USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > West Hartford > West Hartford, Connecticut > Part 6
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But the Hartford Street Railway Company made such strong opposition to the entrance to Hartford of the Unionville trolley line by that route that Mr. Rockwell had to abandon that part of his plan. Furthermore, he lacked sufficient capital for making further developments, although he did succeed in open- ing three streets adjacent to the boulevard, naming them for his three daughters Jessamine, Vera, and Doris. Mr. Rockwell un- doubtedly had a vision of a larger development at a later period which would have included marked public improvements in that section of the town south of the boulevard. He lacked not only the requisite capital but the encouragement and cooperation of his fellow citizens, who did not have a real conception of his idea. In his estimation the development of the community with chief concern for its beauty and attractiveness as a residential suburb of Hartford was of vastly greater importance than the profits which might be acquired from sales of real estate.
Public Conveyance From West Hartford to Hartford. There was really no need of any public conveyance from West Hartford to Hartford during the early history of the community. The people had no occasion to go to Hartford oftener than once a week, and most of them kept horses, and so had conveyances of their own. The few people who did not keep horses could readily obtain opportunities to ride with neighbors or friends. Doubtless people who lived in the northern part of the town were accommo- dated to some extent by the stage coaches which passed through on the Talcott Mountain Turnpike after it was opened about the year 1800, and which stopped en route at the local taverns.
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Possibly after the Farmington Turnpike was opened, and a stage coach route established between Farmington and Hart- ford, through West Hartford Center, some West Hartford people may have been accommodated in going to Hartford by that means. But in those days it was not considered a difficult undertaking for people to walk from one town to another, and a walk to Hart- ford and back again may not have been an unusual experience for some of the people. Within the memory of the writer, some of the young people of West Hartford were accustomed to walk to Hartford and back daily, for employment in the stores or shops, or attendance at the Hartford High School.
About the year 1850 Mr. Frederick Brace, a teamster, who lived on the Farmington Turnpike at the point which is now the corner of Dale Street, conceived the idea of establishing an omni- bus route between West Hartford and Hartford. He procured a very plain looking vehicle resembling in shape an ice wagon but with windows on both sides, a driver's seat in front under an extension of the roof of the vehicle, and a door for entrance in the rear approached by pendent steps. Mr. Brace left West Hartford Center at 9 o'clock in the morning of each week day, making only one daily trip to the city, and on his return reached West Hartford Center at four o'clock in the afternoon. While in the city he made a trip each day from Main Street to Lord's Hill at noon, conveying some of the prominent professional and business men of the city from their offices or places of business to their homes waiting for them to partake of their dinners, then conveying them back again to the central part of the city.
This business was continued by Mr. Brace until his death, when his son, Walter L. Brace, conducted the route for a short time until the business was sold to another party. Among those citizens of West Hartford who in later years became proprietors of the omnibus line were Myron W. Luddington, B. Franklin Bissell, William H. Seymour, Edward L. Mix, and George H. Millard in partnership with C. W. Symonds.
Very soon after Walter Brace transferred the business to another party the plan was introduced of making two trips each day, the omnibus leaving West Hartford Center at 9 o'clock A. M., reaching the Center on return about half past eleven o'clock, leaving again for Hartford at one o'clock, and reaching West Hartford Center on return at 4 o'clock.
Mr. Seymour, who lived on New Britain Avenue about half way between the south end of West Hartford Main Street and the south end of East Street now South Quaker Lane, produced quite a sensation when he purchased in New York one of those omnibuses with ornamental body and the driver's seat high up on the top. He was able to make the long trip from his home to West Hartford Center and to the city and back again twice a day because he was also at that time engaged in the business of
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buying and selling horses and could therefore make frequent change of horses for the trips. The driver during Mr. Seymour's proprietorship of the line was Joseph Lowry, who was quite popular with the patrons of the route.
At a later period an omnibus of a still different type was introduced. The accompanying picture of that more modern omnibus is from a photograph taken on an occasion when it had been secured by the West Hartford Glee Club for a serenading trip to various homes in different parts of the town.
WEST HARTFORD AND HARTFORD GLEE CLUB GOING OUT FOR SERENADE
The omnibus line was continued in operation until 1889. During the latter part of the time the driver made two trips each day, bringing the mail from Hartford to West Hartford in the morning and also in the afternoon.
Some of the public spirited citizens of West Hartford be- came greatly interested in a proposition for the extension of the horse car line which was in operation on Farmington Avenue in 1889 as far west as Prospect Avenue, where there was a terminus and a turntable. They interviewed the proprietors of that line with respect to the matter of such an extension and as a result of their efforts an agreement was made on February 13, 1889, by which the Hartford and Wethersfield Horse Railway Company agreed to extend the line to West Hartford Center, and equip and operate it on or before November first of that year, if the Town would grant them the right of way for the line and its turnouts, and the citizens of the town would furnish, free of cost to the company, field and cobble stone sufficient in quantity
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and quality for the proper construction of the roadbed, and also pay to the company the sum of one thousand dollars. This agreement was signed in behalf of the Railway Company by its President, E. S. Goodrich, and in behalf of the West Hartford citizens by Adolph C. Sternberg, Francis G. Butler, J. G. Lane, and E. T. Stanley. The line was ready for use and operation on September 29, 1889. The event was publicly celebrated a week later in an enthusiastic manner by an assembly of citizens and friends at the Center, a parade with a band of music, and con- gratulatory speeches by prominent citizens of West Hartford and Hartford.
FIRST HORSE CAR TO WEST HARTFORD
The cars made hourly trips between Hartford and West Hartford at first. In the colder weather the horses were detached from the car at the West Hartford end of the line and driven under the horse sheds in the rear of St. James Church for pro- tection until the time arrived for the return trip. More frequent trips were made at a later date, and the cars returned to Hartford very soon after their arrival at the West Hartford end of the line. The fare each way at first was ten cents.
In 1894 the electric or trolley car service was introduced. The number of daily trips was increased, the service extended into the later hours of the night, and the trolley line from Union- ville through West Hartford to Hartford was opened that year.
A Railroad Proposed Through West Hartford. About sixty years ago, when the project for building a railroad to extend
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from Hartford westward through the northern part of Litchfield County to New York State was under consideration, some of the friends of the enterprise, including prominent citizens of Farmington, were very desirous that the town of West Hartford and its citizens should subscribe for shares of stock in the Com- pany. Two routes were under consideration. One of these was to pass through the central part of West Hartford to Farmington and on westward. The other was to pass through Bloomfield, Simsbury, and thence westward. The final decision as to the choice between these routes was to be determined largely by the interest manifested by the citizens of the different towns in sub- scribing for shares of stock.
In response to the solicitations and efforts of those in favor of the route through Farmington, several public meetings were held in West Hartford, and enthusiastic appeals were made to the citizens to cooperate in the effort to secure the adoption of that route. Some of the prominent citizens became very much interested in the matter, and were active in their efforts. Circu- lars were printed and widely distributed which pointed out the great advantages of having a railroad pass through the town, with a station located on its main street. Some of these circulars were illustrated with fine pictures of large business blocks and manufacturing establishments with tall smokestacks, such as might be expected as a result of the development of the town with such railroad facilities. Two different routes were proposed. One of these was to cross North Main Street just north of the present residence of Edward Hatheway and extend to Mountain Road, crossing it just north of the present residence of Roger Blakeslee and continuing through the gap in the mountain range where Farmington Avenue passes through to Farmington. The other route was located farther south, crossing South Main Street at about the point where the Boulevard is now, and extend- ing in a westerly direction to Mountain Road and on to Farm- ington through the same gap in the mountain.
When later the projectors of the road found that they could obtain more financial support by adopting the route through Bloomfield and Simsbury, the southern route was abandoned and the hopes of those people in West Hartford and Farmington who had labored for its adoption were dispelled and West Hart- ford was left to become, in larger measure than before, a residen- tial community rather than a manufacturing town.
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OLD HOMESTEADS
DEACON HEZEKIAH SELDEN HOUSE
The old Selden house was for many years the home of Dea- con Hezekiah Selden, a highly esteemed and loyal citizen of West Hartford, and the birthplace of a large family of children. Selden Hill, designated in some of the old records as Great Hill, is one of the highest elevations of occupied land in West Hartford, and commands a very fine expansive view of the land stretching away eastward, northward, and southward. It is called Selden Hill for the reason that families of that name have had large pos- sessions of land and their homes there for several generations. Joseph Selden, the first of that name to locate in this locality, came from the old Selden homestead in East Haddam about 1793. His first home was east of the hill in the vicinity of the present West Schoolhouse, but a little later the family removed to the top of the hill. At one time the Seldens owned not only all the land which is embraced in the present large farm of Henry H. Selden, but also that tract between the old road and Farm- ington Avenue which in these later years has been known as Buena Vista. In the earlier years it was counted as a wooded hill pasture.
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MARK GRIDLEY HOUSE
The old Gridley home on Selden Hill was owned and oc- cupied by members of the Gridley family for at least three generations. The house with the farm of one hundred acres on which it was located was purchased in 1864 by Lorenzo Good- man Flagg, who maintained in connection with the farm a milk route in Hartford. The house represented here was burned in 1879, but a new home was speedily erected on the same site through the co-operation and assistance of many friends.
Mr. Flagg died in 1874, leaving the care of the farm and the bringing up of four young boys to his widow, Mrs. Augusta Selden Flagg. This was indeed a formidable undertaking, but Mrs. Flagg in a spirit of remarkable courage and devotion was equal to the task and was greatly admired by all who knew her for the spirit and accomplishments which characterized her life.
The picture which appears here was taken on the occasion of a family party. The persons represented are as follows: Back row: sitting, Henry H. Selden, his father Edward Selden; standing, Mrs. Edward Selden; sitting, Mrs. Augusta Selden Flagg; standing, Mrs. Edward M. Selden; sitting, Edward M. Selden, son of Edward Selden. Front row: sitting on the ground, George Edward Flagg, William Lorenzo Flagg, Charles Everitt Flagg; standing, Franklin Selden Flagg, also Stephen Allyn Selden, Julia Selden, children of Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Selden.
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The later lives and accomplishments of these children give evidence of very gratifying results as fruitage of the care and devotion of their beloved mother. George Edward Flagg left the farm in 1886 to become identified with the Williams & Carleton Co. of Hartford and he has travelled for that firm continuously for the past forty-one years. He resides at 41 North Main Street, West Hartford. Franklin Selden Flagg has followed banking, being formerly connected with the old Charter Oak National and for the past eight years has been assistant cashier of the Phoenix State Bank & Trust Co. His family residence is at 34 Keney Terrace, Hartford. William Lorenzo Flagg began his business career as bookkeeper for the Trout Brook Ice and Feed Co., later going to the Meriden Republican in a like capacity. In 1893 he moved to Pittsburgh, Penn., where he successfully engaged in the manufacturing business until his death in 1912. Charles Everett Flagg was graduated from the West Hartford High School in 1891 and followed newspaper and publicity work in Hartford, North Adams, Baltimore, and Spokane. He now resides at Los Gatos, California. Stephen Allyn Selden has been identified with the Savings Bank in Norfolk, Conn., for nearly his entire business life and is now a resident and prominent citizen of that town. Julia Selden is now the wife of Thomas J. Kelly, and their home is on Selden Hill near the former site of the Gridley House.
THE STANLEY HOUSE
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HISTORY OF WEST HARTFORD
The Stanley house, which stood on the north side of the old road over Selden Hill just west of its junction with Mountain Road, and west of the West School, was one of the oldest houses in West Hartford seventy years ago.
The Selden family first located in this locality before es- tablishing their home on Selden Hill. Possibly this was for a time a Selden homestead. Later it became the property of Truman Stanley, father of Edward Stanley, and was for many years a Stanley homestead.
THE SEDGWICK HOUSE
The Sedgwick House on the northwest corner of South Main Street and Park Road was for many years the home of Timothy Sedgwick, a descendant of Samuel Sedgwick, one of the first settlers of West Hartford. Mr. Sedgwick and his brother William Sedgwick had a blacksmith shop on the north side of the South Middle Road, just west of the bridge.
The Kelsey House, located on the north side of Albany Avenue just east of Mountain Road, was one of the fine old family residences of former generations. It is now unoccupied and is the property of Charles S. Root.
