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HISTORICBUILDING.----- .RESOURCES INVENTORYAND STRUCTURESFOR OFFICETown NoHIST·6 NEW5 77STA TE OF CONNECTICUTCONNECTICUT59 SOUTH PROSPECTHISTORICALST EET. HARTFORD.(203) 566·3005CONNECTICUT06106r. BUILDING NAME(COIII.OO'ZFarmingtonu7t 00(II.t ZWQAND3 :. I Hfoe::4.ITOWN·CITYZ0andoWoad ShingleoBoard & BattenUW'"IINTERIORACCESSleLEoVes(ilNooAsphaltoo oFieldstoneStuccooCobble ,oneConcreteType:oCut stoneType:Po st and eloShedOHiPoooSlateoOther(Spec,'y'DRollWoael Shinglec o.uIoAsphaltIUNTin56(iJ PrivateIt:.fi:,XPLAIN;U'-IV".Other (Specdy,iron or steelo.,owtoothOther(Specrlyl36X,S"Ut 'ur f":1("·''''''o(i] ExcellentGooel13 INTEGRITV.L." .", .".[i) On original oMov doFairWHEN'oDeteriorateelLJ BarnoOSheeloGarageooGardenCarriageShophouae'5 SURROUNDING E NVIRONMENTOJ/ooel.Open land lanel::JoNationalNoIFS::SOth r landscapeResielen'ioloRegisterE.cellentoGoodD FairD Deteriorateel,;;;LAINURESIndus·CommercIalRuraltri 01INTERRELATIONSHIP or dUlL DING AND sassociatedincludedisRoadareaof MountainThistheI0' 'ly' ':'''D1oaite"lELA r e o au rBUILDINGS R LANO: CAPE F:AandPublicMarellaI'2 16ManaarelAsphalt shingleBuilt upoTileNUMBER OF 5 rOAIEl AP ROXIMATE D'MEN!.IONSoSeminaryCOUNTYHartfordDATE OF CON: oQ14.oFlat:It0 Pot tlo!(Speclly]ol.l"dualfoundationGobI. :OOthe, 11IGil BrickSidingLoael 'bearing menanryROOF fT,"''''oFemale.I'""allOll .,11. appropriaC,.,10III184901Asbestos[iJ Wood frameii2Farmington!NR SPECIFYoONR. II (II'SI''' ' hoolhouseoAluminumSiding19 STRUCTURA\. SYS":'EMt ILOsoofficesRevivalIfliiIT"al. ua. IT 1 EXTERIORVlSlBLEFROMPUBLC ROADTO PUBLIC: (iJv.sDNas YLE OFoQUAD,IDISTRICT:I,?fU,RoadMissPorter's5 U5E (P,,,UnI)ClassroomsoI : ISilo No(a"d OI.I""a"n"/MountainOWNERISIGothice, MAI IUT COMMISSION.IUSE ONL yofeaturesScattered::;J Highor n both Sp c.lylVISible from-si'edenai'ywiththelota ons.otherin istrict.IOV/-----RJ

17·zot lLiiu'"o1&1UZ uiLz"iiiNOTABLEF"EATURESOF" BUILDING----it :-r.;o::-:-:::;::::-::::-: :--:-:- ---'OR SITE "., . "", d 'If . , .flU" qThis Gothic Revival-style schoolhouse was erected in 1849. The facade displays a central,classical open porch with grouped columns, modest balustrade, and lattice base. The mostprominent Gothic Revival-style elements are the steeply pitched paired gables. Note the rightgable with a slender paired window; it is original to the building. The left portion ofthe building and gable were added later. Set between the gables is a slightly projectinggabled dormer with tripartite window and imbricated shingles (a late nineteenth-centuryaddition). A variety of window sizes and shapes are displayed throughout the building andare not original. Additions were made in 1854 and 1913. Numerous original Gothic Revivalstyle embellishments have been removed including decorative bargeboard, drip mold windowcrown, arched door, and bay window, according to a drawing published in the 1949 AlumniBulletin.11&1OTHERHIIHULNIn 1847 a number of prominent and wealthy Farmington men met and organized the FarmingtonFemale Seminary Association to provide the young women of Farmington a proper education.Deacon Simeon Hart had for some years been operating a successful and prestigious boys school,known as the Academy, in the Village Center and the Association believed the Female Seminarywould be an added benefit to the town. To finance the construction of a schoolhouse, membersof the Association purchased stock at 25 per share. Miss Sarah Porter was asked to'be theheadmistress.She accepted and in 1848 John Hooker leased the Female Seminary Associationa parcel of land on Mountain Road "to be occupied by said Association as the site of afemale school" (FLR 51:100). The schoolhouse was completed and ready for use on January1, 1849. The headmistress, Miss Sarah Porter (1813-1900) was born in Farmington.toRev. Noah and Mehitabel (Meigs) Porter. The Rev. Porter served as pastor of the FarmingtonCongregational Church for sixty years, 1806-1866. Sarah'was educated at Simeon Hart'sAcademy and later attended E.A. Andrew's School in.New Haven. Between 1825 and 1847 MissBorter taught in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York including a smallday school in Farmington for local girls, which was located above the post office in thestone store.When the.seminary opened, Miss Porter was allowed to use the first floor only. The secondstory was intended to be used for a "juvenile school". The upstairs school never materializedand in 1851 she asked the association to complete the upper chamber for her use. Theschool continued to row and eventuall Sarah Porter ae uired other buildin s (see cont. 8.)Farmington Land Records; Farmington Probate Records; Farm i ng t on Vital Records; Farmil ')::Cemete y Inscriptions. \LP.A . 1934; Avon Cemetery Inscriptions. \ .P.A. 1934; 1853 L.t.\"'ooJ(ordMap; 1855 E. l. Woodford Map; 1869 Baker and Tilden Map; 1878 0.11. Bailey Co . :-:.11'.Brandegee, Arthur L. Farmington, Connecticut, The Village of Beautiful Homes. Farmington,Conn.: Author, 1906.; Hurlburt, Mabel.S. Farmington Town Clerks and Their Times (see cont. pg'Io(JtARti'sTO BuiLDiNGNone know,.RenewolooOR ap.,sZonin9ooOtherE"plonatlon

