Copper Ledges and Chimney Crest facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Copper Ledges and Chimney Crest
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Chimney Crest
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | Along Founders Dr. between Bradley and Woodland Sts., Bristol, Connecticut |
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| Area | 5.5 acres (2.2 ha) |
| Built | 1924 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Georgian Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 92001010 |
| Added to NRHP | August 21, 1992 |
Copper Ledges and Chimney Crest are two amazing mansion estates. You can find them on Founders Drive in Bristol, Connecticut. These grand homes were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They belonged to brothers Fuller and Harry Barnes. The Barnes family owned a very important local company called Wallace Barnes Company. This company later became American Spring.
Both mansions were designed by famous architects from the region. Because of their special history and design, Copper Ledges and Chimney Crest were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Today, both homes are privately owned.
Exploring Copper Ledges and Chimney Crest
These two historic homes are located in a fancy part of Bristol. This area, called Federal Hill, was a very popular place to live in the early 1900s.
Chimney Crest is a large house built in the Tudor Revival style. It looks a bit like an old English castle! You can see it at the corner of Founders Drive and Woodland Street.
Copper Ledges is another big mansion. It's built in the Colonial Revival style. This means it looks like a grand house from America's colonial past. It stands on Founders Drive, just east of Bradley Street.
The land around these houses was once much larger. It used to be about 14 acres (5.7 ha)! Now, about 5.5 acres (2.2 ha) of land remains with the two houses. There are also some other cool buildings nearby. These include a guest house and a log cabin. There's even a special outdoor area called a loggia in the gardens of Copper Ledges.
Who Lived in These Mansions?
The Barnes family was very important in Bristol. Fuller Barnes and Henry Barnes were the grandsons of Wallace Barnes. Wallace Barnes started a business in the 1860s. He made springs, especially for clocks.
Fuller and Henry Barnes made the family business much bigger. They turned it into the American Spring Company.
Fuller Barnes bought the land for these estates in 1920. His home, Copper Ledges, was finished in 1924. A local architect named Henry Hayden designed it. Many people think this house is his most important work.
Later in his life, Fuller Barnes gave Copper Ledges to Bristol Hospital. He hoped it could be used as a place for people to recover. But this idea didn't work out. From 1960 to 1970, the estate became a school called Laurel Crest Academy. The school even rented Chimney Crest for a while.
Chimney Crest was built for Henry Barnes in 1930. It was designed by a company called Perry & Bishop. They were based in New Britain.