The home for many years of Dr. Edward Brace, located on the south side of Park Road just west of West Hartford Main Street, is the present residence of Dr. Brace's great grandson, Major Clarence C. Scarborough. This is one of the fine old resi-
HISTORY OF WEST HARTFORD
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THE KELSEY HOUSE
HOME OF DR. EDWARD BRACE
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HISTORY OF WEST HARTFORD
dences of the town. It is located on a section of land purchased in 1694 by Samuel Sedgwick, one of the most prominent early settlers of the West Division. In its original form and condition it may have been his home. It later became the property of Benjamin Colton and still later of Mary Colton, who became the wife of Dr. Edward Brace.
THE GRISWOLD HOUSE
The Griswold home, North Main Street, was the residence of Ozias S. Griswold, later of his son Allen S. Griswold and family, and the childhood home of Samuel A. Griswold, Charles S. Gris- wold, Henry O. Griswold, Seth P. Griswold, prominent citizens of the town, and of Mary Jane Griswold (Mrs. J. G. Shepard), donor of the site for Noah Webster Library, later sold for $4,000 to apply on the present library building.
This fine old residence, in connection with a large farm lo- cated on Mountain Road just south of the junction of that road with Flagg Road, was the home of the descendants of Morgan Goodwin for five generations in succession. It is now the property of Seymour N. Robinson of Hartford.
The old Whiting house, located on the west side of North Main Street on the hill south of Albany Avenue, was built on one of the largest sections of land laid out in 1674, and assigned to the Haynes family. It was occupied at first by the Haynes family. Samuel Whiting married one of the daughters of the
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HISTORY OF WEST HARTFORD
THE GOODWIN HOMESTEAD
THE WHITING HOUSE
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family and this became his home and after his death the home of his son and daughter, Austin and Cornelia Whiting. It is now the property and residence of Joseph H. Lawler, a former mayor of Hartford, who owns in connection with it a large portion of the original Haynes lot.
THE PHILIP CORBIN HOMESTEAD
Philip Corbin came from Union to West Hartford in 1833 with a family of seven children and purchased the property on the southwest corner of the south road to Farmington, now New Britain Avenue, and the road to New Britain. Three sons were born in the house in which he lived. The house is still standing. This was the boyhood home of his sons Philip and Frank, the founders of the widely known and prosperous P. and F. Corbin Hardware Company of New Britain. The homestead is still in the possession of the Corbin family.
This ancient home, located at the northeastern corner of New Britain Avenue and South Quaker Lane, was built by Eben- ezer Faxon in 1777 and occupied by him and his family until 1828, when it was sold to Seth Talcott and occupied by him and his family for many years. It is now the property of Frederick W. Talcott of New York, who has taken much pride in preserving it in its original form, and has recently built around it a picket fence of the same pattern as the one which enclosed the premises
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in earlier times. This house is now occupied by two families. Miss Julia L. Faxon, great grand-daughter of Ebenezer Faxon Senior, now lives in the eastern part of the house, quite near to her birthplace.
THE CAPT. EBENEZER FAXON HOUSE
The old Whitman homestead on North Main Street, which stood on the east side of the road and quite near to it, just south of the present residence of Mr. George A. Kellogg, was the child- hood home of Dr. Henry L. Whitman of Des Moines, Iowa, George A. Whitman of Winona, Miss., Eliza Whitman Smith of Hartford, Conn., Charlotte Whitman Flagg of Yonkers, N. Y., Samuel Whitman of West Hartford, Emeline Whitman Morris of West Hartford, John Whitman of West Hartford, Joseph H. Whitman of San Francisco, Calif. The present Whitman homestead, No. 98 North Main Street, is the residence of the Misses May L., Kate E., and Helen H. Whitman. This house was built in 1839 by Samuel Whitman, 2nd, the grandfather of the present owners, the Misses Whitman, and of their brother Henry C. Whitman, retired Town Clerk.
The James Whitman House on North Main Street north of the Trout Brook as it appeared when owned and occupied by James Whitman and his sisters before it was sold to Frederick E. Duffy.
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THE OLD WHITMAN HOMESTEAD
THE PRESENT WHITMAN HOMESTEAD
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HISTORY OF WEST HARTFORD
JOEL STEELE HOMESTEAD
CHILDS GOODMAN HOMESTEAD
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HISTORY OF WEST HARTFORD
BENJAMIN BELDEN HOMESTEAD
Joel Steele house. This was one of the fine old houses of the town. It stood at the west end of Fern Street. In more recent years it was moved back from the street and made over. In its earlier days it was known as the Joel Steele mansion.
Childs Goodman house. The little pond lying west of North Main Street, where ice is now cut was formerly a mill pond. The Goodman house was near by. Here Childs Goodman, the town miller, lived all his long life, and the house was a Goodman home- stead before his day.
Benjamin Belden homestead. The Belden house, now owned by Everett J. Stanley, is on Mountain Road south of Farmington Avenue. Mr. Belden was a prominent citizen at the time when the town was set off from Hartford in 1854 and took an active part in the separation movement.
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CHURCHES
First Church of Christ. In the chapter which tells of the be- ginnings of the corporate existence of West Hartford as an Ecclesi- astical society is an account of the organization in 1713 of the first church in the community, known as the Fourth Church of Christ in Hartford. That church has continued through all the succeeding years, and is now known as the First Church of Christ in West Hartford. The first church building, erected in 1712, was a very plain structure and comparatively small. As the population increased, a larger building was needed for the accom- modation of the people, and the second church was built in 1742 on a site near that of the first church, on land donated for the purpose by Timothy Goodman, who owned a large farm in that locality. In 1742 the people voted to lay a tax of one shilling on a pound for the purpose of building that church, and the next year, 1743, they voted a tax of two shillings six pence on a pound for the same purpose. Again in 1744, they voted a tax of four pence on a pound "to enable the committee to go forward and com- plete the meeting house." This second meeting house was used until 1834.
On the ninth of January, 1834, the Society voted that it was expedient to take measures for the erection of a new house of worship. A committee was appointed to consider what measures should be adopted, and to present plans and estimates of expense. The committee consisted of James Butler, Seth Talcott, Augustus Flagg, Joseph E. Cone, Solomon S. Flagg, Thomas Brace, Albigence Scarborough, Hezekiah Selden, Nathan Seymour, Ralph Wells, Morgan Goodwin, Jr., and Theron Deming. At a meeting held January twenty-seventh, they reported that they had visited and inspected the church build- ings in Avon, Simsbury, Bristol, Southington, Turkey Hills (East Granby), New Britain, Litchfield, and New Milford. It was voted to erect a building sixty-eight feet in length and fifty- six feet in width, and to make the interior like that of the Free (South) Church in Hartford and the exterior front like that of the church in Bristol. There was some delay in further action in regard to the site, and finally some additional land on the north was purchased of Thomas Brace. The building committee chosen were Seth Talcott, Timothy Sedgwick, Samuel Whitman, Solomon S. Flagg, Ralph Wells, Mark Gridley and Joseph E. Cone. The building was dedicated in March, 1835, under the direction of a committee of arrangements consisting of H. G. Webster, Benjamin Belden, Romanta Seymour, Edwin W. Bel- den, Gurdon Flagg, Whiting Colton, and James Whitman. The names of these committeemen will be of interest to many, since
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they recall the families who were prominent and efficient in church and town affairs in the history of West Hartford at that time.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH BUILT IN 1834. NOW KNOWN AS THE TOWN HALL.
This building is still standing on its original site, changed in its outward appearance only by the removal of a part of the steeple or tower.
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At the time when this new building was erected, the society decided to seek for some method of raising funds other than by taxation. They decided to sell the seats or pews in the new church for a sum sufficient to cover the entire expense of erecting it, estimated at six thousand dollars, and to impose an annual tax upon each pew owner at a rate per cent on the price paid for it, sufficient to provide in the aggregate for the support of the min- ister and for other necessary expenses. This plan was carried out. The annual rate of taxation was fixed at ten per cent. The following is a copy of the deed of one of the pews given at that time to Hezekiah Goodwin Webster, one of the prominent citi- zens of the town.
"WHEREAS the Orthodox Congregational Society of West Hartford, in the Town and County of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have erected and completed a new house for public worship, in which individuals of said Society are entitled to hold in severalty and in fee certain interests in the same, ac- cording to the votes of said Society, passed at the Society meet- ings held January 9th, and 27th, and February 10th, 17th, 20th, and 25th, 1834; and whereas the slips in said house have been sold according to the votes passed at the aforesaid meetings, so that the individual purchasers are now entitled to receive a deed of conveyance of their respective interests from the agent of said Society.
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