Colonial

The house at 527 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library, State Archives, RG 033:28, WPA Records, Architectural Survey.

The house in 2024:

Various sources give contradictory information regarding the age and ownership history of this house. The top photo was taken around the late 1930s or early 1940s as part of a Depression-era project to document historic buildings in Connecticut. Part of the documentation includes a description of the property, which states that it was built in 1690 as the home of Sergeant John Latimer. However, the historical marker that is on the house in the bottom photo in 2024 states that it was built around 1745 as the home of Bennezer Hale and Ann Woodhouse. Given the architectural style of the house, the 1745 date seems more plausible than 1690, and it coincides with the wedding of Bennezer Hale and Ann Woodhouse, who were married in Wethersfield on January 2, 1745.

By the time the top photo was taken, the house was owned by Charles B. and Elizabeth Allen. They were living here in the 1930 and 1940 federal censuses, and the photo documentation lists the house as being in “Good” physical condition. However, the photo itself seems to tell a different story, since the house is missing most of its first-floor windows, the front door is off the hinges, and some of the clapboards are falling off. The documentation does not make any specific note of this damage, but it seems likely that this was caused by the flood of March 1936, which caused extensive damage along the banks of the Connecticut River. The Cove Warehouse, which is visible in the distance of both photos, was damaged by this flood, so it seems likely that the house was as well, given its proximity to the warehouse and to the Wethersfield Cove.

Regardless of the cause of the damage, the house was subsequently restored, and today it stands in much better condition when compared to the top photo. It is one of the many surviving 18th century homes that line Main Street in Wethersfield, and it is part of the Wethersfield Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

The house at 505 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library, State Archives, RG 033:28, WPA Records, Architectural Survey.

The house in 2024:

The house in these two photos was built around 1770 as the home of Samuel Latimer. This particular design was often seen on houses that were built in central Connecticut during the second half of the 18th century. Some of the features, such as the central chimney and the symmetrical front facade with nine windows and a door, are typical of colonial houses across New England. However, some of the elements are characteristic of this particular region, including the so-called “coffin door” on the south side of the house, and most notably the overhanging second floor and attic.

The overhangs on this house are stylistic holdovers from the post-medieval architecture of the 17th century. On those houses, such as the Witch House in Salem or the Buttolph-Williams House here in Wethersfield, the second-story overhang is fairly large. By the second half of the 18th century, these overhangs had largely disappeared from New England architecture, but they persisted here in Connecticut. By this point, though, the overhangs were much smaller, usually only a few inches, as seen on this house, which has three-inch overhangs.

The top photo was taken around the late 1930s or early 1940s as part of a Depression-era project to document historic buildings in Connecticut. By this point, the exterior had been somewhat altered with the addition of features such as shutters on the windows and a small porch at the “coffin door.” The documentation for the the top photo also noted that “[t]he interior has been changed from the original. There is a central hall with an open staircase to the right.” However, it did not otherwise elaborate on the condition of the interior or other alterations.

Until very recently, the house still looked essentially the same as it did when the top photo was taken, including the light-colored paint and the shutters. However, the house has since been restored, as shown in the bottom photo. This included removing the historically inaccurate shutters, and also repainting it a darker color. As a result, the bottom photo better reflects how the house likely would have looked in the 18th century, and it stands as an excellent example of the type of late colonial-era architecture that was popular here in the Wethersfield area.

The house at 493 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1943. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library, State Archives, RG 033:28, WPA Records, Architectural Survey.

The house in 2024:

This house is a classic center-chimney colonial New England house, with a design that was found throughout the Connecticut River Valley and beyond during the second half of the 18th century. Distinctive exterior characteristics include a symmetrical front façade with five windows on the second floor and four on the first floor, a large central chimney, and a door on the south side of the house that opens directly into the south parlor. This latter feature is often referred to as a “coffin door,” which according to legend was installed in center-chimney houses to make it easier to move a coffin out of the parlor after a funeral, since the front entryway is small and requires twists and turns to access the front door. The truth behind this legend is uncertain, but having a door to the south parlor undoubtedly makes it easier to move large objects in and out of the house.

The house in these two photos was built in 1765 as the home of Samuel Hanmer Sr. (1741-1813), a local cooper. At the time, Wethersfield was an important seaport, so Hanmer’s barrels were likely used by the town’s merchants who were involved in the West Indies trade. He probably had marriage in mind when he built this house, because two years later he married his wife Sarah Welles (1743-1818). The couple went on to have eight children over the next two decades: Sarah, Abigail, Hulda, Samuel, Elizabeth, Prudence, Nancy, and Joseph.

Although both Samuel and Sarah died in the 1810s, the house would remain in their family until well into the 20th century. The 1855 county map shows the property as belonging to the “Heirs of Samuel Hanmer,” likely referring to their son Samuel Hanmer Jr. (1778-1850), who had died a few years earlier. Then, in 1869 the county atlas identified it as belonging to Charles Hanmer (1839-1884), who was the son of John Hanmer (1801-1881) and grandson of Samuel Hanmer Jr. The 1870 U.S. Census shows Charles living here with his wife Clara (1842-1932) and their young sons Alfred (1867-1953) and Charles (1869-1953). They also had a 14-year old farm laborer named Clarence Deming who was living in their household.

The younger Charles Hanmer was still living here in this house when the top photo was taken around the late 1930s or early 1940s. The photo was part of Depression-era program to document historic 18th and early 19th century buildings across Connecticut, and it was one of the many that were photographed here in Wethersfield. By this point, the house had likely undergone some exterior changes since it was built. The Greek Revival style doorway appears to have been added at some point in the first half of the 19th century, and the 6-over-6 windows may have been installed around the same time, since 12-over-12 ones were more common when this house was built in the mid-18th century.

The top photo was taken when the front door was open, so it provides a glimpse into the front entry hall and the front staircase. Because the center chimney occupies a large footprint within the interior of the house, it does not allow for a large staircase. Instead, the stairs twist around the entry hall on their way up to the second floor.

The 1930 census shows Charles Hanmer living here with his wife Leila (1871-1954), their daughter Charlotte Cowan (1894-1982), and Charlotte’s son William (1925-1977). This made William the seventh generation of his family to live in this house, as he was the 4th great grandson of Samuel Hanmer Sr.

At the time of the 1930 census, Charlotte was married, but was evidently separated from her husband, Jerome Cowan (1897-1972). He was a Broadway actor, and they had married in 1924, around the time that his Broadway career started. However, they were not living together in 1930, and they divorced a year later. Jerome would go on to achieve prominence as a film actor, starring in a number of films from the late 1930s through the early 1960s, including The Maltese Falcon and Miracle on 34th Street. In the meantime, though, Charlotte went on to have a successful career of her own in the insurance industry. She was the first female officer at the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, and by the time she retired in 1959 she was the company’s assistant comptroller.

Charles, Leila, Charlotte, and William were all still living here in 1940, and all except for William in the 1950 census.  Charles and Leila both died in the 1950s, and at some point Charlotte moved to Hartford, where she died in 1982 at the age of 88. She appears to have been the last direct descendant of Samuel Hanmer Sr. to live in this house, ending two centuries of consecutive generations of ownership.

Today, more than 80 years after the top photo was taken, not much has changed here on the exterior of the house. Aside from the 19th century alterations, it retains its historic appearance, and it stands as one of the many well-preserved 18th and early 19th century homes that line Main Street in Wethersfield. It is a contributing property in the Old Wethersfield Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

The house at 319 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library, State Archives, RG 033:28, WPA Records, Architectural Survey.

The house in 2024:

This house is one of the many historic 18th century homes in Wethersfield, and it is one of several that have an asymmetrical front façade. Rather than the more conventional “five over four” colonial style with a central doorway and two windows on either side of it, this house has a shorter left side, with just a single window to the left of the door on the first floor. Otherwise, though, the overall design is typical for mid-18th century colonial New England homes, including the central chimney.

The top photo was taken as part of the WPA Architectural Survey, a Depression-era project to document historic homes and other buildings in Connecticut. According to the information that accompanied the photograph, it was built around 1770 as the home of Captain Francis Bulkeley. The source of this date seems unclear, and the current historical marker on the house states that it was built in 1750. However, the state’s ConnCRIS database of historic resources takes an even less committal stance, only stating that the house was constructed in the “late 18th century.” Any of these certainly seem plausible, and its architecture suggests that it was probably built sometime during the second half of the 18th century.

Today, the house appears to have a different paint color compared to the top photo, and the historically-inaccurate shutters have been removed, but overall the exterior of the house has seen few exterior changes since the top photo was taken over 80 years ago. The house is now part of the Old Wethersfield Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.