The Main Street Historic District in

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

is roughly bounded by Nooks Hill Rd., Prospect Hill Rd., Wall and West Sts. and New Ln., and Stevens Ln. and Main St. It includes two town greens (Valour Green and Memorial Green), historic homes and the Cromwell Historical Society. The historic district is primarily linear and starts from "Patriots Corner" (a grassy area at the corner of Main and Wall Streets with several memorials) and runs north along Main Street ( Route 99) past the Memorial Green at Wall Street. Towards the northern end, the district widens to encompass both Main Street and Prospect Hill Road until about Nooks Hill Road, including the Valour Green. The district comprises 66 contributing buildings and structures and has an area of . The district is notable in capturing the transformation of a rural 18th-century village center into a 20th-century town, with representative architecture from every major architectural style seen between 1750 and 1935. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1985. Cromwell was settled in the 17th century, and remained predominantly agricultural in character well into the 19th century. It had a small but locally important port on the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

, which declined in the 19th century, and Main Street afterward became the principal economic and civic area of the town. Main Street was part of a major turnpike route, connecting

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

and

Old Saybrook Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, an ...

, and is where the town's early civic buildings were located. Image:Cromwellctmainsthistdist1.jpg, A historic home in the Main Street Historic District of Cromwell, CT Image:Cromwellctvalourmemorialgreen.jpg, The Valour Green between Main Street and Prospect Hill Roads Image:CromwellCTtreesonthe_green.jpg, Trees on the Town Green between Main Street and Prospect Hill Roads File:Gridley Riley House.tif, Riley-Gridley House in the Main Street Historic District of Cromwell, CT

References

{{Connecticut Cromwell, Connecticut Historic districts in Middlesex County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

See also

References