St. Mary Church -
Cornerstone Laying CeremonyAugust
23, 1903. Several thousand people braved the
intense heat of the day. Mass was celebrated and
two sermons were preached (in French and
English). After Mass, the cornerstone and
foundation were blessed. Later that afternoon,
Benediction was held. The banner above the
platform reads (in French), "Lord, how beautiful
is your
dwelling place".
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Laying of
cornerstone at the new WWW Filtration Plant.Senator
Matthew Daly, WPA Administrator for Connecticut
(left) and Willimantic Mayor Pierre J. Laramee
(right) are pictured at the July 10, 1936
ceremonial cornerstone laying for a new
filtration plant at the Willimantic Water Works.
The project also included improvements to the
flood control dam. The dam had been damaged in a
recent flood and the lower Bricktop area had
been flooded.
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Governor Cross at
WCMHMay 11,
1932. Governor Wilbur Lucius Cross speaks at the
dedication of the new Windham Community Memorial
Hospital. In 1929, it was decided that St.
Joseph's Hospital on Jackson needed much more
space than was available. Cooperation between
St. Joseph's hospital board and local businesses
and benefactors led to the planning and building
of the new hospital.
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Teams prepare to
raise funds (shares)
for a new Hotel.
These teams
were preparing to
to raise funds (shares) for
“Willimantic’s Greatest Need”. The “need” was a
new hotel. One hundred forty-seven men were
divided into teams and canvassed the town
selling “stock” for the new Nathan Hale Hotel.
Originally, a corporation, called “The Community
Hotel Corporation”, led by William Jordan and
James Fullerton, filed the corporation
paperwork. The goal of the teams was to raise
$276,000 for the building of the hotel. The
amount raised was $225,100
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 Governor Cross
1934 outing at "The
Oaks" in North WindhamIn
the 1930’s, Windham County Democrats held
semi-annual “outings” to present the upcoming
"ticket". Upwards of 500 people would attend
these outings. During his terms as Governor,
Wilbur Cross was a regular visitor. Governor
Wilbur Cross (wearing coat and tie) is speaking.
To Gov. Cross’ right, in light colored pants and
shirt and wearing a bowtie, is Mr. Timmins. To
Mr. Timmins right is Congressman Maloney. The
second man from Maloney's right is (we THINK)
State Representative William M. Citron who was
to go on the be elected as a Representative to
the U.S. 74th and 75th Congress.
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 1934 Democratic
outing
The speaking programs
were long. At the outing in 1934, for example,
attendees heard from Willimantic Attorney Arthur
Kelley who introduced the program and 14 other
speakers. Here, the speaker is Congressman
Francis Thomas Maloney, a U.S. Representative
from Connecticut from 1933 to 1935 and a U.S.
Senator from Connecticut from 1935 to 1945. To
Maloney’s right is Mayor James M. Hurley
(Willimantic Mayor 1932-1935). To Hurley’s right
is Pierre J. Laramee, ( Willimantic Mayor, State
Representative and State Senator). To Laramee’s
right , we think is Mrs. Minnie Flynn
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 President
Roosevelt visits WillimanticPresident
Theodore Roosevelt made a brief visit to
Willimantic on August 25, 1902. His train, going
from Hartford to Providence, stopped at the
Bridge Street crossing. Roosevelt was escorted
to a carriage which took him to Lincoln Square
where he gave a short speech.
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President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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 President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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 President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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 President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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 President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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President
Roosevelt visits Willimantic
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 The Liberty Bell
visits Willimantic
A crowd of
over 5,000 gathered at the railroad station in
June, 1903, to see the Liberty Bell. The train
stopped at the station for a short ceremony and
moved on after about twenty minutes.
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ATCO's 1937
Employees' Benefit Show
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ATCO's 1937
Employees' Benefit Show
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ATCO's 1937
Employees' Benefit Show |
American Thread
Workers' StrikeSee
special gallery of Strike photos.
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 Baseball Game at
Windham FieldHere
we see a crowd of people attending a baseball
game at Windham Field. Memorial Park was
originally known as Windham Field, and served
for many years as the home of the Willimantic
Colts, the city's professional baseball team.
The stadium was removed in 1917, and the field
was landscaped to memorialize those from
Willimantic who died during World War One.
