1854 Bean Hill
Historic District

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  1. Bean Hill Plain : At the summit of Bean Hill is Bean Hill Plain, (a.k.a. Bean Hill Green) an open square of land, once shaded by elm, ash and poplar trees planted in 1729. It has been open, common land since Bean Hill’s first settlement and is the district’s focal point. The green is surrounded by eight buildings and the 1833 Bean Hill Methodist Church, the first in Norwich.
  2. Methodist Church 192 West Town Street : Major public structure, built in 1833 and altered in 1879. Early photographs of the church show it to be a humble but attractive structure of typically boxy meetinghouse proportions with long, round-head windows, a two-tiered square steeple and touches of classical ornament.
  3. Witter House 199 West Town Street : Meeting place for Episcopal Church in 1730’s. It was also used as a tavern owned by Lt Jacob Witter in 1774. Military meetings were held here in 1784.
  4. David Keeler House 200 West Town Street : circa 1870 : The site is said to be the scene of the bean-pot discovery, giving way to the name Bean Hill. The spot is more certainly the site of an earlier house, known as the Lamb House. This house, believed to be the first house on Bean Hill, was demolished circa 1870 by David Keeler, a Bean Hill grocer.
  5. Bean Hill Tavern : The Bean Hill Tavern served as a meeting place for Norwich militia patriots. Major John Durkee, the tavern-keeper, spearheaded the drive against the Stamp Act. In 1765, Durkee earned a spot in Connecticut history when he led a band of liberty men who intercepted Stamp Distributor, Jared Ingersoll, at Wethersfield and forced Ingersoll’s resignation; for this act, Durkee was known thereafter as the “Bold Bean Hiller.”
  6. Aaron Cleveland Hat Shop and William Cleveland’s Jewelry Shop : Bean Hill’s citizens were humble people, respected but not renowned. There are, however, several prominent exceptions. The Clevelands were a noteworthy family who lived on Bean Hill. Aaron Cleveland , who ran a Bean Hill hat-shop (now standing at 122 West Town Street, but originally located next to the Methodist Church) was an early abolitionist who wrote poems, essays, and sermons on the political, social, and religious questions of the day. He was President Grover Cleveland’s great-grandfather. His son, Deacon William Cleveland, was a silversmith on Bean Hill and was President Grover Cleveland’s grandfather.
  7. Jarvis Hyde House : 5 Huntington Ave : 1780 : May have been Hyde’s Tavern
  8. David Ruggles’ Parent’s House : Sylvia Lane