The Enfield Historic District encompasses a two-mile stretch of Enfield Street, the main north-south road of

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Longm ...

. Centered on the town common with its church and

old town hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

, it includes a diversity of residential architecture from the 18th to early 20th centuries. The district 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 ...

in 1979.

Description and history

The town of Enfield was settled in the 17th century and incorporated in 1683. Enfield Street, now designated

United States Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...

, has from an early date been the principal north-south route just east of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

, set on a ridge above its flood plain. Lots were laid out as strips of land from the road to the river, with houses located near the road and the rest used for agriculture. This land use pattern persisted into the 20th century, generally avoiding commercial development. The result is a landscape of primarily residential architecture extending across three centuries, with central cluster of civic buildings. The historic district is essentially linear, running along Enfield Street for from

Connecticut Route 190 Route 190 is a state route in the northern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It starts at Route 75 in the town of Suffield and proceeds eastward across the Connecticut River through the towns of Enfield, Somers, and Stafford. It ends a ...

in the north to the junction of Old King Street and Oliver Road in the south. Residential architecture predominates in the district, with wood frame houses 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 stories in height. Stylistically they are diverse, although layout and spatial arrangement are fairly consistent. The most elaborate house is that of Orrin Thompson, at the southeast corner of Enfield Street and South Road; it is a large brick Greek Revival house built in 1832 for the founder of Enfield's carpet-making businesses. It overlooks the town's 17th-century parade ground, near which also stand the 1848 Congregational Church, and the former town hall, both of which are also in the Greek Revival.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut Georgian architecture in Connecticut Victorian architecture in Connecticut Historic districts in Hartford County, Connecticut Enfield, Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References