HISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORY FOR OFFICE USE ONL yBUILDING AND STRUCTURES T_n No, I Sit. No. 382HIST·6 NEW S 77

STA TE Of CONNEC T ICUTUT~ I I I I

, , I . I t I I ,CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL COMMISSION

, , , . . , .59 SOUTH PROSPECT STREET. HARTfORD. CONNECTICUT 06106 QUAD: I

(203) 566·]005 DISTRIC T I IF NR SPECIFY

Os OHR o Ac1ual 0 Pot .. tial

r. BUIl.DING NANE (C ••••• , tH,.,olie/

I "Rose Lawn"

2 TOWN 'CIT"" I VILL"'GE ICOUN Y

% Farmington. Hartford0t= ] :. It;t; "NO land «./oe'acil>./00( 17 Waterville RoaduIi. 4. OWNERCsrt= Watt, Thomas J. and Jane C. oPublic fi] Pri".t.%III '5 USE t ,.,.",,,.110 ' "r!'Of'tI If" ,- Residence I Residence

6~CCESStBtlITYIEXTEAIOAVI5l8LE FROMPUBLC ROAD I INTERIOAACCESSIBLE I IF YES EXPL ...,N

TO PUBLIC: [!JV.. oHo o-, ~Hos 'LE UI

D"'TE OF <-UN::> ;U<- IUN

Early twentieth-century vernacular ca. 1905I. M" I IInGlCal" US" otl~.lion w/I". appropriac,., o OtherDelap_oref 0Asbestos Siding DBrick ( Sp"eily)

Ii) 'Wood Shi"1llI. o Asphalt Siding o Fieldston.. .

.o Boord & Ba"on o Stucco (!J Cobblestone

o AI"",i_m o Concrete o Cut stone. Sidi", Type: Type:

, STRUCTURAl.. lOYS', EN o Other I Speedy)[!] Wood '111"'. o Po It and beam ~ balloon

o L_d be.rin, _sonry o Structural iran or steel

10 ROOF, T.·,.~ I

(i] Gable o Flat o Mansard o Monitor o sawtooth-o Gambrel OSh.d o Hip o Round

o Other%

,Spf.'edyl0t= I Nto'e"a/)~i¥ o WaH Shin,le

o Rollo Tin o Slate

.U AsphaltonIII Other0

~ As .. holt shin,le o Built up o Tile O'Spf.'c"yl

" NUMS£A OF 5TOAIElo ...PPROXIMATE OIMEN$IONS

2~ 30 X 46, 15 X 30; 12 X 2211 CONOI IQN f.:sU'h III'" , j ,.~.\: h'I "t, Io ElCc.lt_t [J Good D Fair D De'e"o.oted I [B Elleellent o Good o fair o Deteriorated

,) INTEGRITY. I, ... ,"ltf',_ WHEN' 1'6/;~'~"'G9No I'~ vr s

E llPL AIN

~ O.n original oMoveds,te14 RELA 'EO OUTBUILDINGS 01'1 LAN05e APE ~ .... TURES

LJ Barn o Shed ~ Garag" o Other lond$cop" f"alures or buildings' Sp"colyJ

o Carriage o Shop o Gordenhouse;

15 SURROUNDING E NVIRONME NT -I

::J Open land o Wood· C29 R"sidenl,ol 'I Yisible fromland '-~ ScolI"r"d building. Site-

D CommercIalo Indus· D Rural ~~lHIgh budd'ng den"'r

'riol1(, INTERRELATIONSHIP or dUll DING AND SURROUNDINGS

--, --

Situated close to the east side of Waterville Road, "Roselawn" stands on a well-manicuredlawn bordered to the north and south by similar early twentieth-century dwellings. TheFarmington River and the Farmington Country Club golf course lie to the west. Thissmall densely populated residential neighborhood, which lies at the southern end ofWaterville Road stands just north of Farmington's historic district and commercialdistrict alon 4S! Route

17 OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES OF BU.LDING OR SITE '"lfrflOl illld HI r/tlr"Ofl

Oriented gable-to-street, this early twentieth-century-vernacular-style dwelling has beeninfluenced by the Shingled style, a popular building mode of the late nineteenth century.Shingle-style features include the building's broad massing and wood-shingled siding. Thethree-bay facade exhibits a central entry with a Colonial Revival~style open porch anda tripartite window with pedimented gable. The gable end displays imbricated shingles andlarge overhanging eaves with a thin modest bargeboard. Note the two, gable-roofed dormerson the .north and south elevations. A two-and-one-half story ell with enclosed porch andinterior brick chimney extends from the south elevation. The north elevation also featuresan enclosed, single-story porch. Most windows feature six-aver-two sash.

