National Register of Historic Places

Gilman-Hayden House

East Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut
Listed
August 15, 1984
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
84001007

About this property

The Gilman-Hayden House is a historic house at 1871 Main Street in East Hartford, Connecticut. Built in 1784, it is a good local example of Georgian architecture, and is also notable as the home of Edward Hayden, a diarist of the American Civil War. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The Gilman-Hayden House is located on a rural-residential stretch of East Hartford's Main Street, between Gilman and King Streets. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a side-gable roof and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade faces east and is five bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a gabled portico. A two-story ell extends to the rear, and an enclosed porch projects to the south. The interior of the house follows a typical center-hall plan, with two rooms on either side of the hall on both floors. The interior retains many original period features, including bead-board paneling, built-in cupboards, and wrought iron hardware. The two front parlor spaces feature fine fireplace surrounds. The house was built in 1784 by George Gilman, a descendant of some of the area's earliest settlers. The Gilmans originally owned land all the way to the Connecticut River, and operated a ferry. In the second quarter of the 19th century the property came into the hands of the Williams family, whose most famous member was William Williams, a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. In 1867, the house was purchased by Edward Hayden, whose mother was a Williams. Hayden is most notable for the unique diary he kept of his experiences during and after the American Civil War. One portion of the diary was written on a similar diary Hayden recovered from a Confederate Army soldier, and provides a unique window into the affairs of the war. National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut

Location

1871 Main St.
East Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut
41.79194, -72.64564

Categories

LITERATUREARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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The Civil War
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

St. John's Episcopal Church
Industrial
1.3 mi
Downtown Main Street Historic District
Listed
1.3 mi
Johnson, Wilfred X., House
Industrial
1.5 mi
Bemont, Makens, House
Industrial
1.5 mi
First Congregational Church of East Hartford and Parsonage
Industrial
1.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Gilman-Hayden House listed on the National Register?

Gilman-Hayden House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 15, 1984.

What type of historic resource is Gilman-Hayden House?

Gilman-Hayden House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Gilman-Hayden House?

The period of significance for Gilman-Hayden House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Gilman-Hayden House?

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