Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Wadsworth Estate Historic District
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Wadsworth Mansion Front Elevation
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 15, 30, 33, 59, 73, 89 Laurel Grove Rd., Wadsworth Falls State Park, and 421 Wadsworth St., Middletown, Connecticut |
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| Area | 270 acres (1.1 km2) |
| Built | 1900, 1909 and 1917 |
| Architect | Hoppin, Francis L.V. ; Olmsted, John C. |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Website | www.wadsworthmansion.com |
| NRHP reference No. | 96000775 |
| Added to NRHP | July 25, 1996 |
The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate is a beautiful old house in Middletown, Connecticut. It's located at 421 Wadsworth Street. This large house is about 16,000 square feet and sits on 103 acres of wooded land.
Today, the City of Middletown owns the mansion. It is managed by the Long Hill Estate Authority. The mansion is the main part of the Wadsworth Estate Historic District. This district covers 270 acres. It includes the mansion, its other buildings, part of Wadsworth Falls State Park, and other historic homes and barns nearby.
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History of the Wadsworth Estate
Colonel Clarence S. Wadsworth and his architects carefully designed every part of this estate. Colonel Wadsworth started buying land in Middletown around 1900. He wanted to create a large, beautiful estate.
Designing the Estate's Landscape
Thousands of trees and shrubs were planted to turn old fields into a natural forest. They even planted mature trees to make the area look older. Some open grassy areas were kept for a tennis court and a large lawn. John Charles Olmsted, a famous landscape designer, helped plan the estate's outdoor spaces. His ideas for natural-looking landscapes are clear to see.
Building the Mansion
The mansion's architect was Francis Hoppin. He studied architecture in Paris and was known for designing country estates. He also designed The Mount, which was the home of writer Edith Wharton.
Construction of the Wadsworth Mansion began in 1908. A local company, Dennis O’Brien Construction, built it for $90,000. This was a lot of money back then! The house was built using strong materials like reinforced concrete. This was a new technology for homes at the time. It also made the house very resistant to fire. The mansion was mostly finished around 1911.
Changes Over the Years
The Wadsworth family lived at Long Hill during the spring and fall. They also had homes in other cities. Colonel Wadsworth passed away in 1941. He left the estate to a non-profit group he started, called the Rockfall Corporation. This group helps protect forests and open spaces.
In 1942, the Rockfall Foundation gave 267 acres of the estate to the State of Connecticut. This land became Wadsworth Falls State Park. The Wadsworth family continued to own the mansion until 1947. Then, a Catholic religious group called Our Lady of the Cenacle bought it. They used it as a retreat center for 40 years. During this time, the house was made larger, and some of the land was sold off.
After 1986, the estate was sold to developers. Their plans to build houses on the land did not work out. The bank took back the property in 1988. Sadly, the building was not kept safe. It became damaged, and a fire started in the East Ballroom in 1990. The fire was so hot that it damaged the steel in the walls. Luckily, because Colonel Wadsworth had used reinforced concrete, the main structure of the house survived.
Restoring the Mansion
In 1994, the City of Middletown bought the estate and the remaining 103 acres for $1,000,000. Over the next two years, the city made plans to fix up the building and its grounds. In 1996, the people of Middletown voted to use money to restore the mansion.
David Scott Parker was the architect for the restoration project. A local company, Kronenberger and Sons Restoration, did the construction work. They specialize in fixing old buildings. The restoration cost more than expected, so the citizens approved more money in 1999.
On December 30, 1999, the mansion was ready! It opened just in time for a wedding celebration for the new millennium. Over $5.6 million was spent to restore this historic mansion.
Today, you can take guided tours of the mansion on Wednesday afternoons. The grounds and trails around the mansion are open every day for visitors to enjoy.
See also
