The Chaplin Historic District in Chaplin, Connecticut is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

that was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP) in 1978. The district encompasses the historic village center of Chaplin, which extends for along Chaplin Street, and was most heavily developed in the early 19th century. The focal center of the district is the 1812-15 Congregational Church, which stands on a knoll overlooking the street. Most of the district's buildings are wood-frame houses, although the Witter House (separately listed on the National Register) is a notable brick structure. Stylistically most of the houses are either Federal or Greek Revival in style. In addition to the church, other public buildings include the 1840 former town hall, the 1911 Colonial Revival Ross Memorial Library building, and Eaton's Store, built in 1850. The area that is now Chaplin was settled in the 18th century, its area divided between the towns of

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

, Windham, and Hampton. The impetus to separate the community occurred due to the difficulty of area residents in reaching the churches in those town centers. Benjamin Chaplin, who died in 1795, bequeathed funds for the establishment of a church near his (now no longer standing) home. A village center developed around the church, and the town was incorporated in 1822. The village is unusual in Connecticut for its relatively late development, and thus survives as a good example of early 19th-century town planning. Because the center is not near usable water power, and was bypassed by railroads, it was not affected by later industrialization, and was further preserved when

Connecticut Route 198 Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

was routed past it in the 20th century.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Historic districts in Windham County, Connecticut Federal architecture in Connecticut Chaplin, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

See also

References