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.