The South Glastonbury 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 cer ...
in
Glastonbury, Connecticut
Glastonbury ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, formally founded in 1693 and first settled in 1636. It was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is on the banks of the Connecticut River, southeast ...
. It encompasses the historic village center of South Glastonbury, which was first settled in the 17th century. 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 1984, and enlarged in 2009
[ to include properties further along Main Street as far as Chestnut Hill Road. Locals refer to it as Nayaug.
]
Description and history
The river meadows of South Glastonbury were used as farmland by the proprietors of Wethersfield, one of Connecticut's oldest colonial settlements, during the 17th century. By late in that century there was enough permanent settlement that Glastonbury was incorporated as a separate town in 1693. The Rocky Hill–Glastonbury ferry
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...
was at the time the only river crossing between the two communities, and High Street, extending east from the ferry, is the oldest road in Glastonbury. South Glastonbury developed as the town's first village, spurred in part by the development of grist and saw mills on Roaring Brook to the east. These were augmented by textile mill
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
s and other industry, prompting further growth in the 19th century. By the early 20th century these industries had closed or were in decline.[
The village center is a triangle made up of all or part of Main, High, and Water Streets, and includes 83 contributing resources, including the public library, located in a former Methodist Church built in 1828, a c. 1740 house at 120 High Street, and the c. 1878 Carpenter Gothic St. Augustine's Church. The oldest surviving building is the c. 1731 Tryon House at 879 Main Street. One building was previously listed on the National Register: the ]Welles-Shipman-Ward House
The Welles-Shipman-Ward House is a historic house museum at 972 Main Street in South Glastonbury, Connecticut. Built in 1755, it is a well-preserved example of Georgian architecture, with the largest period fireplace in Connecticut. The name co ...
, a fine Georgian house built about 1755.
See also
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References
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Glastonbury, Connecticut
Neighborhoods in Connecticut
Historic districts in Hartford County, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut