22 Main St. - Tryon-Sanford Building
The original building that stood on this site was built sometime shortly after 1850 when the land was purchased by Franklin A. Tryon. Tryon and partner Truman Sanford established Unionville’s earliest general store in the building. The first floor contains Tryon & Sanford General Store, and the upper floors were known as Tryon-Sanford Hall. Tyron lived at 100 Main St. and Sanford at 110 Main St. at the time. In 1874, the building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt as the structure currently on the property today. Evening Star Lodge No. 101 can trace its history back to the late 1700’s and the origins of Frederick Lodge, Farmington chartered by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Bay. It’s founding members went on to establish the Grand Lodge of the State of Connecticut in 1789, of which Bro. Pierpont Edwards was elected the first Grand Master, and Bro. William Judd of Frederick Lodge was elected Deputy Grand Master. Due to anti-masonic sentiment in the mid-1800s many lodges disbanded, including Frederick Lodge. It is from this that Evening Star Lodge is believed to be born. Evening Star Lodge No. 101 was chartered and dedicated on October 10, 1867 at its present location, 22 Main Street, Unionville, CT. The fourteen charter members were influential figures in the history of Farmington and Unionville. Seven of the fourteen were members of the original Frederick Lodge, Farmington. Among the charter members were Carlos L. Mason, Andrew S. Upson, and Samuel Q. Porter, all well known for manufacturing in the Unionville area. It is known that the lodge gained its name from the home lodge of the first Worshipful Master, Brother Robert. M. Wilson who hailed from Evening Star Lodge, Lee MA. Despite a devastating fire at 22 Main St. in 1874, Evening Star Lodge remained active and strong, meeting at Merriman Hall (20 South Main St. Unionville). In 1891, the Unionville Masonic Association was formed. According to the minutes, in 1894, the UMA decided to acquire land for its own building which it did at a site bordered by Farmington Ave to the North and Water St. to the South. (area currently occupied by Stop & Shop). However, a building was not built and the land was subsequently sold. The building at 22 Main St. was purchased in 1906 by the Unionville Masonic Association and the new lodge was dedicated on December 11, 1907. The first floor of the building has been occupied by many tenants including the opening of the The United States Post Office (1918-1957), the Plainville Bank & Trust (1960-1970), and most recently Claudette’s Clippins. The second floor housed the office of Dr. Edward P. Dunne. Both upper floors are the Masonic Hall today.
60 Main Street - Howard V. Humphrey House
1887-1888 Queen Anne/ VictorianThis house has an asymmetrical facade with steep cross gabled roofs and a turret tower. The four different patterns of wood siding help accentuate the asymmetry and the additional amount of trim around each of these sections is reminiscent of another Victorian style, the Stick or Eastlake style. Exaggerated verge boards with carved and cut out relief designs in the upper story gabled facade are also typical of the Stick style. Howard W. Humphrey was the son of “Deacon” Russell Humphrey (20 Lovely St). Russell, born 07Dec1812 in Farmington township, youngest child of Ralph and Rebecca (Woodford) Humphrey, had a very brief partnership c1841-1842 in clockmaking with Virgil C Goodwin following which, in 1848, he began a firm doing business as Goodwin and Humphrey which manufactured tin spoons. His brief clockmaking endeavor and the early spoon business appear to have been located in rented quarters in or connected to the former (1832) Patent Wood Screw Manufactory building (located in the oldest part of what ultimately became Sanford & Hawley) in Unionville, as he owned in 1843 a 3.5 acre parcel adjacent to that building in which Edward Seymour had conducted clockmaking operations. During the 1870s Howard joined his father, Russell, in the company and, succeeding him, expanded the business of tin spoons, washers, and other hardware to include paper boxes, constructing a new factory for the HW Humphrey Company c1886 on the southeast bend/corner of the former Water Street, Unionville (at the mouth of Roaring Brook), which business was continued by his son-in-law, Joseph J Bailey, until the 1955 flood. Howard Humphrey purchased ¼ acre from Frank A. Tryon in 1887 and built the 60 Main Street house.
90 Main Street - Joshua Bowen Brewer House
1865 Italianate Victorian StyleWith a broad hipped roof, generous overhanging eaves, tall windows and a wraparound veranda porch, this home exhibits many classic elements of the Italianate Victorian style. This structure, in its present form, is depicted on the 1855 Smith’s Map of Hartford County, as the residence of Joshua Bowen Brewer, a native of Westfield, MA. Based on the architectural style of the building, it seems likely that Brewer constructed it in the early 1850s. He purchased from James and Augustus Cowles one acre with buildings thereon, bounded “N by Benjamin Horsford, E by Russell Humphrey, S by Virgil C Goodwin, and W by highway, formerly occupied by Ephraim Fuller” (FLR 48-507) on 4/23/1844. Brewer then mortgaged it to Dan H Goodwin (FLR 52-229) on 2/27/1851 and then to his father-in-law, Samuel Payne, on 11/20/1852, perhaps around the time he built the current structure (or expanded the earlier structure) He was reputedly a casemaker for the clock making industry in Unionville in the 1830s, and also may have operated a cabinetry business in Unionville with Lambert Hitchcock from 1844. In that connection, Brewer and Amasa Sherman (“A.S.”) Mills mortgaged the fixtures and machinery used in the cabinetry business then in the Estate of Lambert Hitchcock in leased premises from James Cowles (FLR 52-456) on 5/20/1852 and acquired the same by quitclaim from Cowles on 7/11/1854 (FLR 54-7). On 2/13/1861 (FLR 54-448), Edward Milo Mills, brother of A.S. Mills, purchased this land with buildings from Joshua Brewer. Of interest, the A.S. Mills residence is depicted on the 1855 Smith’s Map of Hartford County as fronting on the west side of Lovely Street, abutting the rear of 90 Main Street; Mills mortgaged this property of 4 acres with buildings with Joshua Brewer on 11/4/1856 (FLR 55-137), receiving clear title back 9/9/1858 (FLR 54-307). In the same 2/23/1861 transaction, Edward M Mills also purchased Brewer’s holdings in the A.S. Mills furniture manufacturing company, the successor firm utilizing the fixtures and machinery from the Estate of Lambert Hitchcock. Edward M Mills sold the property to his fiancée, Angeline Zelinda Hill, daughter of Albert Hill of Unionville, in 1862, marrying her 10Jan1863. Upon Amasa Sherman Mills’ death in 1866 (buried in Hillside Cemetery), Edward acquired the rest of A.S. Mills Furniture Manufacturing Company, incorporating the business as the Union Cabinet Company in June of 1873. He then declared bankruptcy three months later and was forced to sell all of his personal property. The Union Cabinet Company went out of business in 1881 and was sold to the Union Nut Company. The 90 Main Street house was retained by the Mills family until it was sold in 1909 to Edward Teller Thompson, a native of Avon and owner of Thompson’s store on South Main and Water Sts. Thompson sold “staples and fancy groceries.” Robert King Vibert purchased the home in 1930. Vibert was married to Marjorie Monteith. He was a veteran of the Spanish-American war and represented Unionville businesses in the Panama Canal Zone. Marjorie Monteith’s father, Henry Ruthven Monteith, was the principal of Unionville High School from 1879 to 1899. Monteith Drive is named after him. He later taught several languages and mathematics at Connecticut Agricultural College, the precursor to UCONN. Marjorie Vibert attended the college and was the captain of the women’s basketball team. According to Jon Vibert, Marjorie was captain when the team had its first undefeated season. The Vibert family continues to own the property.
100 Main Street - Truman Sanford House
1855-1869 Italianate Victorian StyleWith a broad hipped roof, generous overhanging eaves, tall windows and a wraparound veranda porch, this home exhibits many classic elements of the Italianate Victorian style. Truman Sanford was born in 1829 on the family farm on Lovely St in Avon, the son of Jesse and Almira (North) Sanford. He partnered with Frank A. Tryon, forming the Tryon and Sanford grocery, which operated on the first floor of the Tryon building (burned and rebuilt 1870 as the present Evening Star Lodge #101, AF&AM, [Masonic Hall] building, 22 Main Street). Truman married Emily Woodford, daughter of Henry and Huldah (Andrus) Woodford of (West) Avon. Together they raised Marion Hawley, whose father, Robert Augustus Hawley, died in the Civil War, Battle of Antietam. Marion Hawley married Truman’s nephew, Franklin (“Frank”) Sanford, who associated with his brother-in-law, Robert Hawley, in 1885 to form Sanford and Hawley Lumber Company (on Farmington Avenue). Along with his grocery business, Truman acted as postmaster, was a stockholder in the Unionville Parsonage Association (Congregational Church) and had an interest in Frederick Crum’s saw manufacturing business. Truman purchased the land from Joshua Brewer’s property on 9/27/1855 (FLR 53-526). The structure is not depicted on the 1855 Smith’s Map of Hartford County, and land records do not show a mortgage dating the house. This may be due to the logging and lumber business of his older and younger brothers, Edmund (father of Frank) and Sherman Sanford.
101 Main Street - Samuel Frisbie House
circa 1863 Italianate Victorian StyleThis present-day office building has had a lot of alterations and renovations since it became a commercial property. There are some remnants of the original Victorian residential building like the decorative portico entryway with sidelights, carved columns and capitals, turned posts and corbel brackets. The tall narrow windows and hipped roof line with large overhanging eaves are also still evident. The land was purchased in April 1863 by Samuel’s wife, Minerva W (Upson) Langdon, widow of Dwight L Langdon (1827-1860), and sister to Andrew Seth Upson, owner of Upson Nut Company in Unionville; no structure is depicted on the 1855 Smith’s Map of Hartford County. The house is first depicted on the 1869 Baker and Tilden Map. Samuel Frisbie’s grandfather was Ichabod Culpepper Frisbie, a Revolutionary War soldier. Samuel, a native of Southington, taught school before becoming a bookkeeper for the Upson Nut Company in 1860. In 1866 he became the Director and Treasurer of the Upson Nut company. He was an active member of the First Church of Christ Congregational, Unionville. His public service included representing Unionville in the Connecticut General Assembly for five terms and serving on the local school board. On Minerva Frisbie’s death the house was inherited by her nephews, Samuel, Walter, and Henry Graham. In 1936 the house was purchased by Max David Shapiro. Max, a Russian immigrant, owned a dry goods store. Max’s oldest son, Louis Shapiro, served as a representative in the Connecticut General Assembly becoming Majority Leader. He later was appointed by Governor John Davis Lodge to the State Superior Court and then by Governor John N. Dempsey to the state Supreme Court, becoming one of three Unionville residents to serve on the Supreme Court. The other two were Fredrick Wyne and Maxwell Heiman (Unionville Museum)
120 Main Street - Frederick Crumb House
1836 Greek RevivalThis is a great example of the Greek Revival style of residential architecture with its broad gable roof end entry and portico doorway. The heavy front eaves, cornices and entablature appear to be supported by the exaggerated pilasters on either side of the facade, which mimic the temple inspired design of classic Greek architecture and correspond to the timber frame construction within. In May, 1836 Mrs. Ellice (Catlin) Crumb, Frederick’s wife, purchased land from James Cowles, Augustus Cowles, John Norton and Abner Bidwell for $20. The land was mortgaged “with dwelling house” for $550.00 seven months later to James and Augustus Cowles. The house is depicted on the 1855 Smith’s Map of Hartford County as residence of the Crumbs. As related in the second volume of the Memorial History of Hartford County (1886), Frederick W Crumb (later “Crum”) and Albert Hill built a small factory in 1854 on the Cowles Canal which manufactured saws and caskets. The business continued until the rise of the great saw factories in Pennsylvania made competition too severe, at which point they sold out to Union Nut Company. Crumb subsequently became an undertaker. The only daughter of Ellice and Frederick, Helen M, married Stanley N. Wadsworth, a corporal during the Civil War; All are buried in Hillside Cemetery.
132 Main Street - Hubert Hart House
1885 Queen-Anne/Stick StyleA very ornate house with a blend of two Victorian styles of residential architecture. An asymmetrical floor plan and facade with a variety of exterior siding and decorative trim components, and a turret tower. The large and ornate upper gable verge boards house a kings cross and corbel brackets, and the front porch is framed with original fretwork. This large, elaborate house was built by prominent businessman and inventor Hubert Chauncey Hart around 1885. His wife, Evaline M. (Moses) Hart, previously purchased the John Thompson House (134 Main Street) in 1874 for $5,700; Rufus Stone is depicted as resident of that house on the 1855 Smith’s Map of Hartford County, and was an owner of the Uncas Mill in Unionville, producer of paper, which eventually became the Platner and Porter Manufacturing Company. The Harts lived there until 1885, when they moved it to the rear of the lot and erected this grander house. A mortgage, with the Farmington Savings Bank, in March 1885, for $5000, mentions a lot with “two dwelling houses”. Hart was a descendant of Deacon Stephen Hart, one of the founders of Hartford and Farmington. In 1860, Hubert went to work in his father’s (“Deacon” Chauncey Hart) trap shop, which manufactured rakes and animal traps. In 1867, his father made Hubert a partner in his business, known as C.S. Hart & Sons. Between 1876 and 1880, Hubert worked for P & F. Corbin Company of New Britain, where he had sold one of his inventions, a carpenter’s bit brace. Around 1880 he returned to Unionville and worked in the cutlery business; Hart’s business produced forks, knives, spoons, and edge tools. In 1884 he joined with Andrew Upson to establish the firm of Upson & Hart, another cutlery manufacturer. After leaving the cutlery business, Hart invented a machine that made washers from wire and formed the Spencer Wire Company, Worcester, MA. The invention proved to be lucrative and by 1919 the firm was manufacturing spring washers for automobiles. In 1905, Hart returned to cutlery when he organized the H.C. Hart Manufacturing Company which produced cutlery, pliers, can openers and the Supreme Adjustable Razor. Hart patented over 100 inventions and served on numerous boards, many as president.
Former St. Mary's Church site
The original St Mary’s Church was dedicated in 1876 (Alderman, Clifford, Pg.51)The original church burned down in 1885. The new church seen in the image was demolished in 2005 when the current St Mary’s Church was built across the street.
182 Main Street - Cowles, Norton, and Bidwell House
circa 1835 Federal/Georgian/Greek Revival StyleThe building is the only brownstone in Unionville. This unique stone house stands out amongst its wood clad neighborhood houses. Its symmetrical facade is comprised of 12/12 double hung sash windows, a recessed entryway with sidelights, and an upper story door with iron balcony rail and each opening has a cut piece of brownstone as a lintel header. A long gabled roof is flanked by two brick chimneys. There is no definitive date for this house. Historians put it at either 1830 or 1840. In a deed dated 1840, land sold by James and Augustus Cowles to William Griswold is denoted as “991/2 feet north of the stone house”, the stone house being 182 Main St. and the original owners of the house were James and Augustus Cowles, John T. Norton, and Abner Bidwell. All four men were original members of the Farmington River Water Power Company. The Farmington River Water Power company built a dam and canal used by Unionville early industries. Tradition asserts that Heman H Orton, a native of Litchfield, NY, was the house’s earliest occupant. Orton was a partner in the clockmaking firm of Williams, Orton & Preston.
186 Main Street - George Robotham House
1871 Italianate Victorian StyleThis home has a hipped roof with flat entablature beneath the eaves that contain a number of attic windows between pairs of corbel brackets. The tall narrow windows have decorative trim surrounds and there is a wrap around porch with posts, decorative brackets, and a balustrade. Francis (“Frank”) W Robotham purchased the property from Abner Bidwell in 1870. Frank then quit-claimed the property to his sister, Isabella V. Robotham, in May, 1871. In December, 1871, Isabella and her younger brother, George Robotham, mortgaged the land “with a new dwelling house” to the Farmington Savings Bank. The Robotham siblings were, with their parents and siblings, Irish immigrants in the 1850s, the youngest of which, Sarah Jane, was baptized in 1856 in Unionville. George was a restauranteur. Isabella operated a millinery and dressmaking shop from the house. After George died, his wife, Rosetta “Rosa” (Peck) inherited his portion of the property. The property was sold by Rosa and Isabella to Daniel Rourke, another Irish immigrant. Rourke, a coachman, owned several homes in Unionville and rented some to factory workers.
187-189 Main Street - Frisbie Rental House
circa 1885 Eastlake-Stick Victorian StyleLooking across the street - A large duplex home with a symmetrical facade, a large projecting front dormer, and front porch entryway. The additional trim accents the different siding material from clapboard to scalloped shingle, and the decorative fretwork and cut and shaped posts and brackets show the Eastlake and Stick style influences of this Victorian income property. This large, 2 family house was constructed by Mrs. Minerva Frisbie in about 1885. Mrs. Frisbie was the wife of Samuel Frisbie, director and treasurer of the Upson Nut & Bolt Company, manufacturers of forged nuts and bolts. Born in Burlington, CT, Minerva was the daughter of Seth and Martha (Brooks) Upson. The Frisbies lived at 101 Main Street. This home was rented to local factory workers and their families. In the second image, the picture shows the Back of the Frisbie Rental House and the Unionville Power Canal Basin. The area was used to control the flow of water to the smaller canals servicing the various factories in Unionville.
198 Main Street - Frank D. Lawton House
1912 Queen-Anne Victorian/Colonial Revival StyleHaving an asymmetrical floor plan and facade with multiple dormers, and a veranda porch with classical columns, this house contains details from the Victorian era of the late nineteenth and the newer Colonial Revival era of the early twentieth century. A large picture window with a transom light is a significant example of the advancement of glass making technology of the 20th century. Frank Darwin Lawton purchased ½ acre from Sherman and Edwin M. Sanford, building the home in 1912. Before coming to Unionville, the Lawtons lived in Nebraska and South Dakota. In 1905 Frank Lawton purchased the flour, grain, and feed business owned by the Richards’ family(?). Mabel Hurlburt wrote “Lawton came here from the west where he had an extensive acquaintance with the practical side of the industry and became an expert judge of all kinds of grain” (p346). He went into business with Leroy B. Miner, his son-in-law. The company then known as Lawton Miner handled both grain and coal. It split into two separate companies.
206 Main Street - Griswold-Mulrooney House
1870 Italianate Victorian StyleA low pitched hip roof adorns this Victorian house with large overhanging eaves supported by pairs of corbel brackets. The tall narrow 2/2 double hung windows have decorative trim surrounds and there is an ornately framed front porch and bay window. It is believed that Edwin Griswold built this house in 1870, but quickly sold it thereafter. In 1875, Mrs. Ann Mulrooney, a widow, purchased the house. Matthew Mulrooney, her late husband, brought his family from Dublin Ireland around 1858 and lived in Holyoke, MA, Windsor and Manchester, before moving to Unionville, where he worked in a local paper mill (probably Platner & Porter). He died suddenly in 1862. His wife was left to raise four children. Two sons and a daughter worked at Platner & Porter, and one daughter was organist and choir director for St. Mary’s Church.
230 Main Street - William Griswold House
1837 Greek Revival StyleThis clapboard sided house has a long-gabled roof and an exaggerated flat frieze which contains attic vents. Originally, these vents may have had operable windows. There are two large pilasters flanking the facade and a recessed entryway with a generous pilaster and header surround, and decorative header trim work above each window. William Griswold purchased a 31-acre area of land from John Isham, with buildings for $1,150. Griswold may have incorporated one of the earlier structures into the back of the home he erected. Griswold was a carpenter/joiner and reportedly built Unionville’s third schoolhouse in 1868. Tradition holds that Griswold operated a meeting hall in the upper story, where the Odd Fellows held their early meetings. Dances were also held in the hall. Griswold was the first man to try to bring fresh water into homes. He dug a ditch from a water source on Huckleberry Hill across the road to the rear of his house, where a small reservoir stored the water. The plan was not successful thanks to cold weather and animal interference, forcing Griswold to end his “impractical and useless enterprise.” Later owners include Lucius Pond, a founder of Pond & Hart, a cutlery manufacturer which employed over 60 workers.
End of Tour - Lawton's Mill
Unfortunately, the sidewalk ends at 230 Main Street. We are including information for Lawton’s Mill which is across the Farmington River. The mill in many ways mirrors the early history of Unionville. At your leisure when you are able to walk on the even side of Main Street, you can view the back of Lawton’s Mill from the bridge. Lawton’s Mill While standing at the light at Main Street and Perry Street, Street, look left behind the homes. The indentation in the ground was an area to store water from the Farmington River to control the canals. After walking a short distance on the bridge, look across the Farmington River to the miniature golf course and the back of a building that was Lawton’s Mill. According to Jack Crockett, late Unionville Museum curator, the foundation of the building may be the original foundation. The mill was originally built circa 1770. Thomas and Joshua Youngs operated the mill after the revolution. In 1832 the Youngs partnered with George Richards. Richards bought the mill outright in 1847. As the Rail Roads expanded and the canals became no longer viable Richards built a siding to the mill. George Richards’ sons, Lucas, and Solomon II, with Richard Condon, an Irish immigrant, ran the mill until 1912, selling to Frank D. Lawton. George Richards was the local Postmaster, Unionville Town Assessor, and a founder of the Congregational Church. The area became a village center. Farmers brought their grain to the mill. Coal, coke, and lumber were added to the mix coming in from the expanding railroad system. The above includes information from: The Hartford Courant(August 25,2021)Lawton’s Mill, Retrieved May 21, 2024, https://www.courant.com/1995/01/22/lawtons-mill-2/
