We, the undersigned, urge the developers Kaali-Nagy Properties, aka The Village Apartment Complex, to save the historic building, aka Elm Cottage, Lillie Devereux Blake/Eilizabeth Johnson Devereux house at 2019 Main Street in Stratford, Connecticut.

The building above is included on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource to the Stratford Center Historic District, which was established in 1983.  It is an American Carpenter Gothic home. It was built in 1856 by Sara Elizabeth Johnson Devereux, and sits on what was part of the William Samuel Johnson Estate. This type of structure is rare, and typically listed in the National Historic Register.

Lillie Devereux Blake was a noted woman suffragist, reformer, and writer.  She is a direct descendant of Samuel Johnson, William Samuel Johnson, Judge Samuel William Johnson, and the Rev. Jonathan Edwards. The Johnson’s as well as the Rev. Jonathan Edwards are founding fathers on Connecticut and especially Stratford.