Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/category/history/page/2/)
Four generations of Avery’s lived at 2 Park Place from 1925 when Bertha Rice Avery bought the house, until it was sold in 2016 for business suites. George W. Avery came to Granby from Chenango Co.
William Hoadley was visiting the John Hillyer family at 2 Park Place in 1820. He kept a journal and signed it “Vatticus.” One entry concerned a quilting party he attended. The rather bizarre ceremony he described sounds almost pagan. I told this tale to a large number of quilters and no one ever heard of this. However, a quilting book with newspaper clippings from the early 1800s tells about similar ceremonies — all involving much kissing and dancing. It seems to be a way to ha […]
If you have driven down Simsbury Road in West Granby lately, you may have noticed a lot of new lumber leaning against an old tobacco shed at the south end of the Holcomb Farm. And more recently the roof has been stripped of its shingles.
By John R. NiebSetting the clocks ahead one hour in spring begins Daylight Saving Time for the year. The change from standard time during the summer months, and back one hour to Standard Time in the fall takes better advantage of natural daylight. Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. When people set their clocks ahead one hour, they lose an hour of sleep, but gain an hour of sleep when they set their clocks back o […]
The center hall house at 8 East Granby Road was probably built about the same time as the neighboring houses (4 East Granby Road and 2 Park Place were both built in 1805). It was a Federal style when new, but many changes and alterations through the years caused people to think it was a Victorian structure.A lot of 9.5 acres was sold by Heamon Holcomb to Andrew D. Hillyer in 1804 for $161. 14. It was located “a little east of the head of Salmon Brook Street.” No house was mentioned i […]
The Ellsworth Memorial Association hosted a tea to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution and honor members with 40 years or more of service. It was held at the Oliver Ellsworth Homestead in Windsor. The Connecticut State Society DAR was organized on Feb. 20, 1892, and was one of the first to appoint a state regent. The program included a lookback at the founding of CTDAR and its early leaders and tributes to six Honorary State Regents and tw […]
By Carol Laun, Archivist, Salmon Brook Historical Society This rather ordinary looking white house was once the imposing Federal-style mansion house of a wealthy Granby resident. In the more than 225 years since it was built, it has undergone huge renovations, additions and subtractions. When built, it was located very close to the southwest corner of Rte. 10-202 and Rte. 20. The house has been moved from its original site and has had even more architectural changes. It has now been divided […]
George Seymour GodardCossitt Library is celebrating 125 years April 2016 to March 2017. A series of historical articles about the library and North Granby will be featured here.The latter part of the 19th century saw a “generation of giants” emerge from the one-room schools in the farming town of Granby. Among them were William Mills Maltbie, Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court; Tudor Holcomb, prominent tobacco grower, dairy farmer, philanthropist; James Lee Loomis, insurance executiv […]
by Carol LaunIn the 18th and 19th centuries, Granby voters decided most local questions and elections by a voice vote or a show of hands. For State and National elections, a ballot box was used. In the 1890s, it was decided to vote for local issues by ballot, and this method was used even as late as 1950. The ballot box voting process had quite a few differences from the way we vote today.The Salmon Brook Historical Society has the complete voting record from a special constitutional vote held i […]
By Ellen MeuserWhen McLean Resident Michael Gorman heard about the wonderful work that Media Center Coordinator Stephen Root was doing in genealogy, he seized the opportunity to learn more about his family’s history. “It turned out to be even more interesting than we initially thought it would be,” said Michael, as he explained his project that spanned several months to complete.Michael’s mother and father both grew up as a single child, so their family unit was sm […]