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Additional information on your property may be obtained at the Assessor's Office and the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall, 505 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT. You may also want to contact the Wethersfield Historical Society.
Building Styles
The housing stock of the Old Wethersfield Historic District can be broken into three periods. The first includes 116 houses built from 1637 - 1830. These include New England Colonials, Capes, Georgian and Federal homes. The next period dates from 1830-1900 and includes New England Vernacular homes with Greek Revival, Italianate and French Second Empire-style embellishments. There are also fine examples of Carpenter Gothic and Queen Anne and Victorian houses in the area. The third period from 1890 to 1965 includes Shingle, Colonial Revival and American Four-Square styles. Later subdivisions can be found primarily in the western portion of the district. The Hubbard houses, built in the early part of the twentieth century are excellent examples of variations on the Craftsman and Bungalow as well as Colonial and Tudor Revival styles.
POST MEDIEVAL (1634-1720)
These homes are straightforward examples of the post-medieval construction favored by the English settlers in their own native country. The one room, two-story gable-roofed homes were often characterized by a prominent chimney located on a gable end and small irregularly spaced casement windows with diamond shaped panes. [Vairo-3] Casement windows were often arranged in multiples of two or three … The doors were composed of plain vertical boards on the outside, backed by horizontal boards within. [Massey-11]
COLONIAL (1700-1776)
These homes are straightforward examples of the post-medieval construction favored by the English settlers in their own native country. The one room, two-story, gable-roofed, homes were often characterized by a prominent chimney located on a gable end and small irregularly spaced casement windows. This style home often began as one room and chamber and expanded upon as families grew or as the family prospered. A curious regional element is the "coffin door" or side entry that was often reserved for family use. These homes are commonly represented by a two-story, I-house form (one room deep by two rooms wide) with central chimneys. This style was also a variation in the form of a single story hall-and-parlor house. The windows were typically symmetrical around a central entrance and consisted of six over six or six over nine lights. These homes also have a centrally placed chimney which helped to combat New England winters. In some homes, adhering to seventeenth century design, the second floor projects over the first to form a jetty. "Saltboxes" were also formed by adding a shed-roofed extension to the rear of these homes. Because the angle of the back roof resembles the lid of the wooden box used to store salt at that time.
The arrangement of door and window openings on the front of these houses is almost always symmetrical. The door or double-leaf doors are paneled, and the windows have double-hung sash with rectangular panes. In early examples the windows are narrow, with only three panes per row, resulting in 6/6 or 6/9 combinations of panes. By mid-century, most windows were wide enough to accommodate four panes per row resulting in 8/12 or 12/12 combinations. Some houses have a single window on either side of the central doorway, but most have paired windows. [ACK]
CAPE (1720-1750, 1950-present)
These homes are two rooms wide, two rooms deep, but only one and one half stories high. Unlike the gable roof of the salt-box, where the back slope is longer than the front, gable roof of the cape has the same size slope in back and in front. It comes down to the top of the ground floor windows. Only one 18th century cape in the District has survived. A number were built in the District during the second half of the 20th century. [ACK]
A modest building type, this small home was popular in New England during this time period due in part to the fact that the small plan made it easier to heat the home in the winter. It typically is one and one half rooms deep by two rooms wide with a central chimney and entrance on the long main façade. Federal or Greek Revival-style detailing can sometimes be found on these houses. Up until the eighteenth century most Capes were characterized by low eaves and eight-foot tall cornerposts, which afforded very little usable space on the "second story." In the nineteenth century the cornerposts were raised to twelve feet to increase the amount of usable space.
GEORGIAN (1740-1800)
These homes are two rooms wide, two rooms deep, and two stories high with a gable or gambrel roof. In Wethersfield, most homes continued to use the center chimney plan. No more than ten adopted the double chimney, center hall plan, upon which the Connecticut Assembly imposed a higher tax, beginning in 1752. What distinguishes the Georgian home from the Colonial is the use of classical detailing, particularly around the central doorway that features double paneled doors framed by fluted pilasters, which support a flat, triangular, or broken-scroll pediment. This distinctive "Connecticut River doorway" can be found on houses up and down the Connecticut River Valley. Additional detailing may include classical architraves over the windows or dentil molding along the cornice.
The Georgian design aesthetic was one of the most widely utilized in the eighteenth century and has its origins in classically inspired English architecture. This was the style chosen by those citizens prosperous enough to incorporate fashion into the design of their buildings. Georgian buildings are characterized by a long elevation with symmetrically placed bays, a formal central hall plan with chimneys placed at the gable ends of the home. In the District, most homes have retained the center chimney plan. There are no more than ten with a center hall and only one has end chimneys. The long elevation typically faces the street, and will sometimes contain pedimented windows or dormers or a central front pedimented portico or porch. Often there is dental molding or other heavy molding at the cornice line with heavily paneled entry doors. Windows are typically twelve over twelve with double-hung sash. Entries often display pilasters and a small row of lights beneath the crown. One detail particular to the region is the Connecticut River Valley doorway, an elaborately detailed, paneled door found on the facades of houses otherwise devoid of decorative elements. The doors featured classical elements such as scrolled, broken pediments and columns to define the entries.
FEDERAL (1790-1820)
Homes built during this transitional period may be as wide as their Colonial and Georgian precedents, but are more often narrower, with four, rather than five, windows across the front. About a third of the houses built during this period are only wide enough for one room and a hallway. These houses have a pair of windows and an off-center doorway on the ground floor and only three windows across the front of second floor. In these houses, the gable roof is turned 90 degrees, so that its narrower gable-end faces the street. The entrance usually consists of a single paneled door with sidelights and a transom or fanlight. Many Federal entrances include a classical frame and columned portico. The detailing at the doorway, windows, and cornice is light and delicate. It may include dentil or egg and dart moldings, examples of these details were included in English and American builder's guides. Federal design was influenced by British architects who were inspired by the work of the Italian Rennaissance architect, Andreo Palladio.
The entrance is the focal point of all Federal buildings. They are typically subdued in their detailing with the minimum in classical elaboration. The gable end often faces the road and contains the main entrance although some homes had the main entrance on the long elevation of the home especially those in early New England. Sidelights, transom or fanlights are a prevalent feature on these homes and their decoration tends to be light and delicate - employing what is often referred to as Adamesque details such as classical swags, shields or dentil moldings.
GREEK REVIVAL (1830-1860)
The Second National Bank, designed by William Strickland, and built in Philadelphia in 1824, was modeled upon the temples of ancient Greece. The east portico of the White House, completed in 1828, was also inspired by Greek architecture. Minard Lafever's, The Modern Builders Guide, published in 1833, included many Greek Revival style designs that builders could copy. This style became so popular during the next twenty years that it came to be known as the National Style.
Houses built in this style had their gable-end facing the street. The more moderate pitch of the roof and the extension of the cornice across the face of the house create a triangle that suggests the pediment of a Greek temple. The portico is supported by heavy square or round columns; the doorway includes both sidelights and transom framed by wide pilasters.
This style became so popular in this time period in America that it came to be known as the National Style. Greek Revival architecture was associated with the new wealth and the public fervor for all things classically inspired. It is indicated by a low-pitched gabled or hipped roof with emphasized cornice lines, a porch or portico supported by prominent square or round columns, and an entry with a narrow line of transom lights surrounding the door. At times there are also pilasters on the façade of the home as well. Greek Revival-style homes were executed in wood, brick and stone and sometimes featured a full Temple front.