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Windham Field
(Later renamed Memorial Park)
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 Operation
Willimantic Plan
Civil Defense Exercise and Parade
On Sunday, June 27, 1953. Operation "Willimantic
Plan" was a huge Civil defense exercise that
involved 1400 firefighters, police and
communication workers who fought 6 "fires" set
off by an "atomic bomb attack". Following the
exercises there was a parade from Lincoln Square
and an "air demonstration"
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 Saint
Jean Baptiste Society Convention
The St. Jean Baptiste Society's national
convention was held in Willimantic amidst much
pageantry and celebration in Sept., 1904.
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The 1920
Willimantic Auto ShowThis
was one of the exhibits at Willimantic’s first
Auto Show, which was held in February, 1920 at
the Pleasant Street Armory. Twenty local
businesses had spaces there and exhibited
automobiles, cycles and a huge range of
accessories. The show itself was, as the
“Willimantic Daily Chronicle” said, “an
elaborate affair” and included military marches,
local singers and orchestras. The Leonard
Brothers Garage provided the three Reo
automobiles in the picture; a touring car, a
sedan and a roadster.
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Willimantic Fair -
Balloon Ascension
Preparations
are being made for a balloon ascension and
parachute jump that occurred during the
Willimantic Fair of September, 1910. On three
different days, aeronaut Vincent Morris made the
ascension and jump. On thr third day’s jump, he
gave the crowd a scare as the parachute almost
landed in the Willimantic River.
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Rev. Francis
Mulville's Funeral
Father Francis X. Mulville was extremely
community oriented and was a member of several
organizations and groups. They included the
Knights of Columbus, the Montgomery Hose Company
and the Willimantic Gun Club. As evidenced by
the picture postcard, a large group gathered at
the Willimantic Train Station. At Willimantic,
the officers of the Montgomery Hose Company
boarded the train and accompanied the body, "to
its last resting place at Simsbury
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 Getting ready for
Pres. Taft's arrival in
Willimantic for Old School and Home week.President
William Howard Taft was the third of the three
Presidents who were in Willimantic.
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Old School
and Home Week
In 1915, now as Former-President,
William Howard Taft was guest of Honor at
the Old School and Home Week. The Thursday of
that week, June 24th, was referred to
as “Willimantic and Windham’s Biggest Day”.
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Old School
and Home Week
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Old School
and Home Week
The reviewing stand at the Town Hall
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Old School
and Home Week
The parade passes the reviewing stand
at the
Town Hall
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Old School
and Home Week
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 Old
School and Home Week
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Old School
and Home Week
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Old School
and Home Week |
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 1940 Train wreck
in South Windham.
The train wreck occurred in April, 1940. The
locomotive and tender of a Central Vermont train
derailed in South Windham when the rails split
apart due to a collapse of the road bed. Such a
large crowd gathered that State Police had to
direct traffic on RT 32. The train had been
moving slowly - it was backing up to some other
cars.
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 Lizee Jewelers
Grand OpeningA
crowd has gathered on Main Street for the grand
opening of Lizee Jewelers on May 3, 1952. Mr.
Lizee moved his original store from the second
floor in the same building to the ground level.
Rex Restaurant occupied the space on the 1st
floor prior to Lizee Jewelers. The crowd
gathered in front of the store because Mr. Lizee
was to announce the winning ticket for a grand
prize offered to all customers.
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 Elks Fair 1940
Arthur Roy is
shown announcing the high wire act of Betty and
Benny Fox at the 1940 Elks Fair.
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 Elks FairThis
was the highlight of the Labor Day weekend in
Willimantic for almost 40 years. It was last
held in 1952.
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 Elks Fair Raffle
PrizesHere
are some of the cars that were raffled off at
the 1940 Elks Fair.
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Windham's Bicentennial Celebration
Windham Green
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Solar Eclipse
On January 24, 1925, almost five thousand people
gathered on Hosmer Mountain to witness a total
eclipse of the sun. The photo shows people
leaving the site.
Over a thousand people had come from Boston on
two special trains.
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First Airmail Delivery
May 19, 1938
<<click here for the full story>>
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Laurence Olivier and Viven Leigh
"Drop In"
<<click here for full story>>
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Willimantic Fair |
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Loomer Opera House
Seathing Diagram |
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