District Overview Inventory List District Map

Strickland Road Historic District

LHD boundaries as described are approximate and subject to change. Consult the LHD Study Report on file with the relevant local district commission or municipal authority to verify district boundaries and whether a specific property, particularly one in proximity of a boundary line, is within the district. Also note that LHD boundaries may differ from those of State or National Register Districts.

Town:
Greenwich
Year of Establishment:
1975
Notes on Establishment:
The original district established in 1975 was later expanded to include Mill Pond Court.
District Authority:
Historic District Commission
Link to Commission or Municipal Website:
District Character:
Residential Neighborhood
Features:

Buildings, Open Spaces, Pond, Waterfront

Architectural Style:

Colonial/Post medieval English/Dutch Colonial; Early Republic/Federal; Late Victorian/ Queen Anne/ Second Empire/ Italianate; Early 20th Century American Movements/ Bungalow/ Craftsman; 20th Century Revivals/ Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival

Era:
18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century

The Strickland Road Historic District is a small residential area in the Cos Cob section of the Town of Greenwich. Strickland Road was laid out from the Post Road to Cos Cob Harbor at least by the early eighteenth century. The path and width of this road to the Lower Landings as the area was called at that time, has not changed. Major changes have taken place outside the Strickland Road Historic District boundaries. These include the construction of Interstate 95, particularly the elevated section of the approach to the Mianus Bridge immediately south of the district. An eighteenth-century millpond created by a tidal dam at the mouth of Strickland Brook on the west side of Cos Cob Harbor still exists. The post-World War II housing development on Mill Pond Court, included in the local historic district but not the National Register Historic District, is located adjacent to this pond on the east side of Strickland Road. Although the Strickland Road Historic District is primarily residential today, historically its buildings have also been used for commercial purposes on a limited basis. The main building on this property is the Bush-Holley House, a Dutch Colonial built about 1740 which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [NR]

Architecture:The Strickland Road Historic District is architecturally significant as a small cohesive, residential community distinguished by its architectural variety and excellent state of preservation. It reflects the historical development of the Village of Cos Cob in the Town of Greenwich from 1740 to 1934. Distinguished by its variety of styles, forms, and siting, and enhanced by its excellent level of preservation, the Strickland Road Historic District during its 200-year history reflects the changing patterns of residential development common to the Northeast. Despite this aesthetically pleasing diversity, the district is cohesive, tied together by its predominantly residential historic function, and limited by its size. The millpond adds a rural charm to the area, having not only confined development there, but also defines a contiguous, readily identifiable historic residential community. Its rural residential quality is enhanced by the winding pattern of Strickland Road, which is shaded by mature trees, and the proximity of some of the older houses to the road. [NR & 2]

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.greenwichct.org/.
[2] Strickland Road Historic District, Report of the Historic District Study Committee, 1975, 1977, SHPO Library, Hartford.
[3] Assessors information and Parcel IDs retrieved from the online Real Estate property Taxes, accessed from the town website [https://greenwichct.munisselfservice.com/citizens/RealEstate/Default.aspx?mode=new].
[NR] Cunningham Jan, Strickland Road Historic District, National Register Nomination Number- 77001625 NRIS, National Park Service, 1990 - http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/77001625.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/77001625.pdf.

The National Register historic district includes few additional properties towards the northeast and excludes the Mill Pond Court. The southern boundary extents of the two districts also differ.

Date of Compilation:
12/31/11
Compiler:
Manjusha Patnaik, CT Trust for Historic Preservation