The Main Street Historic District in
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
,
Connecticut
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 to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
is roughly bounded by Nooks Hill Rd., Prospect Hill Rd., Wall and West Sts. and New Ln., and Stevens Ln. and Main St.
It includes two town greens (Valour Green and Memorial Green), historic homes and the Cromwell Historical Society. The historic district is primarily linear and starts from "Patriots Corner" (a grassy area at the corner of Main and Wall Streets with several memorials) and runs north along Main Street (
Route 99) past the Memorial Green at Wall Street. Towards the northern end, the district widens to encompass both Main Street and Prospect Hill Road until about Nooks Hill Road, including the Valour Green. The district comprises 66 contributing buildings and structures and has an area of . The district is notable in capturing the transformation of a rural 18th-century village center into a 20th-century town, with representative architecture from every major architectural style seen between 1750 and 1935.
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 ...
in 1985.
[
Cromwell was settled in the 17th century, and remained predominantly agricultural in character well into the 19th century. It had a small but locally important port on the Connecticut River, which declined in the 19th century, and Main Street afterward became the principal economic and civic area of the town. Main Street was part of a major turnpike route, connecting ]Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
and Old Saybrook
Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybroo ...
, and is where the town's early civic buildings were located.[
Image:Cromwellctmainsthistdist1.jpg, A historic home in the Main Street Historic District of Cromwell, CT
Image:Cromwellctvalourmemorialgreen.jpg, The Valour Green between Main Street and Prospect Hill Roads
Image:CromwellCTtreesonthe_green.jpg, Trees on the Town Green between Main Street and Prospect Hill Roads
File:Gridley Riley House.tif, Riley-Gridley House in the Main Street Historic District of Cromwell, CT
]
See also
*
References
{{Connecticut
Cromwell, Connecticut
Historic districts in Middlesex County, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut