Liberty Green Historic District is a local historic district

Historic district (United States)

In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

 in the town of Clinton, Connecticut

Clinton, Connecticut

Clinton is a town located on Long Island Sound in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,094 at the 2000 census. The town center along the shore line was listed as a census-designated place by the U.S...

, and Liberty Green is a triangular town green within it.

Description

The Liberty Green Historic District consists of six 18th-century houses and stone walls surrounding a triangular common

Common land

Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

. The six contiguous properties included within the district are defined on the National Register of Historic Places and consist of four Colonial structures, one Federal

Federal architecture

Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...

/Greek Revival

Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

, and one undefined style structure. The corner property of Liberty Street and East Main Street is an established bed and breakfast

Bed and breakfast

A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...

.

The district is located within the larger, National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

-listed Clinton Village Historic District

Clinton Village Historic District (Clinton, Connecticut)

The Clinton Village Historic District in Clinton, Connecticut is a historic district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. It is roughly linear and extends along East Main Street from the Indian River in the west to Old Post Road in the east...

.

History

A vestige of 17th-century common land, Liberty Green is a park-like triangle between Liberty Street and East Main Street, encompassing the village green. The common town land was part of a larger open space for militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

 war drills, and was also the site of one of Clinton's earliest schoolhouses. The Liberty Green Historic District was chosen as the site for the town's Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 monument (a granite soldier atop a tall pedestal), and a small cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 from the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

.

Beginning in 1846, a group of citizens banded together to plant shade trees and Liberty Green came to assume its present park-like appearance and function. In addition to providing a peaceful public open space, it served a symbolic function, recalling the town's patriotic past and providing the site for memorials to the town's soldiers.
On 5 December 1976, a school group buried a time capsule

Time capsule

A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...

 called the Legacy I on Liberty Green. The schoolchildren indicated that the capsule should be opened on 4 July 2976.

In 2009, the Clinton Town Tree Warden ordered a public tree removal in order to clear half-dozen overgrown trees and prune many large and dangerous branches from the Liberty Green trees. The tree removal provides additional open space and sunlight.

In 2010, the Liberty Green retail complex, located across the street from the historic district, was set to be completed with the construction of a two-story building affording 5500 square feet (511 m²) of retail space and three second-story apartments. This building joins a hardware store, Japanese restaurant

Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...

, and community health center in the same complex.

Today Liberty Green continues to serve as an important public gathering space for Clinton's townspeople. It is a location for small church festivals and other events, as well as the ceremonial destination of the annual Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...

Parade.