Norfolk Historical Society & Museum
Village Green, Norfolk, Connecticut
The front door facing Old Colony Road opens onto a wide central hall. Off this are four rooms—two parlors, a dining room and today a bedroom—all roughly the same size, all with exposed beams, some cased and chamfered. In what was the only real concession to modernity, the Stevens house was built with two chimneys, … Read more
In the summer of 1801 Rev. Thomas Robbins, son of town pastor Ammi Ruhamah Robbins, visited Norfolk and reported in his diary: “Mr. Battell building a very elegant house near my father’s.” The house was completed in time for merchant Joseph Battell’s marriage to Sarah Robbins. The hipped roof and Palladian window above the entrance … Read more
In 1924 architect Alfredo Taylor was asked to enlarge the small frame Catholic church to accommodate a growing parish. His design completely changed the shape and size of the 1859 church and offered a stronger image of Catholicism. Walls are rough cast stucco which, at the time of consecration, were described as burnt sienna and … Read more
Built in 1797 by Ariel Lawrence, the tavern served travelers on the Greenwoods Turnpike and housed the first post office (est. 1804) in Norfolk. The mail, received twice a week, was kept in a small bureau drawer. Later the house was occupied by Matthew Ryan, who came from Ireland with his brothers and opened a … Read more
This 19th century frame barn with a distinctive rooster weathervane on the cupola stood on the property of Captain John H. Shepard, proprietor of Shepard Tavern (formerly Pettibone Tavern, see #7). His son Frederick M. Shepard (1827–1913) was instrumental in shaping the town in the late 19th century. President of the Goodyear Rubber Company in … Read more
This large brick building was built as a stable for the livery business of A. P. Curtiss. In addition to many stalls, there was a washstand for the carriages. Dirt roads left cakes of mud on the wheels and bodies of the vehicles, making a scrub down necessary. Roads were not hardsurfaced until the 1920’s.
The Augustus P. Curtiss coal and grain facility was built along the siding of the Central New England Railroad and included a grain mill and scales that weighed the loads as they passed under the arches at the rear of the building. Bulk grain brought by railroad cars ran down a chute from the second … Read more
This multi-purpose building was designed in 1904 by Alfredo Taylor to house the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department, organized in 1902, and the clubrooms of the Wangum Council of the Royal Arcanum, a fraternal society active in Norfolk. The insignia of both organizations mark their respective entrances fronting Station Place. The crown and monogram VMC on … Read more
n 1905 there were six eastbound and six westbound trains passing through the Greenwoods Road underpass each day, including freight trains that transported anthracite coal from Pennsylvania. Isabella Eldridge undertook to improve the railroad right-of-way near the library that she had built in 1888 and asked Alfredo Taylor to design a railing for the northern … Read more