The Noank Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic main part of the village of

Noank Noank ( ) is a village in the town of Groton, Connecticut. This dense community of historic homes and local businesses sits on a small, steep peninsula at the mouth of the Mystic River (Connecticut), Mystic River with a long tradition of fishing, ...

in the town of

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London i ...

. The district contains a distinctive assortment of mid-to-late 19th-century residential architecture that is notable for its often picturesque woodwork. At the time of their construction, the village was primarily a worker village for nearby shipyards. 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 1979.

Description and history

The district boundaries includes almost all of what is known as Noank, which occupies a peninsula on the west side of the bay at the mouth of the

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

. It includes Elm Street, Prospect Hill Road, and Noank Peninsula east of Route 215, but it excludes certain areas. The nearby Goat Island was excluded from the district, because all early buildings were destroyed by the

New England Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

, and various streets near Elm are lined with modern houses that significantly postdate the district. Its streets are mainly winding residential lanes, with a cluster of commercial and institutional buildings at Main and Pearl Streets. Most prominent is the Baptist church, located at the high point on the peninsula. It is an

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 ...

structure that was constructed in 1867; it originally featured twin towers, although they were swept away in 1938. Another important feature is the Noank Shipyard, at the location of the historic Palmer Shipyard, which was one of the village's primary employers in the 19th century. One significant industrial building is a former velvet mill built in 1905, which also was used by the state as a lobster hatchery. The building was used for a time by the University of Connecticut Marine Research Station.The University of Connecticut's marine station is now part of its campus at Avery Point. Morgan Point Lighthouse

Other contributing properties include: *St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 78 Front Street, shingled and with Gothic details *A Gothic Methodist church with Art Nouveau windows, which as of 1978 was re-used as apartments *A cobblestone Episcopal Church, used as a museum by 1978, and one of few non-wooden buildings in the community * Morgan's Point Lighthouse, an 1868 granite ashlar building with an octagonal tower, There are about 260 houses in the district; their significance was the primary reason for the district's designation. Many of the houses are built with a variety of

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

, Gothic, and Eastlake features, which present a consistent 19th appearance by means of elements such as porches, fences, and

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s. and

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts in New London County, Connecticut Queen Anne architecture in Connecticut Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut Gothic Revival architecture in Connecticut Groton, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References