There are, or soon will be, 11 more historic building plaques going up around Old Lyme, adding to the character of the town’s Historic District.
Thanks to a $2,300 Certified Local Government Historic Preservation Enhancement Grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism for the last fiscal year, and with the assistance of the Old Lyme Historic District Commission, the town’s non-profits have received and are in the process of hanging commemorative plaques.
The grant made it possible for Martha Hansen, recording secretary for the commission, to search the land records and document required history of the buildings that now house non-profit organizations in town. It also paid for the 16”x13” oval white plaques and lettering of the circa date and original owner on them. These cost $150 apiece.
Commission Co-chair Kenneth Levin said a structure built before World War II, or constructed in 1939 or earlier, can be considered historic in Old Lyme. But it doesn’t need to be in the designated Historic District.
The district, established in 1971, runs from the south green at the intersection of McCurdy Road and Lyme Street and extends through the town, under I-95, to the north green that ends at Rose Lane, just beyond where Sill Lane splits off to the left of the street.
What is required is record of the construction date and the owner. The date is always listed as “circa” on the plaque, along with the name of the first owner.
“You have to do research with the land records at Town Hall,” Levin said, admitting that it takes a certain talent or perseverance sorting through old data. The older land records measure in rods, often sighting boundaries off of rocks and names of neighbors long gone. Commission members can help, he said, as can a visit to the library’s genealogy office.
The historic structures housing the town’s non-profits tell a part of Old Lyme’s history. The First Congregational Meeting House, circa 1817, was rebuilt in 1910 after a fire. The arts are well-represented with the Lyme Art Association, circa 1921 and the John Sill House, circa 1817, at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts.
Some of the buildings, such as the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, circa 1898, Center School, circa 1934, and Memorial Town Hall at 52 Lyme Street are still serving their original intended purpose.
Several were family homes first. Lymes’ Youth Services Bureau, 59 Lyme Street, was built in 1850 as the James Burnett House. Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center, was built in 1860 as the William Tooker house. The FCC parsonage was built to be a home.
Other buildings have served multiple organizations over the years. Masonic Hall, circa 1919, was Town Hall before it was moved in 1928 from Maple Avenue to its current location at 20 Lyme Street. The Old Lyme Grange Hall, built in 1885, originally was the Old Lyme Gun Club.
The Monsignor’s Home of the Christ The King Catholic Church is also a historic home, built in 1820 as the home of the Marvin family. It later became the family of the Lord, Griffin, and Barney family for more than 160 years until the death of Gertrude Wells Barney in 1991. The home already received a plaque, thanks to the gift of a donor, before the town received this grant, Levin said.
Levin hopes the plaque trend catches on with more owners of private residences and businesses around town. So far, owners of eight other properties in town have sought and received the historic plaques.
These include the oldest home in town, at One Lyme Street, built in 1700. Although its first owner was Amos Tinker, in 1700, Levin said, everyone referred to it as the John McCurdy House. McCurdy bought it in 1754, so that is the name on the plaque.
George Washington reportedly slept there, stopping on April 9, 1766 on his way from Cambridge to New York. General Lafayette was a guest of McCurdy’s on July 27, 1778 and came back another time in 1824. The house is owned by Martha Ames.
The youngest of the recognized historic homes in town is the Sears and Roebuck Catalogue home at 8 Lyme Street, owned by Barbara and Daniel O’Connell. It cost Nathanial R. Sheffield $4,365 in 1939. The exterior of the two-story colonial, known as the Lexington Model, with five windows up top and four on the first floor, looks very similar to the catalogue photos.
The records documenting historic status are kept by the commission, and anyone who has questions about their history can come to one of the commission’s monthly meetings, Levin said. So far no one has compiled the stories behind the homes into a guide for town visitors and residents, but that might be an interesting project for an architecture or history buff.
About the Old Lyme Historic District Commission
The Historic District Commission is a statutory commission with five appointed members and three alternates. They formulate and administer regulations and policies concerning the Historic District, including certificates of appropriateness for proposed building, external remodeling or tearing down of properties.
The certificate of appropriateness is different from a building permit, and is required even if a building permit is not. Significant external changes to a property in the district require a public notice, notification to neighbors and a public hearing, Levin said.
“We want it to be a living southern New England town,” he said of the commission’s objectives. “There is a sense of place. We’re not going to tell people they have to plant red geraniums in their flower boxes. We’re not doing Williamsburg here.”
Each of the property owners in the district has received a copy of the Old Lyme Historic District Handbook, published in 2001, and additional copies are available for $8 at Town Hall.
The commission, which reports to the Connecticut Historical Commission in Hartford, also provides advice about historic properties in the district, suggests legislation, initiates planning and zoning proposals and weighs in on zoning applications that affect the district. It also cooperates with other regulatory and civic groups interested in historic preservation.
The commission meets the first Monday of each month at 9 a.m. in the upstairs conference room of Town Hall. The first part of each meeting is a public open forum, so anyone can come if they want to know more about the historic district, the properties, or the regulations and policies.
Explanation of the plaque program is on the commission section of the Old Lyme Town Web site, www.oldlyme-ct.gov.
By Suzanne Thompson
Special to the Times