ITALIANATE (1840-1880)
The Italianate style is identified in residential applications through the use of wide, overhanging, bracketed eaves and tall, narrow windows often with arched or crowned hoods. The windows often are grouped into pairs or triplets with continuous hoods and lintels and the roofs are often flat or hipped. This style came into vogue in the middle of the nineteenth century as part of the Romantic movement. As opposed to the classicism favored at the beginning of the century, this style was much less formal and the many variations found throughout America were patterned on variations of the Picturesque movement first seen in England. During the 1850s, Andrew Jackson Downing helped to popularize this style through his widely read, illustrated pattern books. The District has no high-style examples. Vernacular versions consist of shallow-hip roof with heavy overhanging cornice, rectangular windows, which are sometimes graduated in height, are arranged in the traditional three-bay pattern with off-center doorway. [Vairo]
FRENCH SECOND EMPIRE (1860-1690)
The French Second Empire style is named for the contemporaneous reign of Napoleon III. It most distinctive feature is its mansard roof, which consists of a very steep lower slope and an almost flat upper slope. [Massey-110] named for the 17th century French architect, Louis mansard, this steep roof converts the attic into useable living space, which requires dormer windows. The boxlike shape of the building is broken by projecting two story bays. The height of the building is accentuated by the windows, which are often graduated in height, with the tallest on the ground floor and the shortest in the attic. [ACK]
GOTHIC REVIVAL (1870-1920)
This style of architecture was employed for ecclesiastical and domestic architecture and became a widely built style throughout the United State in the early to middle part of the nineteenth century, thanks in part to the patterns books of Andrew Jackson Downing and Alexander Jackson Davis. The style became most popular in Wethersfield in the latter part of the nineteenth century and persisted to influence builders like A.G. Hubbard in the early twentieth century. Gothic Revival structures are characterized by decorated verge boards at the gables, single story porches, lancet or arched windows, and steeply pitched roofs. [Vairo]
QUEEN ANNE (1880-1910)
Typically asymmetrical in plan, Queen Anne houses were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Steeply pitched hipped roofs with or irregular, intersecting roof lines often are the hallmark of these homes. The porches can be single and wraparound or partial and located in a number of spots. The embellishment on this type of house came from the sheathing which is often a patterned shingle or multi-colored brick and also from the decorative elements on the porches such as turned spindles. The placement and style of the windows on these houses are varied as well and serve as another form of decoration. [Vairo]
COLONIAL REVIVAL (1890-2000)
Colonial Revival is a style favored in America and particularly in Connecticut in the first half of the twentieth century. The overall effect of the assimilation of a number of traditional building types is meant to evoke the New England Farmhouse type or Colonial home. The exaggeration of classical elements, such as extremely large broken pediments or heavily elaborated entrances, common on original Colonial homes and is indicative of the Colonial Revival style. Typically incorporated into this style are elements of Georgian, Federal and Dutch Colonial construction. Today it remains a popular building style and a multitude of variations can be seen throughout the Wethersfield Historic District. Modern variations (dating from after 1940) often exhibit a pared-down use of detail and ornament, but retain a "Colonial" aesthetic. [Vairo]
CRAFTSMAN/BUNGALOW (1910-1930)
The Craftsman style home reached their zenith of popularity in the early 1920s. Beginning around 1903 the style gained attention in California, but the livable design and the simplicity of the Asian-inspired woodwork soon brought this style to national attention. These one and one-half-story homes are characterized by low pitched roofs and overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails; tapered porch columns and heavy massing, these homes becoming one of the most popular building types in America. Variations on the Craftsman or Bungalow style continued to be produced into the 1930s and are sometimes referred to as Bungaloid. A local example of the Bungalow style can be found at 336 Main Street. Local builder A.G. Hubbard was responsible for many of the Craftsman style houses in the District. Variations on the Bungalow style can be found throughout Wethersfield in the "Hubbard" houses built between the years 1915-1925. [Vairo]
FOURSQUARE (1900-1930)
The Foursquare is characterized by its simple square structure, four-room floor plan and low-pitched hipped roof. A folk variety of the Colonial Revival movement this style was well suited to small lots, as its design offered maximum interior space. As suburbs around the country grew rapidly, this housing style became ubiquitous. The roofs often feature a central dormer and the height is typically two or two and one half stories. A full width open porch is typically found across the façade and the detailing throughout is typically simple influenced by the Craftsman/Bungalow style. The earliest examples of the Four square house in Wethersfield were built for the Buck family and can be found at 308 and 350 Hartford Avenue. [Vairo]
TUDOR REVIVAL (1890-1940)
The Tudor style was a popular choice for builders in suburban New England. Tudor homes retained a sense of grandeur and history, based on their English prototypes. Elements of the style include a steeply pitched roof, a cross gable or L-shaped plan, large brick chimneys and half timbered walls. Although there are many variations on this style, many exhibit tall, narrow, multi-paned windows that are often grouped in pairs or triplets. Hubbard built some of his signature homes in the Tudor Revival style on Broad, Center Garden, Deerfield and Lincoln Streets beginning in 1928. [Vairo]