Isaiah Tuttle House

Major Isaiah Tuttle was an important early settler of the northeast corner of Torrington. This home, built in 1803, operated as a tavern for many years and may have served as an Underground Railroad station. Isaiah Tuttle’s eldest son Uriel, was for many years president of the Litchfield County Anti-Slavery Society, and at the time of his death, president of the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society. Although the history is not as well documented as that of Uriel’s home at 3925 Torringford Street, this association lends to the likelihood that the Isaiah Tuttle house was also involved in the Underground Railroad.

Uriel Tuttle (1779-1849) built this house in 1802 and it has been widely regarded as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Tuttle was the president of the Litchfield County Anti-Slavery Society and the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society. An excerpt from a letter written upon the death of Tuttle attests to his dedication to the abolitionist cause:

“His efforts and undying zeal in the cause of emancipation are too well known to the public in this state to need a delineation… His house was literally a place of refuge for the panting fugitive, and his purse and team were often employed to help him forward to a place of safety.”