he Amselhaus was built in 1830 as a three story addition to an existing 1780
colonial located on the original Main Street of Cornwall Bridge, CT. It was
originally built as "Mrs. Wadhams Boarding House". During that time, it was a
local stagecoach stop for travelers coming from New York City, Hartford and
Albany. It offered a retreat for fisherman as well.
The original train station was located across the street after the addition of
railroad tracks along the river in 1860. The Amselhaus was a stop along the
train route when it was a passenger train. A portion of the main part of the
original house was a physician's office for Dr. Heady while the boarding house
was functioning. In 1890, Mr. William and Mr. Ralph Breen, two brothers,
purchased the property and Dr. Heady's office became the local general store in
town. The boarding house was still open and used for travelers. Residents
comprised mostly fisherman and businessmen from New York that wanted a quiet
weekend in the country.
In 1911, the Breen brothers built another building across the street next to the
railroad station and moved their store to that location. The original house
became their private residence. The new store building has now been moved up to
Route 7 and currently houses the "Cornwall Package Store".

In 1920, the original railroad station burned down and was rebuilt down the
street where it still stands today. Many of the original buildings of the old Main Street are
no longer standing. There was a vinegar factory, a three story hotel, an
additional boarding house owned by the O'Dell family, as well as a creamery,
which used the railroad for its deliveries.
In 1932, Route 7 was built and the main part of Cornwall Bridge moved to the
Route 7 location. The Breen brothers closed the boarding house shortly after a
larger general store was built in the new part of town. That building still
stands today and is still a General Store. Most of the Main Street
buildings faded as Route 7 became the new town center.
In 1948, the Amselhaus was sold and the new owners removed the second and third
floors of the boarding house addition. They used oxen and logs to drag it in one
section onto a new foundation next door and turned it into a private residence.
The first floor stayed and became a garage on the original colonial. It remained
a private residence until the late 1980's when a divider was built and the house
became two apartments. It then became an antique shop and a real estate office.
In the early 1990's, the house became a two-unit tenant property.
In 2005, our renovation began with a focus on returning it to a destination for
travelers, as it was originally intended. It is now a fully-furnished vacation
property.