Francis W. Lewis House (153 North Main Street (Rte 10), Southington (Central Valley))

Designations

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a three-bay 2 ½-story gable-roofed structure with its ridge-line oriented north-south and the main entrance in the west eave-side which faces toward the street. The west side has overhead garage doors in each of the three bays at the ground floor level. There is a hinged hay door above in the central bay, but located off-center toward the right (south).

The grade slopes up a half level toward the rear of the property (east). The south gable-end has a row of six-pane stable windows at the grade level, no openings at the upper level, and a large six-pane window in the attic, with trimmed surround including a beveled head trim. The east eave-side has a row of stable windows which appear to open into the upper level. The north gable-end has an attic window, below which is an attached full-width shed addition. The addition has a steeply-pitched shed roof abutting the main barn at the eave line. The north side of the addition has two stable-type windows, and the west side, which is flush with the west wall of the main barn, has a pass-through door.

Siding is vertical wood flush-boards, painted gray with white trim. The roof overhangs at the eaves and rake, and has sloped soffits with a white-painted wood trim board along the eave and rake line. Roofing is asphalt shingles.

Historical significance:

Until the 1830s, the horses used for riding and driving carriages were often kept in the main barn along with the other farm animals. By the 1850s, some New England farmers built separate horse stables and carriage houses. Early carriage houses were built just to shelter a carriage and perhaps a sleigh, but no horses. The pre-cursor to the twentieth-century garage, these outbuildings are distinguished by their large hinged doors, few windows, and proximity to the dooryard.

The combined horse stable and carriage house continued to be a common farm building through the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, until automobiles became common. Elaborate carriage houses were also associated with gentlemen farms and country estates of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Another form of carriage barn, the urban livery stable, served the needs of tradespeople.

Historical background:

Originally part of the town of Farmington, Southington’s first settlement occurred in 1598, when Samuel Woodruff of Farmington built a home (no longer standing) near the modern intersection of Pleasant and Woodruff Streets. The earliest homes are documented in the “Colonial Houses of Southington Thematic Resource.”

In 1779 Southington incorporated. The town continued to grow, thanks to increased travel and prosperity along the New Haven Path, although population remained moderate. Farming was the basis of the Southington economy throughout the 19th century, leaving its mark in the remaining barns scattered throughout the town. As the soil became exhausted, farming diminished, with the exception of orchards in the hills in the east side of the town and industry began to increase.

Waterpower provided by the Quinnipiac River, which flows 1/2 mile west of the heart of Southington Center, gave the town the means to process its agricultural goods. Gristmills and sawmills provided milling needs for the town. By the end of the 18th century, the mills were producing other products, such as buttons, combs, paper, and a variety of metal objects. Many of the homes of this period still stand in the Southington Center Historic District. The industrial transformation of Southington brought an increase of 150% in the population between 1850 and 1880. The prosperity brought on by new enterprises is reflected in Southington Center’s wealth of Italianate and Queen Anne-style houses, many of which were built by the founders and officers of the manufacturing companies. Carriage barns associated with a number of these remain extant, often converted to use as garages.

The coming of the 20th century did not dampen Southington’s prosperity. The industrial demands of the two World Wars increased the population and the prosperity. Empty lots around Southington Center filled with new homes, and new stores and shops gave the Center a more urban feel and appearance. Many of the old homes and barns are closely hemmed in by 20th-century development as the large acreages were sold off for residential building.

As a group, the buildings in the [Southington Center Historic] District illustrate the functions a town center fills for the community. The Southington Center Historic District continues to demonstrate the relationships, both functional and visual, between a town center’s buildings over time - churches, town hall, post office, theater, commercial buildings, and homes. ( Ransom, Section 8, p. 4).

Field Notes

House is a contributing resource in the Southington Center Historic District. c. 1880 Francis W. Lewis House. Italianate. Barn is indicated as non-contributing per Ransom. Town Assessor’s date is 1900, consistent with appearance. Visual inspection suggests original construction as a carriage barn.

Use (Historic)

carriage barn

Use (Present)

garage

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

Environment features

Relationship to surroundings

This property is located on the east side of North Main Street, which runs northward from the Southington Town Green, across from the intersection with Mill Street. The Southington Center Historic District includes buildings on both sides of North Main as well as the Green and to the east Berlin Avenue, which is lined on both sides by residential development of the 19th century. Much of the historic building stock along North Main Street has been converted to commercial use or to multi-family dwellings. Several barns and primary structures have been demolished since the creation of the Historic District. The Francis W. Lewis House is a three-story hip-roofed Italianate building dating from c. 1880. It sits close to the sidewalk line behind a narrow front yard, and has a two-story porch across the front (west) façade. The barn is located behind the house to the east, up a sloping driveway. There is a second small outbuilding along the south property line between the house and barn.

Approximate Dimensions

24 feet x 32 feet

Date Compiled

11/26/2010

Compiled By

Charlotte Hitchcock, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Field notes and photographs by Charlotte Hitchcock date 10/21/2010.

Town of Southington Assessor’s Record & GIS Viewer http://www.southingtongis.com/ags_map
Parcel ID: 111182 2-family .54 acre 24 x 32 feet 800 sf garage c. 1900

House c. 1880, barn (Ransom).
Aerial Mapping:
http://maps.google.com
http://www.bing.com/maps accessed 11/17/2010.

Andrews, Gregory, Sherrow, Doris, Colonial Houses of Southington Thematic Resource National Register Nomination, National Park Service, 1987.

Ransom, David, Johnson, Lisa Fern, Southington Center National Register District Nomination No. 88002961, National Park Service, 1988.

Sexton, James, PhD, Survey Narrative of the Connecticut Barn, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Hamden, CT, 2005, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/history.

Visser, Thomas D., Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings, University Press of New England, 1997.

Historic Barns of Connecticut

Barn Record Southington