USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield > The history of the town of Litchfield, Connecticut, 1720-1920 > Part 31
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quarts were shipped daily from these three stations. In 1886 the man- agement of this farm was placed in the hands of The Echo Farm Company. It was later abandoned and in 1910 was bought by H. S. Chase, of Waterbury, and now furnishes the Chase Rolling Mills in that town with milk for their operatives. Other large farms have in the past twenty years made a specialty of choice fruit and vegetables or thoroughbred cattle. The sight of Dr. Buel's Red Devon bull going to the Danbury fair is one not easily forgotten; and it is not long since North Street was familiar with the sight of four little girls, each mounted on a Welsh pony of the Fernwood breed, followed by a groom and the smallest of possible colts.
Despite the advent of the automobile, there have always been in Litchfield lovers of horses; but in the eighties and nineties horses were a ruling passion. Trotting races with sleighs on North Street were popular in the winter, and in the heyday of the summer season there was a fashionable driving hour from four until seven in the afternoon. Favorite drives in the eighties were to the towers on Mohawk and Ivy Mountains, from which there were beautiful views. Here cabins had been built with historical relics to attract the curious, and refreshments were on sale for hungry youth. The Enquirer gives us a list of the stables kept in 1891; from which we quote:
J. Deming Perkins
"The Lindens"-Mrs. Perkins' health does not permit her often to avail of the facilities which the stables at this place possess, but her daughter Miss Edith, thoroughly enjoys driving her pair of brown cobs, "Derby" and "Ascot", which she handles with perfect skill, before her Brewster cart. We noticed a brown roadster "Barney", in one of the commodious stalls. Livery, dark blue, drab and silver. The stables at this place are most conveniently arranged, being finished in Georgia pine and black walnut. Peter Matthews has charge of the establishment. A straw mat made by the dexterous fingers of Peter, with a border representing the national colors stretches across the stable immediately in the rear of the iron lat- ticed stalls, the turned locust posts being finished with "pelicans" in Old Country style.
Sydney Dillon
President Union Pacific Road, "Vaill Cottage"-Mr. Dillon of late years has become so attached to Litchfield that he gives a large portion of his summer to it. He is fond of a good horse, and we notice likes to drive a different pair each day. Sometimes it is his large team of dapple grays, with their fine knee action; again he will be seen with his coal black pair, with their splendid flowing tails, the animals alike as two peas, and not infrequently with his light stepping cross match, a black and bay. Livery, dark blue and silver.
J. Mason Hoppin
New Haven-We can scarcely remember ever having seen Mason Hop- pin on foot except on the occasion when he covered himself with glory in the baseball match between the married and single men. Not only morning
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and afternoon, but also in the evening he is on the drive with some one of his three horses. He is seen on the road rigged either single, double or tandem, but he is in best form when driving his dapple grays, "Dick" and "Tim", to his Brewster buggy. Peter Scanlan attends to details here.
J. Warren Goddard
New York, "Fernwood"-This stable, the building itself of granite and a model of convenience, contains a large number and variety of fine car- riages and horses, perhaps the most stylish turnout among them being Mr. Goddard's dog cart, hung very high, to which he drives his tandem team, "Paris" with "Vim" in the lead, and trained to work there, with which he easily rattles off eight miles an hour over the hills. Mourning livery.
Henry W. Buel, M. D.
Spring Hill-The doctor for many years has raised his own driving horses, which he has rare facilities for doing on the extensive acres which comprise his estate. Individually he works his favorite yellow bay. His daughters, however, drive to a neat phaeton some one or other of the numerous fine animals in the stables. Frederick Trall has for many years had control of the stables.
Mrs. John H. Hubbard
This lady, the widow of our late Congressman, can be seen of a pleasant afternoon on our thoroughfares driving a quiet bay. Her son, John T., the lawyer, indulges his taste for horseflesh in the line of the Morgan breed, of which he possesses several fine specimens of growing stock.
Archibald B. Duffie
New York-Mr. Duffie, who is exceedingly fond of horseflesh, has quartered at Pratt's stable, in charge of Jim Malloy, four magnificent ani- mals-a pair of dark bays, a blooded Kentuckian and a sorrel. His stylish turnouts are almost daily seen on our thoroughfares.
Newcomb C. Barney
New York, "Uplands"-So fine a place as this must needs have a good stable. Mrs. Barney's carriage is not often seen in the village, but Miss Barney's neat cart is a daily ornament on the grounds of the Lawn Club. Livery, blue and silver.
Mrs. Henry B. Coit
Since the removal of her son, Mr. Chas. H. Coit, to Hartford, where he has entered the firm of Geo. P. Bissell & Co., we have missed him upon our roads. His sister, Miss Katie, however, thoroughly enjoys a drive behind her favorite bay.
Mrs. J. William Wheeler
New York, "Belair"-Park phaeton, mahogany bays. Miss Wheeler drives a pony (rumble) phaeton, drawn by a handsome sorrel pony. Mourn- ing livery.
Henry R. Jones
Brooklyn, N. Y., "Sunnymead"-A pair of dark bays with flowing tails to a light summer carriage. Mr. Jones, however, is most frequently seen driving in his favorite natural wood buckboard, to which he works a most serviceable roadster.
FREDERICK DEMING, ESQ.
-
AFTER THE FIRE, JUNE 11, 1886
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Mrs. William H. Maxwell
New York, "Kenmore"-Mrs. Maxwell's stables contain several horses, but her favorite pair is a cross match, a bay and a gray.
Frederick Deming
At this place we found a steady-going family horse, and also a good- grained saddle pony, on which his son takes daily exercise.
Mrs. William Curtis Noyes
New York-Mrs. Noyes is very regular in her drives, seldom omitting an afternoon. Her daughter, Mrs. Vanderpoel, is occasionally seen in a high dog cart. Livery, blue and silver.
The Misses Van Winkle
New York-Very stylish Victoria, yellow bay cobs. Livery, blue and silver.
The above list by no means comprises all the pleasure equipments of the village, for we should have mentioned Mrs. Chas. Burrell's splendid bay, which, when before her stylish phaeton, equals any of the above named; then there is Miss Clarissa Pratt, with her black pony "Bucephalus" and Brewster buggy; Miss Clara Kenney, with her white pony and phaeton, and Mr. Jesse L. Judd, now one of our retired business men, with his large bay horse and carriage, and Mr. Chas. B. Bishop and Warden Marsh, each of whom may be seen on our driveways almost any day.
The livery business of the town is mostly done by Pratt's stables, which work seventy-three horses in the livery department, aside from the extensive sale stables attached, and Barber Bros., whose stables, though not so extensive, yield to none in quality of stock.
There were at one time three hotels in the borough and numer- ous boarding houses, which were well filled. Coaching parties frequently drove through, and the town must have worn an air of holiday-making, both gay and charming.
It is pleasant to think of the Victorian ladies of the sixties and seventies who played croquet or practiced archery in East Park, or in the eighties watched the four young gallants, who inspired by Mason Hoppin, endeavored to graft polo on the American stock. Canoeing also came in at this period; lawn tennis was played on private courts and a club was projected, which later developed into the Lawn Club on West Street, for many years the scene of tennis tournaments for the Connecticut state championship.
It is interesting to note the changing fashion in amusements and outdoor sports. The first velocipede came in 1869, but the bicycle fever did not reach its height until the nineties. In 1893, E. G. Trowbridge, of Torrington, is said to have ridden three hun- dred miles by bicycle in two days. In 1896, there were two hun- dred bicycles owned in Litchfield and in the following year a bicycle club was formed. Baseball of course was always popular among all the elements of the community, though it could not have been a fine art in the latter sixties, as in 1866, we find recorded a game in which the score was 77 to 16. In 1870, there existed a Tar and Gamboge Baseball Club of which four members were colored and there were at various times numerous teams in the town together
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with many unorganized aspirants, so that we find in the papers many complaints of ball playing on the green.
The winter also was not without its amusements. In the seven- ties, they were less sophisticated than those of a later period. Spelling matches were much in vogue among the older people as well as the young ones and there were even competitions between towns. It is particularly interesting to discover that in 1883, roller skating was the popular amusement. Armory Hall was used as a rink and fancy skaters came to perform there. In 1886, a Toboggan Club was established by some of the young people of the town and a slide was built on Prospect Hill. The young people of outlying towns as far away as Woodbury shared in this sport. On one occasion, a fete was held at the slide with rockets, bombs, torches and Chinese lanterns, and supper was afterwards served at Armory Hall. Sleighing and ice skating were always popular when the season served and at various times hockey teams were organized which practiced on the Mill Pond and occasionally played matches with other organizations from neighboring towns. Skiing and snow-shoeing have also had their devotees and have sometimes been necessary by virtue of the severe weather. One of the most remarkable trips on snow shoes taken by a Litchfield man was that of Alex Baldwin in the blizzard of February, 1902. He came by train from Hartford to Terryville, on snow shoes from Terryville to Thom- aston, by train to East Litchfield and on snow-shoes home.
Fishing and hunting are always open in season to the country- dweller. Football has held intermittent sway but has never claimed great popularity in Litchfield. In the early nineties, a hare and hound club was organized and herein was heralded the coming of the new woman, for "the young ladies adopted a dress which made it possible for them to cross streams and climb fences". The runs of the club were sometimes as much as eight miles. In the latter nineties, golf came in and has continued with varying popu- larity, to the present day. "Paper Chases" on horse-back were also popular for a brief period, in the last decade. There has always been much sociability and many clubs of various sorts have sprung into existence. Among these the Sanctum on South Street holds a distinctive place. In the nineties there was an extremely active and clever Dramatic Club, and an excellent minstrel troupe. Other dramatic entertainments have centered in the Grange, in societies of the various Churches and in sporadic benefit performances for some general interest of the moment. It is a study in modes and manners to look over the programs. In these days of "Jazz", we may sigh for the halcyon days of Pinafore; but "Curfew shall not ring tonight" is a world well lost. There were also at one time a drum corps and a band, and much interchange of hospitality with similar organizations in other towns. The singing club concerts conducted by Mr. Arthur Woodruff of Washington, in which Wash- ington and Litchfield have united in giving concerts, have been
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unique and popular entertainments for fifteen years. Dancing we have always had with us. It has passed through many phases from the waltz mania of the seventies, through the "Germans" of the eighties, the two-steps of the nineties, the fox-trots of the twentiethi century. Nor has the town been wholly dependent upon its own resources for entertainment. Traveling circuses have set up their tents on the ball ground, and traveling troupes and shows have been until recently frequent visitors at Phelps' Opera House or Armory Hall. Now the ubiquitous "movie" has replaced them, both in Litchfield and Bantam.
Bantam brings us at once to the new element in Litchfield's development. It is the growth of the manufacturing industry there that has added so much in recent years to the foreign population of the township, though the Irish were, of course, the first of the "nineteenth century immigrants" to come to Litchfield in any large numbers. The building of St. Anthony's Church in 1867 shows that they were by that time a well established part of the community. From that time on, in their growing prosperity in trade, in the fairs for the church, their minstrel shows and St. Patrick's Day dances, they have made their definite contribution to the community life. In 1898, a minstrel joke was current in the town. "Where was Litchfield a hundred years ago? In Ireland, the greater part of it". In 1879 a gang of Italian laborers was employed on the Goddard farm, and about ten years later others came to work on the new water system. Whether or not any of these men remained as permanent residents, this was the beginning of further changes in the population of the town. There are now many Italians in Litchfield, contractors, laborers and operatives; and of late a num- ber of Slavs have come to work in the factories at Bantam and in some cases on farms. There have been for many years several families of German and Scandinavian origin; the first Chinaman appeared in 1877; and there are now several Greeks. So much for the typical New England community of the twentieth century.
Dr. Bostwick has spoken of the growth of community feeling and public spirit in the last half century. It is interesting to trace it in its various manifestations.
It is natural that one of the first community enterprises after the Civil War should have been the plan to erect a suitable memorial to the dead. This monument, referred to in Chapter 21, was erected on the green in 1874. In 1894 a soldiers' monument was also erected in the West Cemetery, and later a granite "marker" was set up on Chestnut Hill to mark the site of Camp Dutton, where the men encamped before leaving for the scene of war. For many years the Seth F. Plumb Post of the Grand Army held festivals on the anni- versary of Lee's surrender and suitable ceremonies on Memorial Day. As their numbers decreased the reunions on "Appomatox Day" were abandoned; and while they continued to keep Memorial Day, it was perhaps natural, that to the general public it should become merely
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another holiday, so that in the same year in which the monument was erected in West Cemetery an entertainment was given on this day at which a farce was presented. About twenty years later a different feeling arose, and a Memorial Day Association was formed to plan suitable ceremonies for the day, which has recently regained its old significance.
One of the earliest enterprises after the war was the Shepaug Valley Railroad. The charter was applied for in 1866, and the Town in 1868 subscribed for a block of the stock. In 1872 trains were running, but were discontinued for repairs in March. The time- table at this period scheduled trains to leave Litchfield at 8:30 and arrive at Hawleyville at 11:30, at which point they connected with the Housatonic Railroad. The length of the journey, how- ever, does not seem to have disturbed the patrons of the new road, for in 1879 excursions to Coney Island by boat from Bridge- port were popular. In these days of motors the glory of the rail- roads has faded, but in 1894 the "parlor car" run for the summer passenger service, is glowingly described in the Enquirer. Its woodwork was of quartered oak, its upholstery a "beautiful light blue". Litchfield never knew the intermediate stage of rapid transit between the steam railroad and the automobile. Agitation for a trolley connection from Torrington or the towns further south to Bantam Lake occurred frequently; but the project was always defeated. With the coming of the cheap automobile we are made safe from such an invasion.
The telegraph came to Litchfield permanently in the seventies, the telephone in the eighties. The part the latter has played in knitting the community together is a large one. Not only has it made easy the neighborly visits by telephone which are possible in a rural community where wires are not perpetually busy; but it has made us increasingly conscious of ourselves as units in a group.
Of other public improvements, Dr. Bostwick has also spoken; the increased tidiness of the village, the labors of the Village Improvement Society for good walks, drainage and lighting. All these things were in good time attained through the efforts of public spirited people.
Schools have always held an important place in Litchfield life. A number of successful private institutions have existed here, but in a community of this size and character the chief interest must and should centre in the public schools. The improvement of the school system was much discussed in the eighties, and the need of a new school building in the Village. Then came the disastrous fires of 1886 and 1888. The first, beginning in the wooden build- ings on South and West Streets swept westward and was stopped at a brick building thirty feet west of the Court House. With no organized Fire Department, and no water supply but the neighbor- ing wells, the people energetically fought the fire, protecting them- selves from the heat by wet umbrellas. The loss, only partially
MR. JOHN ARENT VANDERPOEL
THE WOLCOTT AND LITCHFIELD CIRCULATING LIBRARY. 1900, AND THE SIGN-POST ELM
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covered by insurance, was about $60,000; and (what more nearly touched the local pride) the temporary removal of the Courts. The school-house was also destroyed, so the question of a new building was settled, and the present site on East Street bought, and shortly after built upon. Temporary barracks were erected for the merchants, rebuilding was begun at once, a brick block erected and the motto was "business as usual". The new buildings had been completed only a few months when the second fire swept over the business area spared two years earlier and also destroyed the newly erected Court House.
In the following year the installation of the water system was begun, a Fire Company was organized, and in 1891 the company was assembled to test the new mains. Then Mr. Deming Perkins came as usual to the fore and presented to the Borough the use of a beautifully equipped building, to serve not only as a shelter for the apparatus but as a club for the men. A pool room, reading room and even a hospital were provided, and the Fire Department has been ever since not only a protection to the town but a source of enjoyment to its members and to the community at large. For a number of years a weather bureau signal station was also main- tained at this building and the weather flags were familiar to the people of the town. Pool matches, bowling contests, parades and entertainments have originated there, and it is even claimed that the exchange of hospitality with New Milford's Hose Company did much to alleviate the slight tension caused by rival claims of the towns concerned to the honor of being the County Seat. A few years ago the efficiency of the Department was further increased by the gift of a motor chemical engine, presented by Mrs. Godfrey and Miss Coe.
