Take a peek at the early Colonial Norwich home saved from a wrecking ball

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September 16 – NORWICH – Without the swift and desperate actions of the Norwich Historical Society and the descendants of an original Norwich settler, there would have been vacant land at 232 W. Town St. across from a branch of Charter Oak Federal Credit Union.

The dilapidated Hugh Calkins house, a small white cloak, had been slated for demolition, with the lot to be marketed for development by the previous owners. Preservation advocates and the Calkins Family Association have rallied their support to purchase the home for $ 120,000 in June 2020.

The association, which has members across the country, plans to restore it to its early colonial appearance and open it as a museum, genealogy center and library. Quaker Hill Association Vice President Melissa Calkins has been doing genealogical research for 10 years and is in the process of becoming a Certified Genealogist.

Calkins said once the house opens, she plans to teach genealogy to raise funds for the work in progress. The non-profit association accepts donations and is looking for volunteers to help with the restoration. Contact Calkins at [email protected] for more information.

Work has just started, but the association will be holding an open house Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the field to celebrate the purchase and a $ 20,000 grant from the State Historic Preservation Office to hire a historic preservation architect. A GoFundMe page raised $ 5,422 of a goal of $ 9,862 on Thursday.

About 45 members of the Calkins family from across the country will attend the open house on Saturday as part of a four-day family reunion tour of historic sites linked to the Calkins’ earliest ancestors in Norwich and New London, including renowned local historian and author Frances Manwaring Caulkins.

Melissa Calkins, local cousins, friends and local contractors have been working for a year cleaning the yard, brushing and cleaning the interior of the Norwich home. One parent even conducted a paranormal investigation; nothing of significance was found during the investigation, but the relative believed she saw something in an image afterwards, Calkins said.

Calkins said the group took care not to disturb the original wood beams, brick and stone while removing clearly modern elements. She ripped off almost an entire yellow shag rug from the second floor. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there at first,” she joked.

The roof had leaked and a smell of mold permeates the house. Calkins removed modern mildew covered wallpaper, as well as linoleum, carpets and debris.

Due to mildew and uneven floors, Saturday’s open house will be limited to the courtyard, with glimpses inside windows and doors.

The association used the $ 20,000 grant to hire Spencer Preservation Group of Nahant, Mass., To design the restoration. The group will do tests to determine the exact age of the house. Calkins said the association had information that it dated back to the 1660s, but Norwich historian Dale Plummer estimated the current house to be in the early 1700s.

Former Norwich Historical Society President William Champagne, a realtor specializing in historic homes, said this was a house from the 1760s. “I think it’s wonderful that the Calkins family come to Norwich, “he said,” and there is certainly tons of history with this family and with this house in particular. “

The restoration will remove later additions including the dormer windows, a rear room on the first floor and a storage room. Calkins wants to restore the large open fireplace in the main room on the first floor. The fireplace had been reduced to a small opening, but the stone oven on the left is intact. She found an intact antique cast-iron kettle with a spring-loaded wire handle.

One wall in the back room that appears to be the original exterior wall was covered with faux plastic tiles and the one covered with faux plastic bricks.

“The house is in a sorry state,” Calkins said.

Champagne credited the executive director of the Norwich Historical Society, Regan Miner, and the Calkins Family Association for saving the house when local rescue efforts were exhausted.

“If it hadn’t been for Regan, this house probably would have been hit by the bulldozer,” Champagne said. “Regan at the eleventh hour contacted the Calkins Family Association. Without them it would have been demolished.”

Miner said saving the house was “a huge victory for Norwich history”, especially for historic Bean Hill.

“The Norwich Historical Society is so excited that the Calkins Family Association purchased the property last year,” Miner said. “And we are delighted to see the restored property and their plans come to fruition.”

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