The Sterling Hill Historic District encompasses a well-preserved early 19th-century rural village center on western edge of the town of Sterling,

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 ...

. Centered at the junction of Plainfield Pike ( Connecticut Route 14A) and Sterling Hill Road, it consists of a cluster of 19th and early 19th-century houses, and a church. Unlike other period villages, it has largely been unaffected by later development. It 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 1986.

Description and history

The Sterling Hill area was settled in the early 18th century, and was originally incorporated as part of Voluntown. It remained a sparsely populated area through the 18th century, and was separately incorporated in 1794. By this time, Plainfield Pike had become a major east-west road between

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

and Hartford, Connecticut, with a small cluster of homes and taverns. Upon incorporation, the new town had no defined center and no church. The town voted in 1797 to build a town hall, which in 1812 was made available to a Baptist congregation for religious use. This is the present Sterling Hill Baptist Church, which was given Greek Revival styling in 1859. The village center was entirely bypassed by industrial development in the 19th century, and by the railroad, which passed no closer than Plainfield to the west. and The historic district is centered around the junctions of Plainfield Pike with Sterling Hill Road (which leads north) and

Connecticut Route 49 Route 49 is a Connecticut state highway from Connecticut Route 2, Route 2 in Stonington, Connecticut, Stonington to Connecticut Route 14A, Route 14A in Sterling, Connecticut, Sterling, in the southeast part of the state. It is a scenic route that ...

(which leads south). In addition to the church, the district includes 14 older and newer houses that include

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

architecture. The Dorrance Homestead (c.1716) is a combination of original house to the right of its large chimney, plus a later addition to the left which includes a Greek Revival entry. One house, located at the western edge of the district, extends into Plainfield. A portion of the Plainfield Pike running through the village is also historically significant as the travel route of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

during the Revolutionary War. The French camped overnight in Sterling Hill, both in 1781 and in 1782.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling Hill Historic District (Plainfield And Sterling, Connecticut) Historic districts in Windham County, Connecticut Federal architecture in Connecticut Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut Italianate architecture in Connecticut Sterling, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Historic places on the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route

Description and history

See also

References