![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(May 2022) |
Preston City Historic District | |
![]() Preston City Bible Church, in 1940 | |
Location | Amos and Old Shetucket Rds., Northwest Corner Rd., and CT 164, Preston, Connecticut |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°31′38″N71°58′33″W / 41.52722°N 71.97583°W Coordinates: 41°31′38″N71°58′33″W / 41.52722°N 71.97583°W |
Area | 25 acres (10 ha) |
Architectural style | Greek Revival, Georgian, Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 87000452 [1] |
Added to NRHP | July 31, 1987 |
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. [2] The district is located along Old Shetucket and Amos Roads, which, prior to the 1930s, were major thoroughfares. [3] : 3
The historic district was listed on the National Register in 1987. It includes 24 contributing buildings, one other contributing structure, another contributing site, and three contributing objects. It includes representation of Greek Revival, Georgian, and Federal architectural styles. [1]
Historically, Preston City was one of three distinct settlements in the town, the others being Poquetanuck and Long Society. The first Congregational church in Preston City was founded in 1698. [4]
Preston City prospered in its early years when the town of Preston was an important supplier of agricultural products to the port of Norwich on the Thames River, from which local farm goods were shipped to other ports on the east coast. The period of greatest prosperity was between the American Revolutionary War and about 1830, and is reflected in the architecture of the homes built by successful local farmers and merchants. [5]
Preston City was established in 1686 as the town center for the newly designated town of Preston. The town of Preston was initially set up as an agricultural community for the port town of Norwich with Preston City as the focus for transporting farm goods to the larger town.
Contributing properties in the district include a church, a library, a blacksmith shop, a former tavern, and a poorhouse, as well as houses and some barns. All buildings are of wood-frame construction.
The Preston City Baptist Church was built in 1812. The building was turned to a different orientation, and its "three-stage steeple and bell tower with a pyramidal roof" were added later, in 1832.
The James Treat House is the largest residence and is located prominently on Amos Road. The "Mott and Downer House", a five-bay colonial house, are both on Amos Road and were both built before the American Revolutionary War.
The Calvin Barstow House, a Georgian colonial house surrounded by a picket fence, was built during 1786–1800. It includes a meeting room for the St. James Masonic Temple.
The Aron B. Gates House, built c. 1830, on Northwest Corner Road, is a Greek Revival building. It has a barn built c.1900.
The Thomas Meech House, built in 1795, on Northwest Corner Road, is Federal/Colonial. It includes a facade overhang that is unique within the district.
The Rev. Augustus Collins House, built c. 1830, on Shetucket Road, is Greek Revival.
The "Old Town Pound" on Amos Road is a stone wall enclosure. It served as a pound, a common feature of British medieval villages (where stray livestock might be held).
One house, the Ephraim Jones House, used to be the poorhouse of Preston and was originally built in 1733.
Other contributing elements include the Civil War Monument and Mott Memorial, erected in 1898.
Non-contributing elements include a Revolutionary War Monument dating from 1967 and the Downer-Doane Memorial Park, which, as of 1986, is maintained by the Preston Historical Society.
As of 1986, the district's area included only three modern intrusions. [3]
Preston is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,788 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Long Society, Preston City, and Poquetanuck.
Falls Village is a village and census-designated place in the town of Canaan in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 538, out of 1,234 in the entire town of Canaan. Because Falls Village is the town center and principal constituent village in Canaan, the entire town is often referred to as "Falls Village". That usage also avoids confusion of the town with Canaan Village in the town of North Canaan, Connecticut, not far away. Falls Village derives its name from a waterfall, known as Great Falls, on the Housatonic River within the village.
Poquetanuck is a village in the town of Preston, Connecticut, located near the banks of a bay known as Poquetanuck Cove that opens to the Thames River. The village includes the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-listed Poquetanuck Village Historic District.
