Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/category/history/)
Looking for something to do now that school is out for the summer? Why not come to the Salmon Brook Historical Society on a Sunday afternoon and learn about the history of the town we live in? Tour the society’s five buildings to see how Granby has evolved to what it is today.
Salmon Brook Historical Society is exhibiting eight historic wedding gowns during the 2024 summer season. The gowns and accessories on display have a connection to Granby families and span the years 1866 through 1954. The exhibit will open for Sunday tours from 2 to 4 p.m. on June 2 through Sept. 29.
In the last issue of the Drummer, I wrote about Granby’s Civil War hero, Colonel Richard E. Holcomb, who died in battle at Port Hudson, Louisiana. When Holcomb’s body was returned to Granby for burial, many of his things were sent back in his trunk, such as his canteen, his uniform, with all the shoulder boards of his rank as Lieutenant, then Major, and finally Colonel.
On a walk through the Granby Cemetery in Section A, you may notice a monument that’s nearly 15 feet tall. This monument belongs to Richard E. Holcomb, a Granby Civil War hero killed at Port Hudson, La. on June 14, 1863.
As the curator of Salmon Brook Historical Society, Martha Miller is responsible for collecting, exhibiting, maintaining and protecting objects of historic importance to Granby.
In the 1966, two sisters and Salmon Brook Historical Society members, Mildred Colton Allison and Carolyn Colton Avery donated the Abijah Rowe House to the society.
James Lee Loomis and William Mills Maltbie were not only giants of Hartford’s business community—Loomis was president of Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company and William Maltbie was the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court—but they also led various organizations in Granby.
Leading up to the first Granby Racial Unity Festival on June 29, 2024, Granby Racial Reconciliation (GRR) will profile interracial relationships that are great models of racial unity and race amity in the Granby Drummer and on our website.
In the July/August Drummer edition, I wrote about how Granby was full of volunteers, mentioning many organizations such as the Granby Club, Bridge Club, and the Boy and Girl Scout chapters. One organization I overlooked was the Freemasons of Granby, a very early civic organization and the oldest fraternal organization in the world.
n To Granby, with Love, author Faith Tyldsley takes readers on a poignant journey through the history-rich writings of Carol Laun. This editorial tribute is dedicated to the memory of Laun, an extraordinary woman who was viewed by many as “Granby’s history personified.”