Old Wethersfield, also known as Old Wethersfield Historic District, and historically known as Watertown or Pyquag, is a section of the town of

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( ) is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 27,298 at the time ...

, roughly bounded by the borders of the adjacent city of

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

and town of Rocky Hill, railroad tracks, and

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, ...

. The site of the first permanent European-American settlement in the state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

,Steve Kemper
Weekend: Old Wethersfield, CT; Connecticut's oldest town and seed company
''Yankee'' magazine, it was added to 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 1970. The land for this colonial settlement was acquired from the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

. Wethersfield served as a transportation hub on the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

in the early years. The Old Wethersfield Historic District was established under town statutes in 1962, "to preserve and protect the many architectural phases of a Connecticut River Community in continual growth from 1634 to the present." Eight years later, in 1970, the Old Wethersfield Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The village includes 50 houses that were built before 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 ...

, plus about 250 additional houses built before the 20th century, about 100 of which were built earlier than the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The historic district listed on the National Register includes 1200 structures over . Of these 100 date from colonial times. Many of the early frame and brick houses were built by sea captains around the town green. There are three

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

s in Old Wethersfield: * Buttolph–Williams House — 249 Broad St. * Joseph Webb House — 211 Main St. * Silas Deane House — 203 Main St. Another prominent historic building in the district is: * First Church of Christ, Wethersfield The district includes Wethersfield's green, which is "a slender diamond nearly a half-mile long". and

References

External links

Historic Wethersfield
Wethersfield Tourism website
OldWethersfield.Com
maintained by the Old Wethersfield Shopkeepers' Association {{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut Wethersfield, Connecticut Tourist attractions in Hartford County, Connecticut Neighborhoods in Connecticut New England town greens Federal architecture in Connecticut Populated places in Hartford County, Connecticut Historic districts in Hartford County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

See also

References

External links