That land has been prime real estate for eminent domain claims over the past 100 years.
The Isham-Terry house, a lone Italianate villa, sits on a corner in Hartford within view of drivers headed eastbound on I-84.
The house is the last of what was once an affluent neighborhood -- and it survived, though not without a fight, the construction of I-84 in the 1960s, one of the few historical buildings to avoid the wrecking balls of Hartford’s urban renewal projects.
As the state looks to rebuild parts of that stretch of highway in Hartford, the Isham-Terry house will again keep its corner post overlooking I-84. Though the construction may be close to the house, the new highway options avoid taking the Isham land.
That land has been prime real estate for eminent domain claims over the past 100 years. Dr. Oliver Isham and his two sisters Julia and Charlotte who lived there lost parts of their property twice to road-widening projects in first half of the 20th century.
But when the Isham sisters received a letter about tens years after their brother’s death from the state requesting part of their land for the “East-West Expressway” -- now I-84 -- they fought the claim, and won.
While many others in their neighborhood might have ceded to eminent domain, Laura McCarthy of Connecticut Landmarks said the Isham sisters had the resources to fight the state’s claim.
“What I have found, because the Isham sisters were so passionate about history, and so passionate about this neighborhood, that they relentlessly championed the preservation of this property and of this house,” McCarthy said. “I think because they were so nostalgic, they had a lot of resources that some of their neighbors didn’t. They had documentation of the history. They had documentation of the originality of everything in the house.”
The house was built in 1854 by a wealthy merchant, and while it was modest compared to the Armsmear mansion of Hartford industrialist Samuel Colt, its large rooms and 16-foot windows overlooking downtown Hartford made it a prime spot for parties, McCarthy said.
In 1896, the Ishams moved in. Dr. Oliver Isham started a medical practice out of the house -- and his sisters, unmarried, lived there with him.
After their brother died, the Isham sisters made very few changes within the 15-room house. Dr. Isham’s medical equipment still sits in his office today.
“The Isham sisters were somewhat notorious for their preservation of the past,” McCarthy said. “They were two older ladies, they had some quirks, and they see their neighborhood changing drastically around them. Their neighbors were moving away, and they were kind of the last bastions of this grand opulent neighborhood.”
Connecticut Landmarks, formerly the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society, maintains the building and occasionally hosts events and programming that celebrates Victorian culture and Hartford history.
The nonprofit was deeded the building after the Isham sisters passed away in the 1970s.
Now abutted by the Hartford Public Safety Complex, busy streets, and a few empty lots, the Isham-Terry house serves as a reminder of the residential neighborhood that once surrounded it, McCarthy said.
“We want this house at Connecticut Landmarks to be a billboard -- a highway billboard for the importance of history and the importance of saving history,” McCarthy said.
The Isham sisters' preservation of the house adds to its appeal for parties and events, a time capsule of Hartford upper-middle class life in the early 20th century.
As development surrounding the new baseball stadium down the street progresses, McCarthy said her organization is excited to see what new ways the Isham property can participate in the community, “whether that is as an event space, or whether that is offering something interesting, thought-provoking and enticing to do as an alternative to tailgating in the parking lot of the new stadium.”
New visitors to the house, in the next decade of I-84 rehabilitation, may have the same front-row seat to construction as the Isham sisters when the original highway was built.
WNPR intern Daniel Keith contributed to this report.
