With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
534 Silver Street, Coventry
- Adelma Simmons House - Caprilands Herb Farm
- Private Residence
- Adelma Grenier Simmons
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Caprilands Herb Farm was open to the public for afternoon tea for many years in the late 20th century, and served as a demonstration site for the cultivation and use of herbs.
- Description of Significance/Historical Narrative
- The house is identified as an early Federal-type building dating from after 1784 (Coventry Study Committee 1974). Outbuildings include an English barn with shed- and hip-roofed additions, a gable-entry barn, and several smaller outbuildings. Adelma Simmons' family bought the property with its abandoned farmstead in 1929, and gradually transformed it into a cluster of restored 18th-century wooden buildings, where herbs were sold, lectured and read about, viewed and tasted (Sommer 1995). Updates: the house was deconstructed, sold and reconstructed in New York (Hudson Valley area) c.2020; the property was subdivided into a half acre vacant house lot and 62 acre parcel with the barn; as of 2025, the barn may be deconstructed, salvaged or demo'd.
- Date of Construction
- c. 1784-1800
- Historic Designation(s)
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- State Register District
- State Register Individual
- Historic Resource Inventoryfile_download