The life and work of architect Alexander Jackson Davis will be discussed at the April 14 program of the South Windsor Historical Society.
Guest speaker Linda Sunderland of Sunderland Period Homes, South Windsor, and her husband have worked extensively in the preservation of 18th century homes and in the recreation of antique homes. Her talk will be given in a home designed by Davis at 660 Main St., at 2 p.m. Admission is $5 ($3 for members).
Davis (1803 – 1892) was one of the most successful and influential American architects of his generation, in particular the Gothic Revival style. He designed several government buildings, including the Custom House of New York City and Bridgeport City Hall, and is best known in Connecticut for the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford in 1842. His pattern book “Rural Residences” established the Gothic style for American homes.
Charles Green, born here in 1812, joined the U. S. Navy at an early age and rose through the ranks including a stint in Erie, PA. He married Sophia H. Tudor, another native, in 1840. They lived briefly in the old Tudor family home on Main Street until building their own distinctive house at what is now 660 Main St. in 1851. It features a massive chimney with clustered flues, Victorian-style board and batten construction, and diamond-shaped window panes, all features that were maintained to the present. Over the next several years, the Greens raised three children there.
The commodore and two of his sons served in the U. S. Navy during the Civil War, primarily in blockades. He returned to South Windsor after the war, overseeing his farm, and later moving to Providence, where he died in 1887. The home remained in the family until the1950's, when it was sold to Frederick and Muriel Mahr, who lived there until their deaths.
For more information about the historical society and its programs, call 860-291-9958 or visit its website at www.southwindsorhistory.org.
