Simsbury Center Historic District


The Simsbury Center Historic District is a historic district located in the town center area of Simsbury, Connecticut. It encompasses seven blocks of Hopmeadow Street, as well as the cluster of commercial, civic, and residential buildings along Railroad, Station, and Wilcox Streets, and Phelps Lane. Although its oldest element is the cemetery, most of its buildings were built in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

History

Simsbury, originally the location of a Native American settlement called Massaco, was acquired by English colonists in the 1650s, and settled beginning in the 1660s. Originally part of Windsor, it was formally incorporated by the Connecticut Colony in 1670. Hopmeadow Street developed as the major north-south route on the west side of the Farmington River, and the town center grew near an early ferry crossing. The majority of the district's surviving 18th and early 19th-century buildings are houses, most of which have been adapted for commercial use. The district derives its character from a larger number of late 19th and 20th-century buildings, general of a civic or commercial nature. Prominent examples include Eno Memorial Hall and the Simsbury Bank and Trust Company Building; the latter, built in 1917, is one of three buildings in the district to serve as town hall. Both were designed by Smith & Bassette, a prominent Hartford architectural firm.
The district is essentially linear in nature, extending along Hopmeadow Street between West Street and Massaco Street. It extends eastward in the central section, to include development between Hopmeadow Street and the railroad, including the c. 1875 Simsbury Railroad Depot. The northern end of the district is anchored by the Horace Belden School and Central Grammar School complex, which now includes the town offices.

Contributing buildings