HI RI LON E

"Rose Lawn" was built around 1905 by Noah Wallace as his own residence. Wallace, whoowned a large amount of land along the west side of Waterville Road, built a number oflarge rental dwellings on either side of his home at the.turn of the century (see 9,11, 15, and 33 Waterville Road). It appears that Wallace made a considerable amount ofmoney in real estate, although little else is known about him. He was an active ·andinfluential member of the Farmington School Board and upon his death in 1933 left alarge endowment for the school system. The Noah Wallace School, located in the villagecenter, is named in his honor. Wallace was also remembered as "a great sports enthusiaseand was a founding member of the Farmington Country Club, which was organized in 1896and incorporated in 1897. He died in Florida in 1933. In 1920 this house was purchasedby Bessie Burns Gray, the wife of Albert W. Gray, an e~ecutive of Hartford Electric LightCompany (FLR 79:190). Bessie B. Gray (1874-1962) was born in Lartcaster, New Hampshire,to Charles E. and Debbie Ann (Spaulding) Burns.Architecturally notable for its state of preservation, "Rose Lawn" is historicallysignificant for its association with Noah Wallace, one of Farmington's most prominenttwentieth-century citizens.

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Farmington Land Records; Farmington Probate Records; Farmington Vital Records; FarmingtonCemetery Inscriptions, W.P.A. 1934; Avon Cemetery Inscriptions, W.P.A., 1934; 1853 E.M.Woodford Map; 1855 E.M. Woodford Map; 1869 Baker and Tilden Map; 1878 O.H. Bailey & Co.,Map.; Brandegee, Arthur L. Farmington, Connecticut, The Village of Beautiful Homes.Farmington, Conn.: Author, 1906., Prentise, Dudley. History of Farmington Houses. 9 vols.,N.p., 1974.; Farmington House File Collection. compo Annie Burr Lewis and Mabel S. Hurlburt.

a Ainspan 4/86.-aNEGATIVE ON FILEJ:

a. W 19:7ADATE

>-co Elizabeth R. Hart 4/86aI NILl

..J Greater Middletown Preservation Trusta.::(au Middletown, CT

Ho Nonr knOWf. o Highway. o Vandali.m o Developers

o Renewal o Deterioration o Zoning o E"plonatlono Private

o O,,her _

ACME ..... 'a.pWNER'S NAME fi"R AV RRRRTR RTT"RrJR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1C)f) I -r-e sOORESS: / 7 w~ b~T'V ill A "Roan

I

ATE BU Il T: ('P. 1<:ins FOR:T\Tf"\p.h Wp.l1p.('A

RCHITECT

ASTER·BUILDER 'F'.'F'.Hurlburt

ORMER OWNERS: (1rav from Noah Wallace 711011020 Vol 79'0.190· west side of Avon street·Wallace bOU2:ht 8acres from William H_Demine no buildines 912911804Vol.7l.D.670:

./ This was the home of Noah Wallace.

EFERENCES: "Farmington Conn.9190Sll I,.619"Roselawn"

OWNER AS OFt PHOTO HO. 11~at,~~\"'l41171'81'9IioGRAY.BESSIE BURNS 1.",5.J...

17 Waterville Road361-1

This house is pictured on page 61 of the FarmingtonBook as Rose Lawn, residence of Noah Wallace. Library recordsshow it to have been built in 1905 on land purchased fromWilliam H. Deming.

Noah Wallace, a great sports enthusiast, owned greatexpanses of land in the area called Pine Woods, most of whichwas purchased later by Mrs. Riddle to make suitable surroundingsfor Avqn Old Farms School. This included land through which runsa brook feeding the Farmington River, a brook excellent for fishing,but which was reserved for use by a select few of Mr. Wallace'sfriends. He had held this land, using it "just for hunting andfishing, although he probably was not unaware of its future value.He also had extensive land holdings in some Southern state, alsofor hunting purposes.

Mr. \Jallace built several hou ses j, principally in thisWaterville Road area, selling them or renting them as opportunitiesdeveloped. He also saved a few old houses by remodeling them, andreplaced some of them by new houses, these principally near thenorth end of Main Street.

Noah Wallace was a member of the Farmington School Board,very influential in school policies, and left a substantial endow-ment for the use of Farmington schools, a fund well restricted foruse beneficial to the students. It is still in use. It waS inhis honor that the Noah Wan.. School waS named.

This house was purchased on July 18, 1920, by BessieBurns Gray, to be the residence of her husband and herself. Mr.Gray was employed at that time in some executive position with theHartford Electric Light Company. During the early part of thecentury he had built dams and bridges allover the world, includingRussia and South America.

After his death l1rs. Joera,.continued residence here witha retinue which it has been said included companion,. housekeeper,cook, gardener and chauffeur. Perhaps some took more than one role.Mrs. :Oray is said to have traveled with her husband, and had manyfascinating tales to tell, including watching ~ussian people beingsubstituted for machinery in the building of the huge dams andbridges.

The Property was purchased from her estate on March 25,1963, by John C. and Eleanor G. Usher, present owners and occupants.Mr. Usher was in 1970 the president of the Farmington Exchange Club,a very active club with at that time 170 members.

July 20, 1973

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