The Washington Green Historic District consists of a group of 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century buildings on and near the Green in the Town of Washington, Connecticut, including the Gunnery School, which abuts the Green. The Green enjoys an elevated position, with grade sloping up as roads approach the Green. The dominant building on the Green is the 1801 First Congregational Church Meetinghouse. The church faces south toward the two-acre Green and its H-shaped parish house, known as the Judea Parish House because of the original name of the ecclesiastical society. Several houses face north toward the Green and the church. In this row a ca.1770 one-story frame central chimney five-bay cottage, with additions, is one of the oldest houses in the Washington Green Historic District. The Washington Green Historic District is generally well maintained, effectively displaying its architecture as developed over the centuries from mortise-and-tenon houses for Colonial settlers through school-building campaigns to the country homes of affluent urban owners. [NR]

Architecture:The Washington Green Historic District is significant historically because its resources document the development of a colonial settlement into a community dominated by second homes of affluent families and as long-established preparatory school. It is significant architecturally because the distinguished buildings surrounding the Green record the history of the growth of the 18th-century community in terms of a sequence of architectural styles. The Colonial style of the original houses, built with post-and-beam mortise-and-tenon framing, was followed by the classical influence of the Georgian style and in the Federal style of the third meetinghouse of the First Congregational Church. Greek Revival style buildings, notably Saint John's Rectory, were built well into the 19th century. Picturesque styles such as the Gothic Revival almost passed the district by in new construction, but are present in significant alterations. Toward the turn of the century, classical revival trends were re-asserted in the Colonial Revival buildings of Gunnery School and in large country homes, such as the Shingle style residence designed for himself by Ehrick K. Rossiter. These fine examples, and others, of well-preserved buildings strongly support the architectural significance of the district. [NR]

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.washingtonct.org/.
[2] Washington Green 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, Washington Green Historic District, National Register Nomination Number- 95001345 NRIS, National Park Service, 1995 - http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/95001345.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/95001345.pdf.

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