Liberty Green Historic District

Liberty Green Historic District is a local historic district in the town of Clinton, Connecticut, and Liberty Green is a triangular town green within it. The district was created in 1979 following a lengthy study, report and enabling ordinance [1][2]

Description
Liberty Green Historic District Sign on Lower Green

The Liberty Green Historic District consists of six 18th-century houses and stone walls surrounding a triangular common.[3] The six contiguous properties included within the district are defined on the National Register of Historic Places and consist of four Colonial structures, one Federal/Greek Revival, and one undefined style structure.[4] The corner property of Liberty Street and East Main Street is an established bed and breakfast.[5]

The district is located within the larger, National Register of Historic Places-listed Clinton Village Historic District.[3]

History

A vestige of 17th-century common land, Liberty Green is a park-like triangle between Liberty Street and East Main Street, encompassing the village green.[4] The common town land was part of a larger open space for militia war drills, and was also the site of one of Clinton's earliest schoolhouses.[4] The Liberty Green Historic District was chosen as the site for the town's Civil War monument (a granite soldier atop a tall pedestal), and a small cannon from the War of 1812.[6]

Beginning in 1846, a group of citizens banded together to plant shade trees and Liberty Green came to assume its present park-like appearance and function. In addition to providing a peaceful public open space, it served a symbolic function, recalling the town's patriotic past and providing the site for memorials to the town's soldiers.[4]

Legacy I Time Capsule Marker Stone

On 5 December 1976, a school group buried a time capsule called the Legacy I on Liberty Green. The schoolchildren indicated that the capsule should be opened on 4 July 2976.[7]

In 2009, the Clinton Town Tree Warden ordered a public tree removal[8] in order to clear half-dozen overgrown trees and prune many large and dangerous branches from the Liberty Green trees. The tree removal provides additional open space and sunlight.

In 2010, the Liberty Green retail complex, located across the street from the historic district, was set to be completed with the construction of a two-story building affording 5,500 square feet (510 m2) of retail space and three second-story apartments. This building joins a hardware store, Japanese restaurant, and community health center in the same complex.[9]

Today Liberty Green continues to serve as an important public gathering space for Clinton's townspeople. It is a location for small church festivals and other events, as well as the ceremonial destination of the annual Memorial Day Parade.

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References
  1. "Report: Historic District Study Committee" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  2. "Ordinance: Liberty Green Historic District". Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  3. "Liberty Green Historic District". Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
  4. Bruce Clouette and Maura Cronin (March 25, 1994). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Clinton Village Historic District". National Park Service. and Accompanying photos from 1994 (photo #16 shows Liberty Green, photo #9 shows houses on the green)
  5. "3 Liberty Green Bed and Breakfast". 3liberty.com. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  6. "Clinton Village Historic District". livingplaces.com. 2010.
  7. Inscription plaque on marker stone.
  8. "Public Notice of Tree Removal (photo)". Kelseytown Gazette.
  9. Fisher, Stan (2 July 2010). "Clinton's Liberty Square finally taking shape?". New Haven Register. Retrieved 17 October 2010.

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