Property Overview Inventory List District Map

Duffy House

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:
West Hartford
Year of Establishment:
1989
Property Authority:
West Hartford Historic District Commission
Link to Commission or Municipal Website:
Architectural Style:
Colonial
Era:
18th Century

One of the few remaining 18th century houses in West Hartford, this building was originally a five-bay saltbox, increased to nine bays with two chimneys, c. 1813. The front door is framed by carved and fluted pilasters, with eight-petaled rosettes under scroll capitals; round headed panels form the bases. A photograph of the capitals is shown in Kelly, Early Domestic Architecture of Connecticut. [3]

Original owner, John Whitman, Jr. was an early town leader, represented town in petitions to Hartford for separate status. Brother to Sarah Whitman Hooker, whose home is on the National Register. In the early part of the 20th century this was the farmhouse for Frederick Duffy, who gained prominence for his innovations in dairy herding, such as storing grain in silos and using milking machines. Dairy cattle were pastured on the farm until the mid-1930's. The architect of the extensive interior and exterior remodeling that took place in 1913 was Harold Mason, a local resident who also designed the house at 160 North Main Street. [3]

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.west-hartford.com/.
[2] Report of West Hartford Historic District Commission, 1989, SHPO Library, Hartford.
[3] Duffy House, Historic Resources Inventory, Cruse Katherine, 1982, SHPO library, Hartford.
Assessors information and Parcel IDs retrieved from the website www.visionappraisal.com.
Maps and GIS information retrieved from the website http://host.appgeo.com/westhartfordct/Map.aspx.
[NR] Foster Sherrill, Duffy House, National Register Nomination Number- 86002028 NRIS, National Park Service.http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/86002028.pdf.http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/86002028.pdf

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