The Governor Smith Homestead is a historic house on South Main Street in

Sharon, Connecticut Sharon is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the United States 2020 Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population ...

. Built between 1765 and 1777, this large stone house has been a distinctive presence on the Sharon Green for over 200 years. It was for many years the home of

John Cotton Smith John Cotton Smith (February 12, 1765 – December 7, 1845) was an American lawyer, judge and politician from Connecticut. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut and as ...

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and a nephew of the house's builder, Simeon Smith. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982, and was included in the Sharon Historic District in 1993.

Description and history

The Smith Homestead anchors the southernmost end of the long Sharon Green, a greensward that defines the town center. The southern half of the green is mainly residential, and has been modified to have a central roadway instead of two flanking ones, as seen in the northern section. The Smith House is located on the east side of South Main Street, just north of its crossing of an unnamed stream. The house is a large -story stone construction, built out of locally quarried stone and covered by a truncated hip roof. Its prominence is accentuated by the presence of stone retaining walls, which terrace the landscaped area around it on two sides. The flat area at the center of the roof is ringed by a balustrade, and corbelled brick chimneys rise from either side. The angled portion of the roof is pierced by gabled dormers, and by a one-bay gable above the main entrance. The interior follows a central hall plan, and retains many fine period finish elements. and Construction on this house was begun in 1765 by Simeon Smith, a prominent local doctor, pharmacist, and militia leader. Its oldest portion is the rear ell, which was occupied while construction of the main block continued. The stonework was supposedly overseen by an Italian craftsman brought in by Smith, who had traveled extensively in Europe. Finishing elements on the house were delayed by the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Smith conducted a meeting at the house in 1779 of several other medical professionals, which they styled as the first meeting of its kind in the new United States. Smith fell on hard times financially after the war, and turned the property over to his brother.

, Smith's nephew, a prominent state politician who served as Governor and in the United States Congress, made this house is home. It remained in the Smith family until 1915.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Litchfield County, Connecticut Georgian architecture in Connecticut Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut Houses completed in 1765 Houses in Litchfield County, Connecticut Sharon, Connecticut Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References