Editing Essex, Connecticut (section)

=== Historical architecture ===
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[[File:Essex - First Baptist Church.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut]]. Built 1846'']]
[[File:Gingerbread House Essex CT.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''"Gingerbread House". Built 1855.'' An example of the architectural style found throughout Essex]]
Centerbrook, a fertile and productive agricultural area, was the "center" of town until the Revolutionary War. Many farmhouses remain from this era. The Selah Griswold House and Clark Nott House on Bokum Road are fine examples of two-story center chimney homes that were characteristic of the time. The Benjamin Bushnell Homestead on Ingham Hill Road falls into the same category. Also characteristic of Centerbrook were smaller [[Cape Cod (house)|Cape Cod type homes]]. The Snow House on Main Street, the Nott House on Westbrook Road, the Taylor Bushnell House on Ingham Hill Road, and the Silent Rose House near the train station are fine examples. The dominant building in Centerbrook, from a historical standpoint, is the Congregational Church. This structure is the second to stand here, and the oldest existing church building in Middlesex County.

There were a few homes built in Essex Village (known as Potapoug Point until 1854) during the first half of the 18th century. One of the more notable is the Pratt House on West Avenue, an "[[Organic architecture|organic]]" structure built according to the immediate needs of the Pratt family.  Shipbuilding dominated between the [[American Revolution|Revolution]] and the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. As a result, the village came to be the focal point of the area. Many homes were erected between 1790 and 1820. By that time, Main Street had much the same make-up as today. The homes were primarily [[Federal architecture|Federal]], with one extended family dominating lower Main Street. The first eight structures (including [[the Griswold Inn]]) on the south side of this highway (starting at the waterfront) were either built or lived in by members of the Hayden family. Of these eight structures, only the one on the west side of Novelty Lane and the one on the east corner of Parker Lane were not built by this family. The fact that the well known Hayden Shipyard was directly south of these buildings was the primary reason for this situation. All these homes are different architecturally. The Ebenezer Hayden House (third from the river) was the initial [[Hip roof|hip-roof]] house in the lower valley, and the current Episcopal Church Rectory (the Richard Hayden Dwelling) was the first brick house in the lower valley. Pratt Street runs parallel to Main Street, and many houses on that thoroughfare not only were built in the [[Federal architecture|Federal style]], but have their roof lines perpendicular to the street, which allows for more homes to be erected on a given highway. In addition, there are two homes on Pratt Street that have [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] windows in the garret area. Also of note is the 1846 Baptist Church on Prospect Street, one of three [[Egyptian Revival architecture|Egyptian Revival]] style churches in the United States.

As the construction of wooden sailing ships faded, the growth of the ivory and piano parts industry in the village of Ivoryton changed the focal point of Essex again. The growth of Comstock, Cheney & Co., one of the two largest producers of ivory products in the United States, made Ivoryton literally the center of Essex (and the lower [[Connecticut River Valley]]). The houses built here after the Civil war reflect the influence and affluence of that village. East Main Street, entering Ivoryton from Centerbrook is " Victorian Row." All the houses along this way were owned by executives or stockholders of Comstock, Cheney & Co. Contrast this with Essex Village, where there are relatively few [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] or [[Victorian architecture|Victorian style dwellings]], two examples of which are the 1855 "[[:File:Gingerbread House Essex CT.jpg|Gingerbread House]]" at the corner of Riverview Street and Maple Avenue, and the Parker House on North Main Street.

Perhaps the most culturally significant homes in town were built in Ivoryton during the 1890 to 1920 era. The factory was in desperate need of low-cost labor, and as a result, many immigrants from Italy and Poland came to work for Comstock, Cheney & Co. around the turn of the 20th century. The firm constructed many factory homesteads for these people. The great majority of these homes remain today, although most have been substantially altered. A journey through Blake, Oak, Walnut, and Chestnut Streets as well as Comstock Avenue is most revealing, as these factory homes give a glimpse into the past.