New Preston Hill Historic District

Last updated
New Preston Hill Historic District

Newpreston08.jpg

A former tavern
USA Connecticut location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location New Preston Hill, Findley and Gunn Hill Rds., Washington, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°40′28″N73°22′17″W / 41.67444°N 73.37139°W / 41.67444; -73.37139 Coordinates: 41°40′28″N73°22′17″W / 41.67444°N 73.37139°W / 41.67444; -73.37139
Area 210 acres (85 ha)
Architectural style Colonial, Italianate, Federal
NRHP reference # 85001931 [1]
Added to NRHP August 26, 1985

The New Preston Hill Historic District encompasses a small rural 19th-century village center in the New Preston area of the town of Washington, in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Settled in the late 18th century, it is distinctive for its examples of stone architecture, include a rare Federal period stone church. The district, located at the junction of New Preston Road with Gunn Hill and Findlay Roads, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. [1]

New Preston, Connecticut census designated place

New Preston is a rural village in the northwestern corner of the town of Washington in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The village is also at the center of a census-designated place (CDP), whose population was 1,110 at the 2000 census.

Washington, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,578 at the 2010 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civic and cultural life. The town has strong ties to New York City, and is home to many cultural and business elites.

Litchfield County, Connecticut County in the United States

Litchfield County is located in northwestern Connecticut in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 189,927. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is geographically the state's largest county.

Contents

Description and history

The New Preston area was first settled in the 1750s, and the New Preston Hill junction was where its first meeting house was built in 1754. The area was by then of recognized significance for the crossroads, with New Preston Road serving as a stage route between Hartford, Connecticut and the Hudson River. The village supported the surrounding agricultural community, but declined in importance in the mid-19th century, when the village New Preston became more important for the water power the drove its industries. [2]

Colonial meeting house

A colonial meeting house was a meeting house used in colonial New England built using tax money. The colonial meeting house was the focal point of the community where all the town's residents could discuss local issues, conduct religious worship, and engage in town business.

Hartford, Connecticut Capital of Connecticut

Hartford is the capital city of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. The city is nicknamed the "Insurance Capital of the World", as it hosts many insurance company headquarters and is the region's major industry. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford area of Connecticut. Census estimates since the 2010 United States Census have indicated that Hartford is the fourth-largest city in Connecticut, behind the coastal cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford.

Hudson River river in New York State, draining into the Atlantic at New York City

The Hudson River is a 315-mile (507 km) river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York in the United States. The river originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the Upper New York Bay between New York City and Jersey City. It eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean at New York Harbor. The river serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York at its southern end. Further north, it marks local boundaries between several New York counties. The lower half of the river is a tidal estuary, deeper than the body of water into which it flows, occupying the Hudson Fjord, an inlet which formed during the most recent period of North American glaciation, estimated at 26,000 to 13,300 years ago. Tidal waters influence the Hudson's flow from as far north as the city of Troy.

The historic district encompasses about 210 acres (85 ha) around the junction of New Preston Road with Gunn Hill Road and Findlay Road. The main focus of the district is a triangular green, with the 1824 Old Stone Church as its main focus. This church has no heat or electricity and is used during the summer and for weddings. The church has another building, the "Village Church" that is used for the rest of the year, outside this district. [3] The district includes other nine other mainly residential properties surrounding the green, and extending westward along New Preston Road. [2]

There are 12 contributing buildings: [2]

Federal architecture architectural style

Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federalist Era. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design in the United States of the same time period. The style broadly corresponds to the classicism of Biedermeier style in the German-speaking lands, Regency architecture in Britain and to the French Empire style.

Greek Revival architecture architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture. The term was first used by Charles Robert Cockerell in a lecture he gave as Professor of Architecture to the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 1842.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Related Research Articles

Preston City, Connecticut human settlement in Connecticut, United States of America

Preston City is a village and the original town center of the town of Preston, Connecticut. The core of the village around the junction of Old Northwest Road and Route 164 is designated as the Preston City Historic District, a historic district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district is located along Old Shetucket and Amos Roads, which, prior to the 1930s, were major thoroughfares.

Woodstock Hill Historic District historic district in Woodstock, Connecticut

The Woodstock Hill Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic village center of Woodstock, Connecticut. It is centered on the Woodstock Green, extending south from there toward the junction of Connecticut Route 169 and Plaine Hill Road. Major buildings in the district include the 1821 Congregational Church, the buildings of Woodstock Academy, and Roseland Cottage, a National Historic Landmark that is one of the nation's finest Gothic Revival summer houses. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Flanders Historic District

The Flanders Historic District is a historic district that encompasses a small cluster of late-18th to early-19th century residential structures north of the center of Kent, Connecticut, which was the original heart of the community when it was first settled. It is centered at the junction of United States Route 7 with Cobble Road and Studio Hill Road. The area was supplanted by the current town center in the 1840s. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Five Corners Historic District

The Five Corners Historic District is a historic district encompassing the central district of the village of South Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is centered at the junction of Cold Spring, Green River, New Ashford. The junction has been a prominent center in the area since 1760. Prominent buildings in the district include the South Center School, the Store at Five Corners, and the Second Congregational Church. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

West Granville Historic District

The West Granville Historic District is a historic district encompassing the center of West Granville, Massachusetts. The village is composed mainly of buildings form the late 18th and early 19th centuries, including an 18th-century church and 1830s academy building. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

East Plymouth Historic District

The East Plymouth Historic District is a historic district in the town of Plymouth, Connecticut. It encompasses a small rural village in the northeastern part of the town, whose main focus is the 1792 St. Matthew's Church, one of the oldest surviving Episcopal church buildings in the state. The district runs along East Plymouth Road on either side of its junction with Marsh Road, and includes predominantly Greek Revival residential buildings erected in the early to mid-19th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Goshen Historic District (Goshen, Connecticut) human settlement in Connecticut, United States of America

Goshen Historic District is a historic district encompassing the town center village of Goshen, Connecticut. Centered at the junction of Connecticut Routes 4 and 63, the village developed historically as a rural crossroads of two turnpikes, and has retained its rural character. It is dominated by residential architecture from the first half of the 19th century, and includes churches, a store, and the town's former 1895 town hall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Milton Center Historic District

The Milton Center Historic District encompasses the historic 19th-century village center of Milton in the northwestern part of the town of Litchfield, Connecticut. Basically linear, it stretches from Milton Cemetery in the west to the junction of Milton and Shearshop Roads in the east, including houses, churches, schools, and the remains of industrial sites. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Orange Center Historic District (Orange, Connecticut)

The Orange Center Historic District Church encompasses the historic town center of Orange, Connecticut. Centered on the town green at the junction of Meetinghouse Lane and Orange Center Road, it has retained its character as a 19th-century agrarian town center despite significant 20th-century suburbanization around it. Originally established as a local historic district in 1978, it listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

South Canaan Congregational Church church building in Connecticut, United States of America

The South Canaan Congregational Church is a historic Congregational church building at Connecticut Route 63 and Barnes Road in the town of Canaan, Connecticut. Built in 1804, it is a remarkably well-preserved example of early Federal period church architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Plymouth Center Historic District

The Plymouth Center Historic District encompasses historic early village center of Plymouth, Connecticut. Stretching along Main, North and South Streets from their junction, it flourished in the 19th century with small-scale industries, but declined late in the century with the separation of Thomaston and the more significant industrial development at Terryville. The district features colonial, Federal, and Greek Revival architecture and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, with a slight enlargement the following year.

Bridgewater Center Historic District Bridgewater, Connecticut, listed on the NRHP in Connecticut

Bridgewater Center Historic District encompasses the traditional town center of Bridgewater, Connecticut. Centered at the junction of Main Street with Clapboard and Hat Shop Hill Roads, it developed in the early 19th century as a civic center, even before the town's 1856 incorporation from New Milford. The architecture of the center is largely reflective of the first half of the 19th century, including Greek Revival and Federal style buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Woodbury Historic District No. 1

The Woodbury Historic District No. 1 encompasses the linear town center of Woodbury, Connecticut. Extending along two miles of Main Street, from Flanders Road in the north to Old Sherman Hill Road in the south, the district represents an architectural cross section of the town history, from the late 17th century to the present. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 11, 1971.

Washington Green Historic District

The Washington Green Historic District encompasses the historic village green of the town of Washington, Connecticut, and much of the surrounding village center. It extends mainly along Kirby and Woodbury Roads, and includes a diverse collection of architecture from the 18th to early 20th centuries. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Charlotte Center Historic District

The Charlotte Center Historic District encompasses the historic 19th-century town center of Charlotte, Vermont. Settled c. 1790 and developed mainly in the mid-19th century, the village, stretched along Church Hill Road west of Hinesburg Road, retains a well-preserved 19th-century atmosphere of residential, civic, and commercial buildings. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Burlington–Harmony Hill Roads Historic District

The Burlington–Harmony Hill Roads Historic District encompasses a historic rural agricultural crossroads village in eastern Harwinton, Connecticut. Stretching mainly along Harmony Hill Road north of its junction with Burlington Road, it includes residential buildings dating from the mid-18th to late 19th centuries. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Colebrook Center Historic District town center of Colebrook, Connecticut

The Colebrook Center Historic District encompasses the town center of Colebrook, Connecticut. Located in an isolated valley at the junction of Connecticut Route 183 with Rockwell and Smith Hill Roads, the village was established in 1767, and has seen little change since about 1860. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Litchfield–South Roads Historic District

The Litchfield–South Roads Historic District encompasses part of the traditional town center of Harwinton, Connecticut. Settled in the second quarter of the 18th century, and centered at the junction of Connecticut Route 4 with North and South Roads, the town center includes a variety of mainly 19th century residential architecture, several churches, and municipal buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Phelps Farms Historic District

The Phelps Farm Historic District encompasses a collection of farm and residential properties on Connecticut Route 183 and Prock Hill Road in Colebrook, Connecticut. This area is a virtually intact mid-19th century farmstead, with its land under a single family's ownership since the 18th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

References