The Pomfret Street 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 ...

roughly along Pomfret Street ( Route 169), from Bradley Road to Woodstock Road in

Pomfret Pomfrets are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of t ...

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 cap ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The district represents the core of the village of Pomfret Center. The district "is a picturesque and unique exemplar of Connecticut's resort and country estate period. No other town in the state contains such an impressive and cohesive ensemble of stylish summer houses, the major contributors to a district that is further enhanced by the quality of its well-integrated institutional architecture and the exceptional integrity of its historic setting." The district was added to 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 1998. It includes 160 contributing buildings and two other sites. The district is over 380 acres and has an irregular shape. It is about two miles long. and The district contains two private schools. The

Rectory School The Rectory School is an independent, coeducational, junior boarding (5–9) and day school (K–9) in Pomfret, Connecticut. The school was founded by the Rev. Frank H. Bigelow in 1920. It has expanded to , 26 buildings, 250 students, and 65 facu ...

is a junior boarding school founded in 1920. Its main building is a converted house, built in 1792, once belonging to Col. Thomas Grosvenor (1744-1825). It has a large addition and alterations by Thomas Skelton Harrison (1837-1919), designed by Guy King of Philadelphia. The campus includes other houses, including Brittain House c.1800, and Marion Harvey/Harrison Deal House, by Guy King c.1900.

Pomfret School Pomfret School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States, serving 350 students in grades 9 through 12 and post-graduates. Located in the Pomfret Street Historic District, t ...

was founded in 1894 on the estate of Charles Grosvenor. It now includes brick Georgian and Colonial Revival buildings built during the first decade of the 20th century, designed by New York architect

Ernest Flagg Ernest Flagg (February 6, 1857 – April 10, 1947) was an American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility. Early life and education Flagg was born in Brooklyn, New ...

, including the Romanesque 1908 Clark Chapel. Architect

Howard Hoppin Howard Hoppin (April 17, 1856 – October 19, 1940) was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island. Early life Hoppin was born on April 17, 1856 in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a son of Dr. Washington Hoppin (1824–1867), a homeo ...

(1854-1940) designed several buildings in the district, including guest houses for George Lothrop Bradley (1848-1906) on his estate called Rathlin: Hope Cottage, Harry Cottage, Howard Cottage, Lothrop Cottage, and alterations to Stilleben and Darius Cottages. Hoppin also designed the Joseph Washington Clark (1810-1892) house called La Plaisance in 1888, Oberthal (later Southover) for Dr. Frederick Windle Chapin, a house for Joseph Clark's daughter, Mrs. Courtland Hoppin, now Robinson House, the school's admissions office. He also designed Christ Church and its adjacent rectory. The

Ben Grosvenor Inn Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( h ...

grounds and outbuildings are in the district, but the Inn itself was demolished in 1960. Remaining buildings include Orchard Cottage and Olive Cottage, now used as dormitories by Pomfret School. The Colman estate house dates from 1928. Notable properties in the district include: *Most Holy Trinity Church, 1887, moved to its current location at Pomfret Street and Deerefield Road in 1973 *Pomfret School's Admissions Building, Mrs. Courtland Hoppin, c.1888, moved north from its original site c.1899 *Pomfret School's Headmaster's House, built by Charles Grosvenor (1839-1922) as Eastover c.1896, as an Inn *Pomfret School's Clark Chapel, Ernest Flagg 1907/8 *Pomfret School's School House, Ernest Flagg 1906/7 *Pomfret School's four brick dormitories, Dunworth, Pontefract, Plant & Bourne, and the campus plan, by Ernest Flagg. *Thomas Hubbard House *Grosvenor Inn Cottages, 29 and 33 Grosvenor Road *Joseph W. Clark Estate House, La Plaisance, c.1888 *Coleman Estate House, 1928 *Christ Church Episcopal, 1881, and Rectory, <1886. *Bradley Estate's Hope Cottage, c.1882 *Bradley Estate's Howard Cottage, c.1882 *Bradley Estate's Harry Cottage, c. 1882

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Georgian architecture in Connecticut Historic districts in Windham County, Connecticut Pomfret, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

See also

References