"'0"O.IC.STATE OF CONNECTICUTTOWN NO.:CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL COMMISSIONUTM:QUAD:59 South ISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORYFORMU ONLYS!l'1E "130.:11/-1-1-/-1-1-!:.SN":ACTUAL.OTIENTIALFor Buildingsand StructuresCONTINUATIONItem number:SHEET19Date:4/86in Farmington village to serve as dormitories and classrooms.In 1854 an 18 x 10 additionenlarged this building. John Hooker in 1864 sold his homestead to the Farmington ParsonageAssociation (FLR 60:66). The deed included 6-7 acres of land and all buildings "except theschoolhouse known as the Female Seminary .". In 1871 the Parsonage Association sold theFemale Seminary "a three-quarter acre pi-ece of land on which the schoohouse stands."(FLR 61:353). Miss Porter's School continued to use the building and in 1885 Sarah purchasedthe building for 1000 (FLR 68:170). The asking price had been 1200, but Miss Porter, ina letter to Julius Gay, felt "The house was, I think slightly built, it has never been atall water tight. 'there is is no cell r and the brick foundation is not altogether good I am unwilling to pay more than 1000"(M. P. S. Alumnae Bulletin, Spring, 1949). Thebuilding continued to house classrooms and in 1913 was enlarged again, under the direction ofR.F. Jones. Classes are still held here today.The F rmington Female Seminary is historically significant. for its e rly association withMiss Porter's School, the major private educational institution in the town.Sources (Cont)(1645-1940). Hartford: Finlay Brothers, 1943.; Prentise, Dudley. History of FarmingtonHouses. 9 vols., N.p., 1974.; Farmington House File Collection.compo Annie Burr Lewisand Mabel S. Hurlburt. N.p., 1950-52.; Miss Porter's Scoool Bulletin, Spring, 1949.

ACMEADDITIONALADDRESS:DATE FORMATION5 . '·.,

-------'-- ----SUbject to rights of said seminary company,6/l3/1864,Vol.60,p.66.According to a redord book at Miss Porter's School,the house wasoccupied January 1,1849 by the Farmmngton Female Seminary,anAssociation subscribed by friends of Sarah Porter fpr her school.

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9 Mountain Road212-Thia houae is pictured on page 193 of the FarmingtonBook aSi"The School House. on the Hill", and referred to in Bakerand Tilden's 1869 Attas aa "Miss S. Porter's School House".John Hooker had contributed' the land for its site,bounded at that time by James and Augustus Cowles on the west,by John Hooker on the east and north, and by Mountain Streeton the 80uth. John Hooker reserved the right to re-purchaseafter 15 yeara. The building was constructed in 1848 with contributed funds, 1000 of which wase given by Deacon Simeon Hart.It was calted at that time the Farmington Female Seminary, andwas built for the use of Miss Sarah Porter, who had been astudent of Deacon Hart, and whoae clas8es had been started' inthe upper floor of the old Stone Stor In 1864 John Hooke.r sold to the Farmington ParsonageAnociation aix or seven acrea, and all the bui1ding8 of hifather's old hemestead, including the land on which stood theseminary, but of course not the seminary itself. Later theParsonage Association sold to the Femalle Seminary AS:Bociationthe land on which the seminary stood.; .On April 21, 1885, Mis8 Porter purchased from theFemale Seminary As,sociation one-hall acre of land, bounded'north on H. M. Cowles, East on Fes8enden, South on MountainRoa , and West on Sarah Porter (the land on which the MemorialStudio stood), and including the seminary building itse1fi.It has been the property of her heirs, and subsequently of Mis8 POZ3ter's School, since that time. Se. theMPS bulletin of Spring 1949, for a good history of this. schoolbuilding, and also of the studio next west of it.In 1951 the school building was remodeled accordingto plans by R. A. Kimball, for use as Science Building.October 5, 1973This house has been endowed, through a "70's Fund" gift,by Mrs. G. Frederic Neilson, Jr. (Clare Prentice '28). Thisassures its preservation and maintenance.September 7, 1974f.··.·" .i, .'1

On April 21, 1885, Mis8 Porter purchased from the Female Seminary As,sociationone-hall acre of land, bounded' north on H. M. Cowles, East on Fes8enden, South on Mountain Roa , and West on Sarah Porter (the land on which the Memorial Studio stood), and including the seminary building i