North Stonington Village Historic District facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
North Stonington Village Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
William Sisson House in 1940
Location in Connecticut Show map of Connecticut Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	CT 2, Main St., Wyassup, Babcock, Caswell, and Rocky Hollow Rds., North Stonington, Connecticut
Area	105 acres (42 ha)
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Mixed (more than 2 styles from different periods)
NRHP reference No.	83001289
Added to NRHP	March 17, 1983

The North Stonington Village Historic District is a special area in North Stonington, Connecticut. It covers about 105 acres (42 hectares). This district protects the old center of the village. It shows what a small industrial village looked like before the American Civil War. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. This means it's an important historical site.

Exploring North Stonington's Past

North Stonington was first settled in the 1600s. It was part of Stonington back then. In 1807, it became its own town. The main village grew around a gristmill. A gristmill is a place where grain is ground into flour. This mill was located on the Shunock River. The oldest houses still standing today were built in the mid-1700s.

How the Village Grew

After 1790, the village became busy with industries. A special canal was built. It used water power to run different mills. There was also a triphammer and a tannery. A triphammer is a large hammer used for shaping metal. A tannery is where animal hides are turned into leather. These businesses were not very big. They struggled to compete with larger textile mills. These bigger mills were built in other places.

Life During the Civil War

Businesses in North Stonington kept going through the American Civil War. There was a high demand for wool products during this time. After the war, however, the industries slowly declined. Today, you won't find the old 19th-century factories. But you can still see their foundations. You might also find traces of the old water power system. These are like clues to the village's past.

What You Can See Today

The historic district is located where Assekonk Brook and the Shunock River meet. It has 72 important buildings. Most of these are homes. They were built in the 1700s or early 1800s. They show popular building styles from those times. You can see Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate styles. Some buildings, like the public ones, have newer styles. The town hall used to be a garage. Now it looks like an old colonial building. The Wheeler Library is a very fancy building. It was built in the early 1900s.

Historic Buildings and Sites

Many buildings in the district are important. Here are some of them:

• A stone bridge over the Shunok River.
• The lower dam of the Shunok River.
• The William Sisson House, at 69 Main Street.
• The Luther Avery / Steven Maine House, at 1 Wyassup Road.
• The William Avery House, at 35 Main Street.
• The Noah Grant, Jr., House, at 17 Main Street.
• The Rev. Joseph Ayer House, 94 Main Street.
• The Wheeler Store Old Town Hall.
• The North Stonington Post Office, 60 Main Street.
• The Holmes Block, 2 Wyassup Road.
• The William M. Wheeler House, at 77 Main Street.
• The Third Baptist Church, at 29 Main Street.
• The North Stonington Congregational Church, at 79 Main Street.
• A schoolhouse, at 9 Wyassup Road.
• The house at 13 Rocky Hollow Road.
• The Dudley Stewart House, 32 Main Street.
• A carriage house to the Andrew Baldwin House at 63 Main Street.
• The Park Hotel, at 6 Wyassup Road.
• The Wheeler School and Library, at 101 Main Street.
• The North Stonington Grange, 21 Wyassup.
• The Town Garage and Gas Station.
• The Blacksmith Shop, at 25 Main Street.
• Remains of a canal off Babcock Road.
• Machinery of the lower dam.

The stone bridge over the Shunok River was damaged. This happened during a flood on March 29, 2010.