The Gen. George Cowles House, also known as the Solomon Cowles House, is a historic house at 130 Main Street in
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
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*Farmington, Connecticut
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,
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 ...
. Built in 1803, it is a prominent local example of
Federal style architecture
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in brick, built for a prominent local family. The house 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 ...
on May 11, 1982.
Description and history
The George Cowles House is located on the northwest side of Main Street (
Connecticut Route 10
Connecticut Route 10 is a state highway that runs between New Haven and the state line near Granby. It continues north of the state line as Massachusetts Route 10, which in turn continues directly to New Hampshire Route 10.
Route 10 was origina ...
) in geographically central Farmington, between Smith Drive and Pearl Street. It is a roughly square -story brick structure, four bays wide, with a side-gable roof and a rear two-story ell. The main entrance is slightly recessed in the load-bearing brick wall, and is flanked by sidelight windows and topped by a semi-elliptical transom window. The side elevation is notable for a pair of Palladian windows in the central bay, which are set higher than the flanking sash windows. The south elevation, facing the garden, has as particularly elaborate Jeffersonian portico.
The house was built 1803 for
George Cowles, around the time of his marriage, by his father Solomon, a wealthy merchant. Both father and son were prominent in town affairs. The son did not have the business acumen of the father, and lost the house in foreclosure to a wealthy relative. Although a number of the building's owners subdivided its larger chambers to increase the number of bedrooms, these changes have generally been reversed.
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See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowles, Gen. George, House
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut
Houses completed in 1803
Houses in Farmington, Connecticut
Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut