Seaside village lures visitors for tour
The historic fishing, lobstering and boatbuilding village of Noank opens its doors about once a decade, and on Saturday, inquisitive visitors will once again be able to peek inside 19th century homes and marvel at seaside gardens. This year's Noank Village House and Garden Tour, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and encompassing 14 properties, features a secret garden at 12 Spring St. that is built on ledge with rock garden plants; the grand “Spinnaker House” at 25 Church St. built in 1907 for Robert Palmer Jr., a partner with his father of the historic Noank Palmer Shipyard; and the 1840 seaside mansion known as the Spicer House at 8 Front St.
The elegant Spicer House, built by Capt. Elihu Palmer Spicer, is part of local lore. His son, Elihu Jr., founded the Mystic & Noank Library.
“The last Spicer to live in 8 Front Street was Miss Annie Spicer,” according to a tour brochure. “The present owner is the fourth to occupy the house since Annie. He has gutted the interior of the house, leaving the original central staircase, wall studs, window sashes and fir timber floor boards.”
In a village-tour first, the Noank Baptist Church will be among the buildings open Saturday, in honor of its 175th anniversary.
Jim Pratt, former church minister and an organizer of the tour, said during a walk around the village that the church's memorial garden and biblical garden — consisting of flowers named in the Bible — will be among the highlights.
“The present building was built in the 1860s, replacing the first meeting house of the congregation,” the guide said. “In the hurricane of 1938 the meeting house lost its roof and steeple and was subsequently restored pretty much in its original form. On Christmas Eve 1959, that building was gutted by a devastating fire.”
Renovations after the fire included an expansion to house a chapel, parlor, kitchen and classrooms, and by the mid 1960s gardens began to spring up. The Mystic Garden Club awarded the church a Civic Beautification Award in 1998 to recognize the work.
Another interesting garden, said Pratt, is at 12 Spring St., where amazing views of Noank boatyards and Fishers Island Sound coalesce with rock and ledge plantings of hostas, grasses and other native plants, along with a natural pool in a granite outcropping. The home itself, which is not open, features a modern lighthouse addition and was built in 1865 by Silas Spicer.
One fascinating garden, at 19 Chester Ave., includes a miniature train that runs on 800 feet of brass track in a figure-8 layout. The layout includes two trestle bridges, a waterfall with koi, along with some cool-looking trains such as The Pennsylvania, The Marine Corps and the New Haven Railroad, all manufactured by Lehmann Bahn of Germany.
Homes that will be open for the tour include the Spinnaker House, built in 1907 by Robert Palmer Jr., a partner in the Noank Palmer Shipyard, which had a thriving business in wooden boat building during the late 19th century. With stately columns and a grand portico, the imposing home includes a Palladian window with stained glass, 11-foot ceilings, a mahogany staircase and a butler’s pantry.
Another interesting home at 40 Cedar Lane is the former barn and stable of the Spinnaker House, which later became the Noank firehouse and has now been converted into a modern structure full of light.
Across the way at 15 Church St. is “Columcille,” owned by Jim and Nancy Pratt, a circa 1852 Greek revival first owned by ship’s carpenter Franklin M. Saunders. The home, significantly expanded in the late 20th century to add a modern kitchen, still has original pegged wood flooring in the formal dining room, and out back is a Japanese garden and a four-hole privy now used as a garden shed.
Two well-known locals, attorney Chip Anderson and Judge Tim Bates, have their premises included in the tour. Bates’ house, a Cape, dates to 1835 and includes the former home of artist Lars Thorsen as well as the former clock-repair shop of Moses “Mode” Rathbun; Anderson, whose home is frequently used for church functions, will make his home available for garden enthusiasts as well as those who just want to relax waterside with a refreshment.