Gilman-Hayden House

The Gilman-Hayden House is located on a rural-residential stretch of East Hartford's Main Street, between Gilman and King Streets. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a side-gable roof and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade faces east and is five bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a gabled portico. A two-story ell extends to the rear, and an enclosed porch projects to the south. The interior of the house follows a typical center-hall plan, with two rooms on either side of the hall on both floors. The interior retains many original period features, including bead-board paneling, built-in cupboards, and wrought iron hardware. The two front parlor spaces feature fine fireplace surrounds.^[2]

The house was built in 1784 by George Gilman, a descendant of some of the area's earliest settlers. The Gilmans originally owned land all the way to the Connecticut River, and operated a ferry. In the second quarter of the 19th century the property came into the hands of the Williams family, whose most famous member was William Williams, a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. In 1867, the house was purchased by Edward Hayden, whose mother was a Williams. Hayden is most notable for the unique diary he kept of his experiences during and after the American Civil War. One portion of the diary was written on a similar diary Hayden recovered from a Confederate Army soldier, and provides a unique window into the affairs of the war.^[2]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut