Nook Farm (Connecticut)

In the early 1800s, the area was dominated by the Imlay farm, which occupied most of the land from present-day Imlay Street west to the north branch of the Park River, and from Farmington Avenue south to the Park River. John Hooker and his brother-in-law Francis Gillette purchased the pasture and woodland from William Imlay in 1853 for the purpose of developing the real estate. They built their own homes and sold parcels of land to relatives and friends to do likewise. As a result, an art colony took hold that included Hooker and his wife Isabella Beecher Hooker, the Gillettes, Charles Dudley Warner, Joseph Roswell Hawley, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, the Rev. Nathaniel Judson Burton and his wife Rachel Pine Chase Burton, as well as other journalists, feminists, spiritualists, painters, writers, reformers and activists. The area became known as Nook Farm, taking its name from the bend‚ or "nook‚" in the Park River‚ which bordered the area on the west and south.{{cite web|title=The Beginnings of Nook Farm|url=http://www.fingerpostproductions.com/nook_farm/pages/neighborhood-index.html|website=Fingerpostproductions.com|accessdate=January 3, 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Frank|first1=Jenifer|title=Hartford's Nook Farm|url=http://connecticuthistory.org/hartfords-nook-farm/|website=connecticuthistory.org/|accessdate=January 3, 2017}}

Nook Farm "developed into a tight-knit community through a web of family and business connections. It was an oasis apart from the bustling city and a place that bubbled over with ideas about politics and reform during a time of great tumult in the nation."{{cite web|title=Where Mr. Twain and Mrs. Stowe Built Their Dream Houses|url=http://connecticuthistory.org/where-mr-twain-and-mrs-stowe-built-their-dream-houses/|publisher=Connecticut History.org|first1=Elizabeth|last1=Normen}} Mark Twain described the openness of the neighborhood, "Among the colonists of our neighborhood the doors always stood open in pleasant weather."{{cite book |title=Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Harriet Elinor |year=2010 |publisher=University of California Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofm00twai_0/page/438 438–439] |isbn=978-0-520-26719-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofm00twai_0/page/438 }}

The homes were designed by leading architects of the day, including Edward Tuckerman Potter, Francis Hatch Kimball and Richard Upjohn.{{cite web|title=The Architects|url=http://www.fingerpostproductions.com/nook_farm/pages/houses-index.html|website=fingerpostproductions.com|accessdate=January 3, 2017}} Although many of them were demolished over the years, including eleven to make room for the Hartford Public High School,Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, {{cite web |url= http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/pdf/nook_farm_guide.pdf |title= Harriet Beecher Stowe's Nook Farm Neighborhood: A Self-Guided Tour |access-date= January 3, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110722055039/http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/pdf/nook_farm_guide.pdf |archive-date= July 22, 2011 |url-status= dead }} some still survive. Currently, the Mark Twain House, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, and the Katherine Day House are museums open to the public.{{cite web|title=Stowe's Hartford Neighborhood, Nook Farm|url=https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/hbs/nook_farm.shtml|publisher=Harriet Beecher Stowe Center|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170704040524/https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/hbs/nook_farm.shtml|archivedate=July 4, 2017|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web|last1=Floyd|first1=Rebecca|title=Nook Farm: Notable Neighbors|url=http://www.marktwainhouse.org/house/nook_farm.php|website=The Mark Twain House and Museum|accessdate=August 16, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Katharine Seymour Day House|url=https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/visit/ksd_house.shtml|website=Harriet Beecher Stowe House|accessdate=January 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020210252/https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/visit/ksd_house.shtml|archive-date=October 20, 2016|url-status=dead}} The John and Isabella Hooker House is now an apartment building,{{cite web|title=The John and Isabella Hooker House|url=http://www.fingerpostproductions.com/nook_farm/pages/ji-hooker-index.html|website=fingerpostproductions.com|accessdate=January 3, 2017}} as is the House at 36 Forest Street, built later in 1895.{{cite web|title=36 Forest Street, Hartford (1895)|url=http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=5232|publisher=Historic Buildings of Connecticut|date=August 31, 2010|accessdate=May 1, 2011}}

A large portion of the Nook Farm area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The district is anchored at the center by the complex of museum properties that make up the Twain and Stowe houses. It extends south along Forest Street north along Woodland and Gillett Streets roughly to Niles Street. In addition to the surviving mansion houses, there are several architecturally stylish early 20th-century apartment blocks.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|79002674}}|title=NRHP nomination for Nook Farm and Woodland Street Historic District|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2017-10-29}}

File:MarkTwainHartford2.jpg|Mark Twain House from Southeast, 2004

File:Mark Twain House Hartford Connecticut 2009.jpg|Mark Twain House from Northeast, 2009

File:Katherinedayhouse.jpg|Katharine Seymour Day House

File:HarrietBeecherStoweHouse-Hartford.jpg|Harriet Beecher Stowe House

File:Chamberlin-Burr Day House 2, 2009-09-02.jpg|Katharine Seymour Day House

File:House_at_36_Forest_Street,_Hartford,_CT.jpg|36 Forest Street

File:39_Woodland_Street_in_Hartford,_Connecticut,_2009-09-02.jpg|39 Woodland Street

File:John and Isabella Hooker House, Hartford, CT - August 2022.jpg|John and Isabella Hooker House

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford, Connecticut

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.fingerpostproductions.com/nook_farm Mark Twain's Neighborhood: Nook Farm]
• [http://www.fingerpostproductions.com/nook_farm/pages/map-index.html Nook Farm Map]

{{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut}}

Category:Artist colonies

Category:Historic districts in Hartford County, Connecticut

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Category:Intentional communities in the United States

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hartford, Connecticut