Main Street, site of
the H. Bassett House

Before the Fire of 1882, a large two-story house stood here owned by a member of the Bassett family. It, like Sylvester Gilbert’s house next door, was one of the large mansion houses that stood around Hebron Green in the early 1800’s. Most of these broad side to the street houses were built on the Green between 1790-1810 when Hebron was the most prosperous town in Tolland County At that time, Hebron’s prosperity was based on farming. Farmers provided livestock to cities like Boston and New York, as well as the West Indies. Starting around the time of the War of 1812, textile mills, paper mills and tool manufactories developed along Hebron’s rivers.

Hebron Center is high and relatively dry, lacking water power. Yet, some center village residents helped finance Hebron mills. Other center village residents, maintained farms on land located in back of the houses ringing Hebron Center. Many of these farms were worked by free African American farm laborers. Their efforts allowed them to live in a middle-class lifestyle next to their Yankee neighbors, sending their children to the Hebron Center school and worshiping at Hebron center churches. The arrival of the railroad in Hebron in the 1870’s changed Hebron forever reducing profits from both farming and manufacturing.

Think about It

Why would an improved form of transportation like a railroad station in Amston (Turnerville) and Andover reduce farm and manufacturing profits?

Use your imagination

There are no photographs of the Bassett House. Close your eyes and imagine based on the photograph taken after the fire of 1882, what the Bassett House might have looked like.

Where to go next

From here walk toward Route 316