Sterling Hill Historic District | |
Location | Sterling Hill Rd. and CT 14A, Plainfield and Sterling, Connecticut |
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Coordinates | 41°41′23″N71°50′56″W / 41.68972°N 71.84889°W |
Area | 25 acres (10 ha) |
Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 86000152 [1] |
Added to NRHP | February 6, 1986 |
The Sterling Hill Historic District encompasses a well-preserved early 19th-century rural village center on western edge of the town of Sterling, Connecticut. Centered at the junction of Plainfield Pike (Connecticut Route 14A) and Sterling Hill Road, it consists of a cluster of 19th and early 19th-century houses, and a church. Unlike other period villages, it has largely been unaffected by later development. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. [1]
The Sterling Hill area was settled in the early 18th century, and was originally incorporated as part of Voluntown. It remained a sparsely populated area through the 18th century, and was separately incorporated in 1794. By this time, Plainfield Pike had become a major east-west road between Providence, Rhode Island and Hartford, Connecticut, with a small cluster of homes and taverns. Upon incorporation, the new town had no defined center and no church. The town voted in 1797 to build a town hall, which in 1812 was made available to a Baptist congregation for religious use. This is the present Sterling Hill Baptist Church, which was given Greek Revival styling in 1859. The village center was entirely bypassed by industrial development in the 19th century, and by the railroad, which passed no closer than Plainfield to the west. [2]
The historic district is centered around the junctions of Plainfield Pike with Sterling Hill Road (which leads north) and Connecticut Route 49 (which leads south). In addition to the church, the district includes 14 older and newer houses that include Greek Revival, Italianate, and Federal architecture. [2] The Dorrance Homestead (c.1716) is a combination of original house to the right of its large chimney, plus a later addition to the left which includes a Greek Revival entry. One house, located at the western edge of the district, extends into Plainfield. [2]
A portion of the Plainfield Pike running through the village is also historically significant as the travel route of the French Army during the Revolutionary War. The French camped overnight in Sterling Hill, both in 1781 and in 1782. [2]
The Canterbury Center Historic District is a historic district in Canterbury, Connecticut. The district is centered on the town green, located at the junction of Route 169 and Route 14. It has been the town center since 1705, and includes a fine assortment of 18th and early 19th-century architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1998.
Clayville Historic District is an 81-acre (33 ha) historic district in Foster and Scituate, Rhode Island. The district encompasses the heart of the village of Clayville, a small 19th-century mill village. It is centered on the junction of Plainfield Pike, Field Hill Road, and Victory Highway near the Clayville Mill pond, and is roughly bisected by the town line between Foster and Scituate. The mill pond is impounded by a c. 1847 dam, which powered mills whose ruins and waterways lie downstream. The village is mainly residential, with vernacular 19th-century construction predominating. Notable buildings include the Clayville Christian Union Church, built 1867–71 with Greek Revival styling, and the c. 1845 Clayville Schoolhouse.
The Rice City Historic District is a historic district in Coventry, Rhode Island. It encompasses the 19th-century village of Rice City, extending along Plainfield Pike for several miles between Sisson Road and Gibson Hill Road in the northwestern part of Coventry. The main village center is at the junction of the Pike and Vaughn Hollow Road, and there is a former industrial and commercial center at Fairbank's Corner, the junction with Flat River Road. The architecture of the district is predominantly rural and residential, with Greek Revival and Federal style housing predominating. Rice City village is dominated by Rice Tavern, which used to serve travelers on their way to Connecticut, as well as the Rice City Church (1846), the Democrat Schoolhouse, and the Obadiah Potter House (1846), all a short way up Vaughn Hill Road. At the western edge of the district, the modern Pike alignment diverges from the historical one at Gibson Hill Road, where the foundational remnants of agricultural settlements may be found.
The South Britain Historic District encompasses the core of the unincorporated village of South Britain in Southbury, Connecticut, United States. The village arose in the 18th century as an industrial center serving the surrounding agricultural community, powered by the Pomperaug River, and rivalled the town center of Southbury in importance. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
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.
The Central Village Historic District is a historic district in the Central Village area of Plainfield, Connecticut that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1991. It encompasses a late 19th-century historic mill village, including a small commercial center where Connecticut Route 12 and 14 meet, a cluster of architecturally distinguished buildings built by mill owners and managers, and a collection of mill worker housing units. It includes the Plainfield Woolen Company Mill, which is separately listed, as well as archaeological remnants of other mill infrastructure. It also includes Plainfield's old town hall and high school. Other architecturally prominent buildings include the c. 1855 Italianate mansion of mill owner Arthur Fenner, and the 1845 Greek Revival Congregational Church.
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.
The Dorrance Inn, also known as the Samuel Dorrance House, is a historic former inn at 748 Plainfield Pike in Sterling, Connecticut built about 1722. It is notable as a place that hosted officers of the French Army in 1781 and 1782, as it was along the march route taken by French commander Rochambeau's troops on their march to meet the Continental Army under General George Washington. Dorrance's Inn is one of a few places mentioned by name in multiple accounts written by French officers. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and is a contributing building in the Sterling Hill Historic District.
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 Andover Center Historic District encompasses the historic town center of Andover, Connecticut. Centered on the junction of Hebron Road with Center Street and Cider Mill Road, the district includes houses dating to the town's early history, civic buildings including a library and former town hall, and the town's first cemetery. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Somers Historic District encompasses the historic civic and social center of the town of Somers, Connecticut. It stretches along Main Street, with extensions along Springfield Road and Battle Street, and includes a significant number of vernacular Federal and Greek Revival houses. It includes the town's early churches, as well as important civic buildings, including the town hall and library. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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 Lyme Center Historic District encompasses a modest crossroads and industrial village in rural Lyme, New Hampshire. The predominantly residential district stretches along Dorchester Road, on either side of its junction with Baker Hill Road. The village's rise in development started in the early 19th century as it was at a crossroads of the east-west Dorchester Road, and the north-south Baker Hill Road and Acorn Hill Road. The village grew rapidly in the 1820s, with a number of simple Greek Revival houses, and in 1830 the Baptist Church was built. The other major civic building in the village is the Lyme Academy, built in 1839, albeit with more Federal than Greek Revival styling. Grant Brook, which runs parallel to Dorchester Road, provided a source of power for the growth of small industrial efforts, including a sawmill at the corner of Dorchester and Baker Hill Roads. This industry provided a second minor building boom in the late 19th to early 20th century. Most of the houses in the district are vernacular Greek Revival or Cape in their styling; probably the most elaborate Greek Revival house is the 1857 Beal-Pike House at 41 Dorchester Road.
The Town Center Historic District encompasses the historic village center of South Hampton, New Hampshire. Centered around the Barnard Green, the town common, on New Hampshire Route 107A, it includes architectural reminders of the town's growth and change over time. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
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.
The Putney Village Historic District encompasses most of the main village and town center of Putney, Vermont. Settled in the 1760s, the village saw its major growth in the late 18th and early 19th century, and includes a cohesive collection with Federal and Greek Revival buildings, with a more modest number of important later additions, including the Italianate town hall. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Plainfield Village Historic District encompasses a significant portion of the village of Plainfield, Vermont. Located in northernmost Plainfield on United States Route 2, the village grew in the 19th century as a mill town and service community for the surround agricultural areas, and has a well-preserved collection of Greek Revival and Italianate architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
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.
The Hastings Hill Historic District encompasses a rural crossroads settlement of the early 19th century at the junction of Spruce Street, Hill Street, and Russell Avenue in Suffield, Connecticut. The area includes well-preserved examples of 18th and 18th-century domestic architecture, as well as the 1842 First Baptist Church and a district schoolhouse. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.