Southport Historic District (Fairfield, Connecticut)
Encyclopedia
The Southport Historic District in the town of Fairfield, Connecticut
is a 225 acres (91.1 ha) area historic district
that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1971. It preserves a portion of the modern neighborhood and former borough of Southport, Connecticut
. Since the British burnt almost all of Southport's structures in 1779, there is only one home built prior to that date, the Meeker House at 824 Harbor Road, which survives.
The area of the district is bounded on the north by the Metro-North railroad
tracks, on the south by the Mill River
and Southport Harbor, on the west by Old South Road, and on the east by Rose Hill Road. It includes additional properties on both sides of Old South Road and Rose Hill Road, but excludes the commercial and industrial properties along Pequot Avenue inside the so-defined area. This is about a quarter of the former borough area of Southport, which ran from Mill River to Sasco Creek, and from the Southport Harbor to Mill Hill.
A local commission enforces preservation rules in the district (and also in two other historic districts in the town of Fairfield). Alterations to properties in the district have to be approved. A case where a Greek Revival mansion owner placed a large sculpture on the grounds went all the way to the U.S. supreme court in 2007. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the commission, that the sculpture qualified as a structure and required commission approval. It was the Historic District Commission of Fairfield. More here. The 80 foot, six ton sculpture by German artist Anselm Kiefer
, titled "Narrow as the Vessels", was donated to a museum, and the owner put even more striking (although lighter) sculptures on the lawn instead.
In 1970, the district was argued to be "significant because it has been the center of trade and commerce in Fairfield and because its history is typical of the development of commercial life in many New England ports in the fifty years following the revolutionary war. The architecture of the district consists primarily of buildings constructed after 1779 when the British virtually destroyed Fairfield. It is a valuable concentration of Greek Revival and Victorian structures which were for the most part the homes of substantial men whose wealth came from their involvement in commerce, banking, and shipping."
It includes more than 150 contributing buildings. The more significant ones include:
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
is a 225 acres (91.1 ha) area historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1971. It preserves a portion of the modern neighborhood and former borough of Southport, Connecticut
Southport, Connecticut
Southport is a section and census-designated place of the town of Fairfield, Connecticut, located along Long Island Sound between the Mill River and Sasco Brook . As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,585...
. Since the British burnt almost all of Southport's structures in 1779, there is only one home built prior to that date, the Meeker House at 824 Harbor Road, which survives.
The area of the district is bounded on the north by the Metro-North railroad
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...
tracks, on the south by the Mill River
Mill River (Fairfield)
The Mill River is a river in the town of Fairfield, Connecticut. It flows into Long Island Sound at Southport harbor.Dams on the Mill River form the Easton, Hemlock, and Samp Mortar Lake Reservoirs and control downstream flow....
and Southport Harbor, on the west by Old South Road, and on the east by Rose Hill Road. It includes additional properties on both sides of Old South Road and Rose Hill Road, but excludes the commercial and industrial properties along Pequot Avenue inside the so-defined area. This is about a quarter of the former borough area of Southport, which ran from Mill River to Sasco Creek, and from the Southport Harbor to Mill Hill.
A local commission enforces preservation rules in the district (and also in two other historic districts in the town of Fairfield). Alterations to properties in the district have to be approved. A case where a Greek Revival mansion owner placed a large sculpture on the grounds went all the way to the U.S. supreme court in 2007. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the commission, that the sculpture qualified as a structure and required commission approval. It was the Historic District Commission of Fairfield. More here. The 80 foot, six ton sculpture by German artist Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys and Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac...
, titled "Narrow as the Vessels", was donated to a museum, and the owner put even more striking (although lighter) sculptures on the lawn instead.
In 1970, the district was argued to be "significant because it has been the center of trade and commerce in Fairfield and because its history is typical of the development of commercial life in many New England ports in the fifty years following the revolutionary war. The architecture of the district consists primarily of buildings constructed after 1779 when the British virtually destroyed Fairfield. It is a valuable concentration of Greek Revival and Victorian structures which were for the most part the homes of substantial men whose wealth came from their involvement in commerce, banking, and shipping."
It includes more than 150 contributing buildings. The more significant ones include:
- 750 Harbour Road, the house of Oliver Perry, a significant figure (but not the more famous Oliver Hazard PerryOliver Hazard PerryUnited States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...
), a Greek Revival house with a pediment above four Doric columns; - 780 Harbor Road, house of Walter Perry III, a Federal style house built in 1830
- 712 Harbor Road, a Greek Revival house with Corinthian columns
- 478 Harbor Road, built in 1831
- 72 Willow Street, childhood home of Joseph SheffieldJoseph SheffieldJoseph Sheffield was an inhabitant of Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the last half of the 17th century. He held a number of important offices within the colony, including Deputy, Assistant and Attorney General...
, founder of the Rock Island Railroad - 104 Old South Road, home of Paschal Sheffield, a privateer for Argentina during its war for independence from Spain
- 824 Harbor Road, Meeker House, built prior to 1766, only structure that is known to have survived the British burning of Southport in 1779
- 25 Westway Road, built in 1856, has gingerbread trim
- 95 Westway Road, built in 1840
- 564 Harbor Road, built in 1835 by a shipowner and captain, Charles C. Perry, built in a Greek Revival style which was later altered but then restored in 1926
- "The Bulkeley Houses", at 14 Willow Street, 104 Main Street, 142 Main Street, 114 Westway Road, 892 Harbor Road
- 187 Westway Road, built as a saltboxSaltboxA saltbox is a building with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front...
for Dimon prior to 1818, since enlarged and altered. It has the "Dimon Oak", known to be at least 260 years old in 1970, which stood nearly 100 feet tall and measured 19.5 feet in circumference - 95 Main Street, built c. 1827, which served as a school, a place of worship, and as a town hall. The building, now a residence, at some point after 1854 was moved closer to Main Street and was altered.
- 450 Harbor Road
- the "Nichols Houses", at 155 Rose Hill Road, 494 Harbor Road, 534 Harbor Road
- three Victorian era houses at 658 Pequot Road, 418 Harbor Road, 385 Harbor Road
- 798 Harbor Road, now a house, the main part of which was a store in the 1850s. In 1894 it was the "Bachelor's Comfort, and Married Men's Relief" club, during WWI it was a British War Relief something, and later it was the first clbuhouse for the Pequot Yacht Club.
- Tide Mill Building, at 95 Harbor Road
- 668-670 Harbor Road
- 62 Center Street, a Greek Revival house
- Pequot Library, at 720 Pequot Avenue
See also
- Greenfield Hill Historic DistrictGreenfield Hill Historic DistrictThe Greenfield Hill Historic District is a historic district that was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1971.It includes 27 contributing buildings over in the neighborhood of Greenfield Hill, Connecticut....
, 1 of 2 other historic districts in Fairfield covered by the same commission - Fairfield Historic District (Fairfield, Connecticut)Fairfield Historic District (Fairfield, Connecticut)The Fairfield Historic District in Fairfield, Connecticut is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It includes 75 contributing buildings....
, 2 of 2 other historic districts
External links
- Map showing approximate bounds of Southport Historic District (but not exclusion of Pequot Avenue commercial and industrial properties)
- The Southport Picture File (a collection of 800 historical photos compiled by historian V. Louise Higgins. Housed at Pequot Library and accessible online.)
- Living in Southport, Conn. (New York Times photo collection)
- Brilvitch, Charles. 1977. Walking Through History. The Seaports of Black Rock and Southport. Fairfield Historical Society.