Samuel Wadsworth Russell House

Samuel Russell House
Samuel Russell House
Samuel Wadsworth Russell House is located in Connecticut
Samuel Wadsworth Russell House
Samuel Wadsworth Russell House is located in the United States
Samuel Wadsworth Russell House
Location350 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Coordinates41°33′36.88″N 72°39′20.01″W / 41.5602444°N 72.6555583°W / 41.5602444; -72.6555583
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1828
ArchitectIthiel Town; David Hoadley
Architectural styleGreek Revival
NRHP reference No.70000688[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 6, 1970[1]
Designated NHLAugust 7, 2001[2]

The Samuel Russell House is a neoclassical house at 350 High Street in Middletown, Connecticut, built in 1828 to a design by architect Ithiel Town. Many architectural historians consider it to be one of the finest Greek Revival mansions in the northeastern United States. Town's client was Samuel Russell (1789-1862), the founder of Russell & Company, the largest and most important American firm to do business in the China trade in the 19th century, and whose fortunes were primarily based on smuggling illegal and addictive opium into China.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2001.[2][3] It has been owned by Wesleyan University since 1937 and now houses the Department of Philosophy.

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  2. ^ a b "Samuel Russell House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  3. ^ Jan Cunningham (February 2000). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Samuel Russell House / Honors College, Wesleyan University" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help). Accompanying 15 photos, exterior and interior, from 1999 and 2000. (3.62 MB)