Essex, Connecticut

Centerbrook is a hamlet located in the town of Essex, Connecticut. The village is home to numerous businesses, the Essex Steam Train, a post office, and Essex Elementary School. It has many houses but it is generally considered the more commercial part of Essex.The village consists of the area immediately west of the Route 9 expressway, extending southwest along Route 153 to Tiffany Brook, west along Main Street to Earl Street, and north along Route 154 to Route 9.

The Centerbrook Congregational Church, also known as the Centerbrook Meeting House, is a historic church at 51 Main Street in the Centerbrook village of Essex, Connecticut. It is a single-story wood-frame structure resting on a granite foundation, which is set on a knoll on the north side of Connecticut Route 153. The main block was built in 1790, making it the oldest known church in Middlesex County and one of the oldest in the entire state. The building added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The Essex Freight Station is a railroad station located in the Centerbrook village of Essex, Connecticut. Built in 1915, it is a well-preserved example of period railroad-related architecture. It now serves as a station on the resurrected Connecticut Valley Railroad, which provides excursion steam train trips. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 19, 1994.

The Benjamin Bushnell Farm is a historic farm property in Essex, Connecticut. Developed around 1790, the property includes a well-preserved Federal period farmhouse, and a rare example of a 19th-century cranberry house. The farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

The Pratt House is a historic house museum at 19 West Avenue in Essex, Connecticut. With a construction history of one ell possibly dating to the mid-17th century, it is one of Connecticut's oldest surviving buildings, owned for 2+1⁄2 centuries by a single family. Now owned by the local historical society, its displays exhibit Pratt family and regional history. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Ivoryton is one of three villages in Essex, Connecticut in Middlesex County. Ivoryton Historic District, the historic district in the village, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 15, 2014.The Ivoryton Playhouse, which is separately listed on the Register, is located within the district.

Hill's Academy is a historic school building at 22 Prospect Street in Essex, Connecticut. It is now the home of the Essex Historical Society, and was also historically known as the Red Men's Hall because it served as an Improved Order of Red Men lodge. It is a two-story Greek Revival building that was built in 1832, and was used as a school until 1910. It was used by the Improved Order of Red Men between 1915 and 1954. The town then established the Essex Historical Society to receive the property and to preserve local history. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.The academy building occupies a prominent location overlooking Essex's Main Street area, facing east on the west side of Prospect Street just south of the Congregational and Baptist churches. It is a two-story brick building, with a gabled roof capped by a squat single-stage belfry. The front facade is three bays wide, articulated by brick pilasters painted white, which rise to an entablature and fully pedimented gable. Pilasters are also found at the corners of the wood-framed belfry, which has rectangular louvered openings. The main entrance is in the central bay, while the flanking bays are blank. The interior has an entrance vestibule, from which narrow stairs wind to the second floor on the right. Each floor has a single large chamber, which functioned as classrooms during the building's academy phase. Original finishes include wood flooring and staircase trim.The academy was founded in 1831 through the efforts of John Hill, a local businessman, and this building was completed the following year. It was one of the first secondary schools in southern Connecticut, providing the equivalent of a junior high school education to students from as far away as the states in the American South. By 1892, the town had an established public high school, and the academy was dissolved in 1902, its building turned over to the town.

The First Baptist Church in Essex, Connecticut, built in 1846, is notable for being one of only three Egyptian revival churches known to have ever been built in the United States. The architect was Minard Lafever.The handsome, white clapboard building features a tripartite facade, the central section of which is a frustum that rises to support the cupola. The church's original steeple was destroyed after being struck by lightning in 1925.

Comstock-Cheney Hall, also known as Ivoryton Playhouse, is a theater building located in the village of Ivoryton in the town of Essex, Connecticut, US. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The theatre is believed to be the first continuously operating summer theatre in the United States.

Essex Historic District was a proposed district, nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It would have included parts of Main, N. Main, S. Main, and W. Main Sts., in Essex, Connecticut.The NRIS database recorded, on June 21, 1978, with reference number 78003525, that the district received listing status of DR, which means "Date Received/Pending Nomination". There apparently was no further National Register action, and the district was not listed.Multiple internet webpages assert that Essex Historic District exists and/or was listed on the National Register, but those webpages appear to be incorrect. They apparently reflect incorrect interpretation of the National Register's NRIS database.

Essex Village is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Essex, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 2,583 at the 2020 census, out of 6,733 in the entire town of Essex. The government offices of the town are located within the village.

The Griswold Inn is located in Essex, Connecticut and is one of the oldest continuously run inns in the United States. It was founded by three brothers in the late 18th century and named after the Griswold Family of the area, and it has been under the stewardship of only six families. British troops captured it during the War of 1812 and used it as a base of operations. During Prohibition, it still maintained a lively entertainment schedule for the local yachtsmen. Over the years, several surrounding buildings were added to the inn complex, each with its own history. It was also used as a filming location for the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.