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East Litchfield Village, Connecticut

Litchfield, ConnecticutUse mdy dates from July 2023Villages in ConnecticutVillages in Litchfield County, Connecticut
East Litchfield Depot. 1900
East Litchfield Depot. 1900

East Litchfield is an unincorporated village in the town of Litchfield, Litchfield County, Connecticut. The village of East Litchfield sits at the crossroads of the highways that connect Waterbury and Torrington; Hartford and Litchfield and the Naugatuck River that connects communities from Bridgeport to Winsted. East Litchfield, like Bantam, Milton and Northfield are parts of the town of Litchfield and have been since the town was settled in 1721. Over 3,000 years ago Native Americans found East Litchfield to be a hunting ground rich with wild game. They used the outcroppings of soapstone to make various vessels for food and drink. The area was also rich with quartz that was used for arrowheads and centuries later sent to Massachusetts for sandpaper production. When Europeans settled in the area it became a community of farmers and mill workers. Naugatuck Valley Railroad built a depot in 1849 and extended the train to Winsted. The mills along the Naugatuck River were able to load their freight and passengers could disembark at East Litchfield and get a stage coach to Litchfield center where they could take their summer retreats. Harwinton Fair attendees would take the train to and from East Litchfield where they would catch the shuttle to the Fair Grounds. Along the sides the Naugatuck River in East Litchfield were many mills; the Paige and Dains Paper Mill and Baldwin's Saw Mill were two. Ice was harvested from the Naugatuck River and stored in an icehouse built by the railroad company. After the establishment of the depot East Litchfield had a hotel and restaurant (Scovill House), a post office, blacksmith shop, harness shop, livery service to Litchfield center, Ferncliff Farm with a store and cheese factory, Mrs. Mark's variety store across from the depot, a chapel, one-room schoolhouse, icehouses, a baseball field, lumber mill, grist mill, cider mill and a paper factory. All of the above-mentioned business establishments disappeared after the depot closed; the chapel is still there and just a few of the original village homes.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article East Litchfield Village, Connecticut (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

East Litchfield Village, Connecticut
East Litchfield Road South,

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Wikipedia: East Litchfield Village, ConnecticutContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.761944444444 ° E -73.118333333333 °
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Address

East Litchfield Road South 76
06759
Connecticut, United States
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East Litchfield Depot. 1900
East Litchfield Depot. 1900
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James Alldis House
James Alldis House

The James Alldis House is a Queen Anne style house at 355 Prospect Street in Torrington, Connecticut which is significant for it being a fine, well-preserved example of Queen Anne architecture, and also locally for its association with the largest industry in Torrington, the needle manufacturing plant which became the Torrington Company. It was built for James Alldis, supervisor at the firm, and a leading citizen of Torrington. The house was built in 1895 and retains most of its original features, including the hardwood floors, most of the original lighting fixtures and door hardware, and the original hot air heat distribution system. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The property includes a second contributing building, which is a carriage house. The house's "irregular plan and massing", its round tower with conical roof, and its "elaborate porch of sawn and turned woodwork", and "intricacy of detail" elsewhere are all characteristic of Queen Anne style exteriors. Besides variety in massing, variety is also expressed in a wide variety of window designs and surface textures. The first floor exterior is straight-lined, composed of narrow smooth clapboards; the exterior of the second floor and above is textured and wavy in its edges.: 2, 5 The house's interior is also Queen Anne style overall in that it includes classical detail work (of a variety of named styles), and it also is very well preserved. Interior details include a tiled fireplace. The house has two colored-glass windows, one believed to be from Tiffany Studios and one from Bigelow Studios.: 4