Litchfield Historic District, in Litchfield, Connecticut, is a National Historic Landmark District designated in 1968 as a notable and well-preserved example of a typical late 18th century New England village. As a National Historic Landmark, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It is the core area of a larger NRHP-listed historic district that includes the entire borough of Litchfield and was designated a state historic district in 1959.
Quinebaug Mill–Quebec Square Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by the Quinebaug River, Quebec Square, and Elm and S. Main Streets in the town of Brooklyn in Windham County, Connecticut. The district encompasses a well-preserved 19th-century mill village. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Ridgefield Center Historic District is part of the town of Ridgefield, Connecticut. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Southport Historic District in the town of Fairfield, Connecticut is a 225-acre (91 ha) area historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It preserves a portion of the modern neighborhood and former borough of Southport, Connecticut. Since the British burnt almost all of Southport's structures in 1779, there is only one home built prior to that date, the Meeker House at 824 Harbor Road, which survives.
The Wilton Center Historic District in the town center area of Wilton, Connecticut, was established as a town historic district in 1970 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Lakeville Historic District in Salisbury, Connecticut is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is also the name of a local historic district that was established in 1970. The local historic district is entirely included within the National Register-listed district.
The Whitney Avenue Historic District is a historic district in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. It is a 203-acre (82 ha) district which included 1,084 contributing buildings when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
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.
Norwichtown is a historic neighborhood in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. It is generally the area immediately north of the Yantic River between I-395 and Route 169.
Bolton Green Historic District is a historic district that includes the town green, Bolton Green, of the town of Bolton, Connecticut. The green and the surrounding buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The district encompasses 9 buildings, 1 site, 4 structures, and 2 objects that contribute to the historical significance of the area. The district extends east about 500 yards (460 m) from the green along Bolton Center Road. The oldest existing buildings around the Green are the former tavern and the Bolton General Store. The most prominent building around the Green is the Bolton Congregational Church, a Greek Revival structure built in 1818 with a truncated box-spire. Other structures around the green are a house facing the green on the east side built in the 1840s, and a new ranch house that was built on the former site of an 1870s house that was destroyed by fire. Other properties in the district includes the Brick Tavern, the site of Bolton's first post office, the town hall, the Tuthill residence, and the Bolton Heritage Farm.
The Chelsea Parade Historic District encompasses a predominantly residential area north of downtown Norwich. Centered around the Chelsea Parade, a triangular public park, the area has long been a preferred residential area for the city's upper classes, and includes a catalog of architecture from the 18th to 20th centuries. It includes 565 contributing buildings, two other contributing sites, and six contributing objects over an area of 205 acres (83 ha). The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The Downtown Norwich Historic District is a historic district representing the core of the downtown area of the city of Norwich, Connecticut in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It includes 115 contributing buildings and one other contributing structure over a 64-acre (26 ha) area. Several buildings in the historic district are also individually listed on the National Register, including the Norwich Town Hall, the Telephone Exchange Building and the Carroll Building.
Greeneville is a neighborhood of the city of Norwich, Connecticut, located northeast of downtown Norwich along the west bank of the Shetucket River. Most of the neighborhood is designated Greeneville Historic District, a historic district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The North Stonington Village Historic District is a 105-acre (42 ha) historic district encompassing the historic center of the main village of North Stonington, Connecticut. The district includes a well-preserved small industrial village, which flourished in the years before the American Civil War, and declined afterward. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
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.
The Spring Hill Historic District encompasses a rural 19th-century village stretching along Storrs Road in Mansfield, Connecticut. Spring Hill developed as a rural waystation on an early 19th-century turnpike, and has seen only modest development since the late 19th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Bedford Village Historic District is a national historic district in Bedford, Westchester County, New York. The district contains 80 contributing buildings and one contributing site. It encompasses most of the original 1680 hamlet and is laid out in a typical village green plan. Notable buildings include the court house (1787), library (1807), school house (1829), post office, and Presbyterian church (1872). The buildings are good examples of the Greek Revival and Gothic Revival styles. Two of the buildings are now museums.
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Preston City, Preston, Connecticut . |