In 1862 a reading room had been established in the town with a membership fee of $5.00 a year. This was called the Litchfield Library Association, but when Mr. J. Huntington Wolcott, of Boston, father of Governor Roger Wolcott, generously contributed $300. for the purchase of books, the name was changed to the Wolcott Library Association. The Wolcott family's interest in the library was mani- fested also by other generous gifts at various times. In 1870 a circulating library was started independently, with a handful of books. In 1881, through the courtesy of Mr. George C. Woodruff, the two libraries were sheltered under a common roof in two rooms of "the brick building" on South Street. Ten years later the pres- ent commodious library building was planned and presented to these associations by Mr. John A. Vanderpoel, as a memorial to his grandmother, Mrs. William Curtis Noyes. He did not live to see it finished. In 1903, the two libraries were merged under the name of The Wolcott and Litchfield Circulating Library Associa- tion. Since that time Miss Katharine Baldwin has been Librarian, and it is largely due to her judgment and faithful work that the library ranks as a model of what the public library of a small
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village should be. There have been many generous gifts to the association, notably the Maghee Memorial of $10,000. presented by Mr. William Colgate, and the Repair Fund of $3,500, raised by Mr. Abbott Foster, who devoted much of his energy to the improvement of the library. In 1907 a wing was added to the library build- ing by Mrs. Vanderpoel to complete the plan projected by her son. In the wing are housed the collections of the Litchfield Historical and Scientific Societies. Other societies which have contributed to the broadening of community interest are the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Men's and Women's Forums, the Garden Club and the Needle and Bobbin Club. The Mary Floyd Tallmadge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized about twenty years ago and has been active in collecting records, preserving relics of our revolutionary and colonial history, holding exhibits and aiding and abetting other organizations in undertakings to further the public good. The two Forums, founded respectively in 1910 and 1914, have served to stimu- late the exchange of opinion and crystalize their common thought. The Garden Club, which is only a few years old, besides encourag- ing an interest in gardening, has shared in various measures for beautifying the town, and has recently become the manager of the old club on West Street, which it is to control as a Playhouse for the benefit of the community. The Needle and Bobbin Club, which is younger still, is collecting examples of the arts of the needle and bobbin, and offering prizes in the schools for skill in these arts.
Other organizations of a slightly different character contribut- ing to the common good, are the Litchfield County Farm Bureau, and the District Nursing Association. The Farm Bureau was estab- lished in 1914. Its objects as stated in its constitution are: "to promote the development of the most profitable and permanent system of agriculture; the most wholesome and satisfactory living conditions; the highest ideals in home and community life; and a genuine interest in the farm business and rural life on the part of the boys and girls and young people". The Nursing Association was founded a few years earlier largely through the efforts of Miss Harriet M. Richards. In 1914 it affiliated with the Public Health Ser- vice of the Red Cross. It has done much excellent work in dissemin- ating information, providing relief and instituting medical inspection in the schools; and it supports a nurse who does public health nurs- ing throughout the township at a very moderate fee. When Mrs. Philip Hubbard and Miss Adelaide Deming organized the Domestic Science classes in the school, the Nursing Association cooperated with them to make possible the hot school luncheon for the children. When the influenza epidemic struck Litchfield in the autumn of 1918, Miss Richards, ably seconded by her colleagues in the asso- ciation, secured permission to use the new Country Club as a hospital, borrowed beds and bedding, secured extra nurses, and con- centrated there the patients, who otherwise would have been scat-
.
REAR-ADMIRAL GEORGE P. COLVOCORESSES. (Retired)
COLVOCORESSES DAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1899
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tered about the township, inadequately cared for, because of the sheer physical difficulties of the situation. On this occasion Miss Miriam Hubbard did yeoman service by supplementing the inadequate kit- chen of the club, cooking food daily at home and sending it to the hospital, while many other people contributed their services in numerous ways. In the days before America's entry into the war and the direction of all energies to war service, the association also stood sponsor for a "Community Centre", at which numerous classes were conducted by a number of volunteer workers. This activity ceased when war was declared.
Through the good will of some of her residents, Litchfield has also been a centre for welfare enterprises of a general nature. In 1900, Miss Mary Buel left her property on the Goshen road to the organiza- tion now known as the Connecticut Junior Republic. Originally a branch of the institution at Freeville, N. Y., the Connecticut Republic has thriven and prospered through the interest and generosity of its friends. The object of the Republic is to train boys for citizen- ship through the practise of self-government under wise super- vision. Litchfield people have always been interested in the Repub- lic and there is a Litchfield Aid which contributes to its support. The students of the summer camp of the Columbia School of Mines at Bantam Lake have for a number of years given entertainments at Litchfield for its benefit; and there have been notable private con- tributions. Among these are the excellent and attractive build- ings erected in 1916-1917, for which Mr. Cass Gilbert contributed the plans, and the expenses of building were met by Mr. William Colgate and Mr. Roswell P. Angier of New Haven.
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