Early Scenes |
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1888
Here's a great picture of Church St.
during the blizzard of 1888.
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Railroad Street
This
1870s photo was taken from across the
tracks before the footbridge and
railroad depot were built.
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Clubhouse of the Nipnet Canoe Club
The clubhouse was built on the south side of the Willimantic River
on Davis Street about a quarter mile from the Quidnick-Windham Mfg. Company’s dam and was later doubled in size. It was destroyed by fire in the early 1930s. The club was active in Willimantic, especially in the early 1920s.
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Thread City Square
Thread City Square pictured in 1908. This area stood across from the American Thread Mills One, Five and Six, and the old turnpike to Norwich.
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Ayer
Farm
The Ayer Farm was on Pleasant Street at the Lebanon town line. The farm was one of Willimantic’s largest suppliers of ice until April, 1934 when the five connected ice house buildings were destroyed by fire along with several tons of ice.
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Industrial Willimantic in 1908
Note the 1850s gasworks to the right, and the 1820s Smithville mills at Bridge Street. This shot was taken from the footbridge.
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Ice Delivery in Willimantic
This photo was taken on the High St.
side of the Town Hall. It shows the
delivery wagon of the Ayer’s ice house.
The two principal suppliers of ice in
Willimantic were Eaton of Mansfield and
Ayer, which was on Pleasant St. at the
Lebanon line. Due to public outcry over
the rising cost of ice, by 1913,
Willimantic began a short-lived
municipal ice business and harvested ice
near the Pumping Station.
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Spellman's Market Delivery Wagon
Here is the delivery wagon of Spellman’s North Street Market. It is parked in front of Young’s Hotel. Young’s later became the Johnson House which was gutted by a fire in 1915. The fire had started in the Natchaug Garage in back of the hotel and then spread to the hotel and the Thread City Garage, seen in back of the wagon’s driver.
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Potter
Farm
West Main Street and Columbia Road.
The city of Willimantic bought a large portion of the Potter Farm in 1909 for the expansion of the "New Willimantic Cemetery". We believe the house sat in the approximate location where the Shell Chateau once stood --or the gas station at the "Y" intersection today. But of course the cemetery is on the other side of Columbia Rd..
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Wagon team in front of Town Hall
The building pictured is just to the left of the Town Hall. During the '38 hurricane, the top floor was damaged and then later removed. Butch Ives wrote, " The boiler & wagon appears to be the same as one in my Postcard Collection. Postcard is identified as Boiler for Pollock Mills Renovation.". ).
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Lincoln Square
The picture is taken from an angle different from the usual pictures of this area and it points back to times when traffic was not a problem.
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