Cafe

In 1807, on a busy street in what was then the southern part of Killingworth, Edward Wright, Sr. built the house that is now home to the M Sarba Fine Art Café in Clinton. Wright was a farmer who had served in the Connecticut Militia during the War of 1812 and lived here with his wife and three sons. Ownership of the house eventually passed to his first son. (In the basement, there is a hand-made door that bears Edward Jr.'s penciled signature, dated 1871.)

Perhaps taking a cue from his father’s military service, his middle son, Horatio G, Wright, attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1841 and achieved the rank of General during the Civil War. He eventually assumed command of the Union Sixth Corps. General Wright played a pivotal role in several decisive campaigns, and was wounded twice during the course of the war. His wife, Virginia-born Louisa Bradford, was a close friend of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

During a portion of the next century, the house was owned by members of the Kelsey family, whose ancestors had been instrumental in founding the town of Clinton. (In fact, there are painted, signed messages from some family children on the basement door and walls of the attic dating back to the 1930’s.) The house later passed into the hands of a Mr. J.R. deCelis an artist from Spain who sold art supplies and operated a framing studio on site.

The oldest portion of the house extends from the façade to what is now the serving area. It consists of three large rooms downstairs, four upstairs, and boasts four original working fireplaces. In later years, the house was expanded to include what is now the serving area and the rear upper floor.

In 2000, Marek and Barbara Sarba purchased the house. Armed with their vision of creating a comfortable café where their patrons would be surrounded by lovely works of original art, they began the process of completely restoring the almost two-centuries old house. Finally, in June 2002, the award-winning M. Sarba Fine Art Café opened its doors to the public.