The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
New historic district signs are popping up in Clinton
Local historian wants town to be known for more than shopping
CLINTON — Most shoreline residents know the town for its destination retail outlets, but Clinton’s history is important to highlight and share, says a local historian.
To accomplish this, Peggy Adler has worked to create and erect signage marking the town’s three historic areas, designated as state and national registered historic districts.
“I’ve wanted to have Clinton known for something other than just the Premium Outlets,” explained Adler, who is the chairman of the Historic District Commission.
“I’m not opposed to the Premium Outlets, but anywhere I go outside of Connecticut, or even in other parts of Connecticut, people say, ‘Where do you live?’ and I say ‘Clinton’ and they say, ‘Oh, the Premium Outlets,’” she added.
Adler said Clinton is rich in history and should be celebrated. She described the three unique sign locations.
“There are three signs up right now,” said Adler. “There’s one at each end of the Clinton Village Historic District because I want people coming on Route 1 from the east or the west to see it.”
“There’s only one sign up for the High Street, John Street district because I don’t need people seeing it when they’re leaving Clinton, going north on Route 81,” she said.
The signs, designed by Adler, are brown, with a white border and curved corners and white lettering.
The 3- by 2-foot doublesided signs are mounted with a 4-foot bracket on 7foot granite posts, 5 feet above ground.
The $2,672 cost of the signs was paid for with part of the $3.8 million town American Rescue Relief Act (ARPA) funds the town received, according to Adler.
A granite post near the intersection of Route 1 and Commerce Street will have a sign as soon as it is designated a national registered historic district.
Adler seems enthused by the work so far.
“By the end of this month we’ll have three national registered districts with over 200 properties on the National Register of Historic Place, which I think is pretty phenomenal,” she said with evident pride.
The districts include the Clinton Village Historic District, authenticated 1994.
This starts at the Indian River and it goes up to Route 145. It includes Waterside Lane, Liberty Street, Church Street and includes the Indian River Cemetery.
The High Street/John Street Historic District was authenticated in August 2020. This area starts on Route 81, south of No. High Street, down High Street to Route 1 and includes John Street and Central Ave, off High Street and includes the closed Unilever property, formerly the Pond Extract Company.
The three-story Art Deco building, completed in 1929, is 230 feet by 80 feet, with a total of 77,000 square feet, according to thestationatclinton.com.
Adler then embarked on a mission to create a third historic district, that includes 59 properties on Commerce Street, including “all those old houses and with Lobster Landing down at the end,” she said.
The town hired PAST, Inc. in Storrs with a $20,000 grant to do the historic research and write the report required for the Commerce Street designation.
“They did all of the research on the history of each of the properties and the history of the street,” said Adler.
“If people who own the properties live on the properties it entitles them to get certain types of grants from the state for restoration,” she said.
Commerce St. resident Lesley Drew Harrington appreciates the designation.
“I think there are a number of homes on the street that have been here a long time and this whole shipping port, having the docks below, I guess was an important part of the history of this area,” Drew Harrington said.
“I’ve lived here all my life,” she added. “The town has changed a lot. Even the neighborhood has changed a lot.”
“There were no lights when I was a kid here,” Drew Harrington recalled. “There was a policeman in the center town and of course now we have Clinton Crossing and everything is a lot more built up.”
“It’s a different town… but a lot of this street hasn’t changed much,” she said. “Everybody I know that lives in the neighborhood seems to be supportive of the recognition, so I think it’s a good thing.”
The district was authenticated by the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Review Board Sept. 15, 2023. The paperwork is currently in Washington, D.C. for designation as a national registered district. At that time the sign will be erected at the head of the street.
Adler said these designations are very important to the town.
“When I first moved to Clinton 30 years ago this month, I didn’t realize there was this much history,” she said.
“The first I began to realize how much history there was when I learned Yale (University) started here,” she said.
“Originally known as the “Collegiate School,” Yale technically got its start with one student trained in the home of Rector Abraham Pierson of Killingworth (now Clinton),” according to connecticuthistory.org.
Adler does not foresee any future historic districts being created in town.
“We’ve got individual buildings in town, mostly houses that are old, that are in different parts of town including further north, but they’re not an entire district,” she said.