National Register of Historic Places

Town Farms Inn

Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut
Listed
May 3, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79002614

About this property

The Town Farms Inn is a historic poor farm on Silver Street at River Road in Middletown, Connecticut. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The poor farm provided employment and food for indigent people. (A similar town farm was operated in Hartford, on land now part of the Sigourney Square District.) There are two principal buildings. The older structure dates back to the late 1830s and is a 2+1⁄2-story, Federal style house built of brick. It measures 36 feet (11 m) by 34 feet (10 m). The exact date of construction is not known, but the date 1839 is carved into a flagstone in the front walk, and the style of construction is consistent with architecture in the late 1830s. The second building was built in 1891. It is also built of brick on brownstone foundations and measures 52 feet (16 m) by 34 feet (10 m). Between the two buildings, there were 14 rooms on the first floor, 29 rooms on the second, and three on the third floor. The back yard contains a long brick outbuilding, which is one story high and has a pitched roof. The total area of the nominated property is 4.3 acres (1.7 ha). The inn was originally built as a farmhouse by Thomas Griswold Mather, who married his first cousin Jane Ann Mather in 1834. His wife died in 1853, at which point he sold the farm and the buildings to the town of Middletown. At that time, there were 35 acres (14 ha) in the farm, with an additional 16 acres (6.5 ha) in a wood lot. The town operated it as a poor farm until 1946. By that time, town farms had been superseded by other social agencies. The town sold the property, and the new owners established a restaurant.

Location

Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut
41.55800, -72.62190

Categories

ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
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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Nearby Historic Sites

Connecticut Valley Hospital Cemetery
Industrial
0.3 mi
Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane
Listed
0.6 mi
Sanseer Mill
Industrial
1.2 mi
YMCA of Northern Middlesex County
Industrial
1.3 mi
Marlborough Street Historic District
Listed
1.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Town Farms Inn listed on the National Register?

Town Farms Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 3, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Town Farms Inn?

Town Farms Inn is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Town Farms Inn?

The period of significance for Town Farms Inn is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Town Farms Inn?

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