Nook Farm is a historical neighborhood in the Asylum Hill section on the western edge of

Hartford, Connecticut 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 the ...

, USA.

History

In the early 1800s, the area was dominated by the Imlay farm, which occupied most of the land from present-day Imlay Street west to the north branch of the Park River, and from Farmington Avenue south to the Park River.

John Hooker John Hooker may refer to: *John Hooker (English constitutionalist) (c. 1527–1601), English writer, solicitor, antiquary, civic administrator and advocate of republican government *John Lee Hooker (1912–2001), American blues singer-songwriter an ...

and his brother-in-law

Francis Gillette Francis Gillette (December 14, 1807 – September 30, 1879) was a politician from Connecticut, USA. He was the father of actor and playwright William Gillette and politician and editor Edward H. Gillette. Gillette was born in Old Windsor, ...

purchased the pasture and woodland from William Imlay in 1853 for the purpose of developing the real estate. They built their own homes and sold parcels of land to relatives and friends to do likewise. As a result, an

art colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

took hold that included Hooker and his wife

Isabella Beecher Hooker Isabella Beecher Hooker (February 22, 1822 – January 25, 1907) was a leader, lecturer and social activist in the American suffragist movement. Early life Isabella Holmes Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the fifth child and secon ...

, the Gillettes,

Charles Dudley Warner Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

Joseph Roswell Hawley Joseph Roswell Hawley (October 31, 1826March 18, 1905) was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the Unit ...

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, the Rev. Nathaniel Judson Burton and his wife Rachel Pine Chase Burton, as well as other journalists,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...

s, painters, writers,

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

ers and activists. The area became known as Nook Farm, taking its name from the bend‚ or "nook‚" in the Park River‚ which bordered the area on the west and south. Nook Farm "developed into a tight-knit community through a web of family and business connections. It was an oasis apart from the bustling city and a place that bubbled over with ideas about politics and reform during a time of great tumult in the nation." Mark Twain described the openness of the neighborhood, "Among the colonists of our neighborhood the doors always stood open in pleasant weather." The homes were designed by leading architects of the day, including Edward Tuckerman Potter, Francis Hatch Kimball and

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...

. Although many of them were demolished over the years, including eleven to make room for the

Hartford Public High School Hartford Public High School, in Hartford, Connecticut, was founded in 1638. It is the second-oldest public secondary school in the United States, after the Boston Latin School. It is part of the Hartford Public Schools district. Notable alumn ...

,Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, some still survive. Currently, the

Mark Twain House The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, was the home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) and his family from 1874 to 1891. It was designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter and built in the American High Gothic style. Clemens b ...

, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, and the Katherine Day House are museums open to the public. The John and Isabella Hooker House is now an apartment building, as is the House at 36 Forest Street, built later in 1895.

Historic district

A large portion of the Nook Farm area 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. The district is anchored at the center by the complex of museum properties that make up the Twain and Stowe houses. It extends south along Forest Street north along Woodland and Gillett Streets roughly to Niles Street. In addition to the surviving mansion houses, there are several architecturally stylish early 20th-century apartment blocks.

Gallery

File:MarkTwainHartford2.jpg,

from Southeast, 2004 File:Mark Twain House Hartford Connecticut 2009.jpg, Mark Twain House from Northeast, 2009 File:Katherinedayhouse.jpg, Katharine Seymour Day House File:HarrietBeecherStoweHouse-Hartford.jpg, Harriet Beecher Stowe House File:Chamberlin-Burr Day House 2, 2009-09-02.jpg, Katharine Seymour Day House File:House_at_36_Forest_Street,_Hartford,_CT.jpg, 36 Forest Street File:39_Woodland_Street_in_Hartford,_Connecticut,_2009-09-02.jpg, 39 Woodland Street

References

External links

Mark Twain's Neighborhood: Nook Farm
{{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Artist colonies Historic districts in Hartford County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Intentional communities in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Hartford, Connecticut

History

Historic district

Gallery

See also

References

External links