss of valuable historic assets.
8. The Historic District Commission should encourage local government to become active
participants in the historic preservation process by the preparation of a Historic
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Preservation Plan for the Town of Old Saybrook. Such a document would include
recommended legislation to preserve historic properties, steps to encourage
sustainability of historic assets, the promotion of heritage tourism, etc.
9. The Historic District Commission, the Planning Commission, the Economic Development
Commission, and other Town boards and commissions should remain conversant with
and promote the use of state and federal initiatives that encourage historic preservation,
including state and federal tax credits, grants, etc. Lobby as needed and as permitted
by law for the retention/expansion of such financial incentives.
10. The Historic District Commission should prepare and disseminate a simple published
piece on the benefits of National Register listing in Connecticut and disseminate it in hard
copy and on-line to individual property owners and owners of individually-listed buildings
and those in the two listed historic districts and owners of individually-listed properties.
11. The Historic District Commission should consider creating a pamphlet and a website
relative to the South Green Historic District and the North Cove Historic District,
particularly since treatments to buildings in the latter are subject to the review and
approval of the HDC.
12. Other published materials could include a revision/expansion of the existing
Main/College Street walking tour and the development of a bike tour that could extend
from the Railroad Junction to Main Street, Old Boston Post Road, Maple Avenue, to
North Cove and the Saybrook Fort site, and back to Main Street.
13. Since Old Saybrook has been approved as a Certified Local Government by the State
Historic Preservation Office, the Commission’s duties have the potential to extend
beyond designated historic districts. Consideration should be given to changing the
body’s name from Historic District Commission to Historic Preservation Commission,
Historic Development Commission, etc. Consultation should be held with the SHPO to
assure that any name change conforms to applicable state legislation.
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VIII. Street Index of Inventoried Resources
The pages which follow contain alphabetized spreadsheets listing the properties which
were surveyed in the course of the 2014-2015 survey. National Register potential is identified as
follows: N--not eligible; Y--appears eligible individually; DIST—appears to be in a potential
district.
In all cases, pursuing a National Register nomination for an individual property or for a
historic district should be undertaken only after consultation with the State Historic Preservation
Office.
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Boston Post Road
369
571
572
578
590
620
1035
1250
1295
1315
1370
1500
1560
1575
1595
Boston Post Road Place
29
40
Bridge Street
23-35
Church Street
39
87
College Street
5
6
8
11
13
14
18
19
25
26
32
41
48
53
56
70
71
77
93
105
106
108
Image Number
6158
5635
6157
6156
6155
6154
6152
From Assessor’s website
6151 and from Assessor’s website
6149
6150 and from Assessor’s website
6147
6148 and Assessor’s website
6146
6145
National Register Status
N (Not eligible)
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
Y (Appears eligible)
N
N
6159
6160
N
N
6179
N
6092
6088
N
N
5527-5528
5574-5575
5529-5530
5531
5571-5573
5570
5532
5533-5534
5569
5568
5536, 5538 and Assessor’s website
5566, 5567
5539
5562-5565 and Assessor’s website
5542, 5543 and Assessor’s website
5544, 5545
5547-5548
5558-5560
5555-5557
DP (in a potential historic district)
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP; Y
DP; Y
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
42
2015
116
122
130
Statue at Monument Park
Yale Boulder
CVRR Roundhouse &
Turntable Site
Cromwell Place
7
23
48
Elm Street
35
43
Ferry Road
9
29
61
62
100
101
111
Ferry Point Powerhouse
Ford Drive
1
10
16
18
22
26
44
Lynde Street
1
67
Main Street
14
21
48
50
56
65
100
102
129
132-144
159
5553-5554
5551-5552
5549, 5550
5624, 5625
5628-5630
5738-5730
DP;Y
DP
DP
DP
DP
LISTED; DP
6085
6086, 6087, 5746
5747
Y
Y
In North Cove H D
6168
6169
N
N
6123
6120
6122
6117
6118
6116
6115, 6144
Y
N
N
N
N
N
N
Y
6106
6107
6104
6103
6102
5789, 5790
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
5703, 5705, 6096
6098
Y; DP
N
6163; Assessor’s website
5453, 5454
6165
5456, 5457, 6166
6170
5640
5460
5619
N
N
N
N
Y
N
N
N
N
N
N
43
2015
161
162
163
201
211
226
236-264
274-278
286
287
288-294
300
302
305
5620, 5622, 6173
6173
5618
5616, 5617
5461, 5462
5463
5465, 5471
5466
5614, 5615
5468, 5469
5467
5470, 5472
5611-5613
322
325
326
334
336
340
341
350
351
355
359
366
367
369
376
380
381
385
386
390
395-395A
400
404
408
412
421
428
432
441
442
466
5473
5602-5606
5475, 5476
5477
5478
5599
5480, 5481, 6108, 6109
5584-5587
5593-5595
5591-5592
5488-5489
5490,5491
5590
5587, 5588
5493
5494
5583-5586
5495
5496, 5497
5498
5499, 5500
5582
5502
5504
5580, 5581
5505, 5506
44
Y
Y
Y
DP
DP
Y; DP
N
N
N
LISTED
N
LISTED
Y
OSSGHD (in Old Saybrook South
Green H. D.)
OSSGHD
OSSGHD; LISTED
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
DP
OSSGHD; LISTED
DP
DP
DP
OSSGHD
DP
DP
OSSGHD
Y; DP
DP
Y; DP
DP
DP
Y; DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
2015
472
478
480
482
500
509
510
519
546
Main Street & Pennywise Lane
Main Street at Monument Park
Mill Rock Road, East
83
86
North Cove Circle
4
North Cove Road
24
55
70
91
100
110
122
141
148
174
175
191
192
200
North Main Street
15
Old Boston Post Road
12
14
20
31
33
34
40
45
50
64
65
71
Assessor’s website
5515, 5518
5512-5514
5516-5519
5579
5520, 5521
5577, 5578
5732, 5733
5624, 5625
DP
DP
DP;Y
DP
LISTED; DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
OSSGHD
DP
6161
6162
N
N
6091
Y
6080, 6081
5785, 5786
5783, 5784
5781, 5782
5780
5778, 5779
5775
5773
6082, 6083
5757, 5760
5767, 5768
5353-5355
5762-5764
NCHD (in North Cove H. D.)
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
LISTED; NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
NCHD
5633
N
5644, 5646
6176
5647, 5648
5708
5707
5650, 5651
5652, 5653
5706
5655
5702
5700, 5701
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
DP; Y
DP
DP
45
2015
75
83
88
91
96
97
101
102
107
108
110
113
116
119
129
130
137
140
146
150
151
159
171
177
183
190
191
194
212
215
220
Old Post Road
9
12
29
61
66
68
71
93
94
95
116
134-140
165
170
5698, 5699
5695-5697
5656
5693, 5694
5657
5692
5691
5658
5699-5689
5660-5661
5662
5686-5687
5663-5664
5684-5685
5683
5665
6177-6178
5682
5677
5676
5670
5673
5674
5672; Assessor’s webpage
Y; DP
Y; DP
DP
DP; Y
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
Y; DP
DP
Y; DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
Y; DP
DP
DP
DP
6125
6124
6126-6127
6129
6128
6132
6133
6134
6135
6137
6138, 6139
6140-6142
6143
6137
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
DP
Y; DP
Y; DP
DP
DP
LISTED; DP
46
2015
Pennywise Lane
2
9
10
11
14
21
22
27
28
36
37
40
43
54
66
River Street
23
25
31
Sherwood Terrace
49
Springbrook Road
--- (Jeremiah Dudley Hse.)
Stage Road
25
5609
6095
5709-5711
5726
5712-5713
5725
5714
5724
5715
5716
5722-5723
5717
5720, 5721
5178
5179
LISTED; OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
DP
DP
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD
OSSGHD (moved)
DP
Y; OSSGHD
6099
6100
6101
N
N
N
6097
N
5727-5728
LISTED
6111
N
47
Town of old Saybrook Historic and Architectural Resource Survey: Survey Report
2015
VII. INVENTORY FORMS
Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Inventory Forms
and Continuation Sheets follow.
48
Town of old Saybrook Historic and Architectural Resource Survey: Survey Report
2015
Appendix: 1915 S. S. Geological Survey quadrangle segments for project area.
Western section
Eastern section
49

Old Saybrook Historic and Architectural Resource Survey REPORT

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