The Sunny Ridge Historic District in the Washington Depot area of the Town of Washington, Connecticut, consists of 10 properties grouped around the triangle formed by the intersections of Old Litchfield Road, Romford Road, Nettleton Hollow Road, and Sunny Ridge Road. In the 18th century the road intersections fostered the presence of two taverns which remain as the two oldest houses in the district (6 Romford Road and 20 Nettleton Hollow Road). Historically, Nettleton Hollow Road ran north-south from Woodbury as a link in the Cornwall-New Haven Turnpike through an area of early settlement just south of the Sunny Ridge Historic District called Nettleton Hollow, and connected to the north with the New York to Albany road. [NR]

Architecture:The Sunny Ridge Historic District is significant historically and architecturally because of its place as the crossroads of a colonial community and because of the good examples of Colonial and Greek Revival style houses standing within its boundaries. A house built in the 20th century respects these antecedents. The Sunny Ridge Historic District is significant historically because of the central role it played in the life of Nettleton Hollow. Nettleton Hollow was an area of early settlement in the town of Washington, bordering the major north-south thoroughfare called Nettleton Hollow Road. At the northern end of Nettleton Hollow, in the district, several roads intersected, forming a logical location for an inn. The district's two inns were the center of activity for visitors and local residents as well, who gathered there for social purposes. The activity as a center continued until well into the 19th century, when the advent of the railroad in the 1870s caused diminution in the use and importance of the highway for travelers. This change is reflected in the road pattern which was adjusted as usage declined. Several of the properties in the Sunny Ridge Historic District run to considerable acreage, which presumably was farmed, as indicated by the presence of the several large barns. The Sunny Ridge Historic District is significant architecturally because of the age and quality of its two Colonial structures and the good state of preservation of its Greek Revival style examples. [NR]

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.washingtonct.org/.
[2] Washington Historic District, Report of the Historic District Study Committee, 1975, SHPO Library, Hartford.
[3] Study Committee Report and historic district map referred from the town website.
[4] Assessors information and Parcel IDs retrieved from the website http://www.my-tax-bill.info/cgi-local/grandlook.pl.
[NR] Ransom David, Sunny Ridge Historic District, National Register Nomination Number- 95001346 NRIS, National Park Service, 1995 - http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/95001346.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/95001346.pdf.

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