Historic Property List Grows In Farmington

FARMINGTON, CT — Chances are, if a building is old in Farmington, especially on Waterville Road, it was built by Noah Wallace.

A native New Yorker, Wallace moved to Farmington in the late 1800s, owning more than 2,000 acres in town.

And the style of architecture he excelled in within Farmington — Colonial Revival — has placed many of the homes he built, renovated and sold locally within the Farmington Historic District.

Now, you can add two more Wallace homes among the town's more historical properties.

Two old homes built by Wallace on Waterville Road are now, officially, part of the town's historic district, meaning an extra layer of town approvals are required for any major work done at the sites in the future.

The Farmington Town Council voted unanimously at its last meeting Feb. 7 to ammend the town's code of ordinances governing "historic districts" to include the two sites.

Those locations are 11 Waterville Road and 26 Waterville Road.

"Wallace was a founding member of the Farmington Country Club and built many homes in the colonial-revival style in Farmington, leading to a curated look," Farmington Assistant Town Planner Garrett Daigle said before the council on the application.

Given Wallace's prominence in local development circles back in the day, it's easy to compare him to another native New Yorker's real estate impact several decades later, a New York City developer who famously (or infamously) ascended to the highest office in the land.

But Farmington's version of the man who would become the 45th president had a much, much less controversial impact within his community.

Highlights of these former Wallace properties include:

• 11 Waterville Road, nicknamed 'The Elms' and owned by Jennifer and Jarod Proto, was built in 1905.

The home's interesting history saw it exchange hands to various owners of diverse backgrounds.

Architecturally, it is described as a "A Shingle-style Colonial Revival home with a large cross-sectional gambrel roof system," reads a description in the Farmington Historic District Study Report in August 2022.

"The home includes original style elements such as wood shingle siding, two over two double hung sash windows, with de'corative geometric diamond pane sashes on the third floor."

• 26 Waterville Road, owned by Beatrice Stockwell, was built in 1917.

Like the home nearby, this address also has a unique history.

It was built the same year the U.S. entered World War I and was owned by the same owner until 1925, the next owner owned the house until 1962 and, in 1964, Stockwell acquired the house and still lives there to this day.

Located adjacent to the Farmington Country Club, with Wallace as one of the founders, the property is so close to the club, there is a "right to pass" for golfers to collect golf balls should their swings go astry.

From an architectural viewpoint, "the home displays Colonial Revival styles with a symmetrical design and gable-ended roof design. The wooden clapboard siding is original to the home and typical of the era," reads the study report on the properties.

Of course, Stockwell herself is also well known in the Farmington community.

From 1973-85, she was the secretary on the Farmington Board of Education; from 1985 to 1993, she was chairperson of the school board; and, from 1993-97, Stockwell served as chairperson of the Farmington Town Council.

Of course, being named to a town's historic district is much more than just a designation, it means current and future homeowners cannot simply do as they wish on the property.

In order to obtain any future permit approvals for work on the site, it requires review and approval of the Farmington Historic District Commission, whose aim is historic preservation in town.

The process, explained Daigle, to becoming a historic property is lengthy and starts with a study committee, historic district commission approval, approval from the state Historic Preservation Office and, finally, the town, which — in the case of Farmington— is the town council.

"The final step is ammending the historic district map," Daigle said.

Daigle said a property owner getting their site off the historic district list is equally laborious and is rarely undertaken.

Council members had only minor questions for Daigle and no members of the public spoke about the properties at a public hearing prior to the vote.

For more information on the two properties, click on this link and scroll to Page 47.

For the minutes of the Feb. 7 Farmington Town Council meeting, click on this link.

For more information on the Farmington Historic District Commission, click on this link.