Dr John Ireland Howe House

Address
213 Caroline Street
Derby, CT

Currently closed to the public

Dr John Ireland Howe House

Truly a national treasure, this impressive stone house was built for Dr. Howe, a founding father of the Industrial Revolution. Howe invented the mass production machine which made the pin "common". The Industrial Revolution which Dr. Howe helped engineer, led to increased immigrant migration into the Valley, making it a melting pot for many nationalities.

"The Derby house was built in 1844 by Dr. John I. Howe (1793-1876), a prime mover in American industrial history. Between 1830 and 1842, Howe invented and perfected an automated pin-making machine and organized the Howe Manufacturing Company, moving it to Derby in 1838. With Howe’s machinery and processes, American pin makers were able to outstrip their English competitors. As expanded in about 1850 and about 1870, the house is an exceptionally well-constructed masonry residence, built of granite by a local stonemason, Lucius Hubbell. With its solid walls, unusual cruciform plan, and finely detailed porches, the house is a prominent presence among the nineteenth-century buildings of Caroline Street in downtown Derby. Like the Sturges-Wright house, the Howe house is individually listed on the National Register. Because of its significance, the Derby Historical Society bought the Howe house in the 1980s with the intention of operating it as a museum to recognize Derby’s industrial history. The society did some restoration, most notably reconstructing the two-story porch that Howe added to the house in the 1860s or ‘70s. However, the museum plan never came to fruition. After several years, the society determined that the best course of action was to sell the house for private development with a preservation easement to ensure its protection. The expectation is that the house will be renovated for multi-family occupancy, in keeping with the character of the surrounding neighborhood. Thanks to the easement, PCT will be able to guide the renovation." - Preservation Connecticut, 2020