The Hotchkissville Historic District 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 ...

in the town of

Woodbury, Connecticut Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,723 at the 2020 census. The town center, comprising the adjacent villages of Woodbury and North Woodbury, is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Woo ...

, 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 ...

in 1995. The district encompasses most of the historic village of Hotchkissville, which is centered at the junction of Washington and Weekeepeemee roads. The village began as a dispersed rural agricultural community, but developed in the 19th century with the arrival of industry, primarily the manufacture of textiles. Despite this, the village has retained a significantly rural character, and includes a broad cross-section of 18th- and 19th-century architectural styles. and

Description and history

The town of Woodbury was established in the late 17th century. The Hotchkissville area was initially agricultural, and significant development did not begin until the Washington Turnpike, now Washington Road, opened in 1803. Early industrial activity on the Weekeepeemee River consisted of sawmills and gristmills, some operated by owners whose houses still stand in the district. Josiah Hotchkiss converted one of these sawmills into a

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

in 1814. The Hotchkiss manufacturing enterprise grew through the first half of the 19th century, building worker house and a mill office, and expanding by the acquisition of other water privileges on the river. Their empire collapsed in the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

. The mill properties were taken over by the Dawson family, and other industrial operations began in the second half of the 19th century. Businesses in the area were ultimately harmed and failed by the lack of adequate railroad connections. The historic district is essentially linear in shape, extending along both sides of the Weekeepeemee River, with Washington Road ( Connecticut Route 47) the main route on the east side, and Westwood Road on the west side. It is bounded in the south by Jack's Bridge Road, and the north by Paper Mill Road and an end to dense development on Weekeepeemee Road. Only remnants of the village's industrial past survive, its major mill complex having burned in 1920. Most of the buildings in the district are of either Federal or Greek Revival style, or have relatively modest later Victorian stylistic elements. Significant contributing buildings include: *Josiah Hotchkiss House, 21 Weekeepeemee Rd, Colonial/Saltbox, 1760 *Bela Potter House, 2 Easy Street,

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

, 1847 *John Ways House, 6 Easy Street, Italianate, 1847 *Chester Knowles House, 10 Easy Street, Italianate, 1847 *Eli S. Peet House, 152 Washington Road, Greek Revival, c.1835

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts in Litchfield County, Connecticut Federal architecture in Connecticut Colonial architecture in Connecticut Italianate architecture in Connecticut Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut Woodbury, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Litchfield County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References