Canton Center Historic District
- District Overview
- Inventory List
- Town:
- Canton »
- Year of Establishment:
- 1974
- Overlapping Historic Designation(s):
- LHD, NRHD, SR
- District Authority:
- Canton Center Historic District Commission
- Link to Commission or Municipal Website:
- Map:
-
Map of the historic district retrieved from the Study Committee report, 1974.
View PDF - District Character:
- Small Town Center
- Features:
Buildings, Open space, Cemetery
- Architectural Style:
Colonial, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival
- Era:
- 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century; Period of significance- 1785-1941
- General description:
The formal history of Canton Center Historic District began in May 1750 when the Connecticut General Assembly established the First Ecclesiastical Society of West Simsbury, as it was initially named. After the Town of Canton was incorporated in 1806, the center for town government was in the district for over a century, until the village of Collinsville on the town's southern border became the seat of government in 1920.Early settlers came to farm the land, raising rye, Indian corn, cattle, sheep, swine, and apples. Existing Colonial-style houses were built starting toward the end of the 18th century when the farming community had become well established and prosperous. Cherry Brook also offered waterpower potential which was soon developed. There were several dam sites, three of which survive but not in anything like original condition. Over the years, water powered enterprises included eight distilleries to process alcoholic cider, three tanneries, three grain mills, four sawmills, two fulling mills, one powder mill, and one tin factory. In general, the mills serviced and supported the agrarian economy. [NR]
- Significance of the district:
Architecture, Agriculture: Canton Center Historic District exhibits good examples of well-preserved buildings constructed in the Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne architectural styles which were erected to support the agricultural district's farming activities during the 18th and 19th centuries. The many open spaces, which to a significant degree are still used for farming, define the historic agrarian environment characteristic of the rural setting. Nine of the properties in the Canton Center Historic District are larger than 20 acres, the largest 163. The Canton Center Historic District also fulfilled multiple additional functions as the seat of town government and the center for social, religious, and mercantile activities essential to a 19th-century agrarian society. The total resource of farmland, associated buildings, and town-center cluster constitutes a good example of a well-preserved rural agricultural district in its entirety, unusual in Connecticut's Central Valley Historic Context Region. [NR]
- District Boundary (according to the LHD Study Report, copied in 2010):
The southern boundary of the District on the westerly side of Route 179 is defined by the southerly boundary of the Lyle Crowley property, and on the east side of Route 179 by a linear extension of that line. The District extends northerly from this boundary along both sides of Route 179 to Meadow Road, then westerly along both sides of Meadow Road to West Road, then southerly along both sides of West Road and Barbourtown Road to Route 179. The northern boundary of the District on the east side of Route 179 is a line extending perpendicular to Route 179 on the north side of Samuel Richardson house. On the west side of West Road the northerly boundary is defined by the northerly boundary of the Rodney Pratt property. The District includes all property within 1000 feet of the centerline of the specified sections of the above roads, excepting otherwise noted. [3]
- Sources:
[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.townofcantonct.org/.[2] Canton Center Historic District, Preliminary report of the Historic District Study Committee, 1974, SHPO Library, Hartford. [3] Historic district ordinance accessed in the town website, http://www.townofcantonct.org/filestorage/6800/6417/8184/Ordinance_124-Canton_Center_Historic_District.pdf. [4] GIS information and Parcel IDs retrieved from http://www.cantonassessor.com/ and http://www.crcog.org/gissearch/Default.aspx. [NR] Ransom David F., Canton Center Historic District, National Register Nomination Number- 97000831 NRIS, National Park Service, 1997 - http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/97000831.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/97000831.pdf.
- Notes:
The local historic district, subject to setbacks does not share the boundary with the corresponding National Register historic district.
- Disclaimer:
Content for this website and district boundaries were compiled from several sources and are subject to change. Boundaries for LHDs may be different from those of State or National Register Districts. To verify the boundaries and particulars of a specific district, consult the LHD study report on file with the respective municipal authority or the State Historic Preservation Office.
- Date of Compilation:
- 12/15/11
- Compiler:
- Manjusha Patnaik, CT Trust for Historic Preservation
