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

Sterling Sterling may refer to: Currency * The English penny, historically known as the ''sterling'' * Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom * Sterling silver, a grade of silver Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city whose al ...

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. ...

. 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 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 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

and

Hartford, Connecticut 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 ...

, 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 A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

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 th ...

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

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

, and Federal 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 (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

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