Owners seek to tear down historic Bristol property

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 11/23/22

An application for a demolition permit is currently in process for a beloved, 1845 Gothic Revival home.

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Owners seek to tear down historic Bristol property

Posted

A nearly 200-year-old home at 135 Ferry Road may have seen its last summer looking out over Bristol Harbor. The current owners, Bettina and Paul Killion, have completed a new house on the lot — a lot which, as currently zoned, does not permit more than one residential structure.

Though the owners initially entertained efforts by building officials and preservationists to come up with solutions, from subdividing the property to finding a buyer willing and able to move the structure, those efforts have not yielded any result to date. The Killions recently applied for a demolition permit.

The Sanford/Simmons house is not part of the Bristol Historic District, and the house itself is not listed in the National Historic District, though it is eligible. It was built in 1845, about 10 years after Sally Sandford and Hannah Simmons inherited part of Hezekiah Sandford’s onion farm. In 1851, this 2 1/2-story, three-bay Gothic Revival cottage with Greek Revival interior details was one of only three properties on the west side of Ferry Road. It is located a few lots north of Blithewold Mansion.

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