THE STEDMAN PARCEL. 1.12 acres donated in 1977 by Ted and
Patricia Stedman.
This residential-sized lot is situated between #27 and # 37 Main Street,
opposite the Farmington Savings Bank. It was the gift of Ted and
Patricia Stedman, and lies within the Farmington Historic District. In
the original division of lands among Farmington’s proprietors, it was
owned by Samuel Steele. A 1906 Green Book photograph caption
states [on authority of Julius Gay, who lived across the street] that the
house pictured on the lot was the property of local merchant Ruben S.
Norton and had lately been razed. The lost dwelling was a seven-bay
added-on Georgian with very early gambrel-roofed wing to the rear.
The Stedman land slopes gently down to Main Street, and is traversed
by a small seasonal watercourse which is led under the road and
feeds the wetlands around Haworth’s greenhouses. The lot forms the
setting for two historic homes. Twenty-seven Main to the north was the
home of abolitionist Horace Cowles, a station on Farmington’s active
underground railroad, and the first home of the Farmington Savings
Bank. To the south, #37 Main is a handsome colonial revival structure
that incorporates a 1710 house, which was later the residence of the
renowned Dr. Eli Todd. His home first stood on High Street, but like
many “wandering” Farmington structures was moved [by industrialist
Alfred Pope, Theodate’s father] to its present location.
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