by Pete Zizka
7-16- 2022
While the historian Allen B. Lincoln said Willimantic was, “inhabited by a quiet, industrious, hard-working people”, there were exceptions and many of them were clustered in the Stone Row area. The actual “Stone Row” was only about 500 feet in length and consisted of three stone and three wood frame tenements comprising 46 housing units. Just about 60 feet above it on Main Street were five tenements and a boarding house (White Row). All the units were owned by the Quidnick Windham Corp. An 1894 Chronicle article referred to it as “Willimantic’s pest spot”, while another in 1906 said Stone Row was, ”one of the dirtiest places in the city”. A 1902 story claimed that, “the condition of affairs existing in the tenements of the Stone Row would be difficult to duplicate in the slums of the big cities”. Scores of newspaper stories from 1885 on followed the tragedies, fights and other misdeeds that occurred there and kept the police and emergency services busy. The proximity to both several saloons (including the notorious one nicknamed the “Bucket o’ Blood” due to the vicious fights there) on Main Street, the fact that may inhabitants stored or made liquor, and the railroad tracks that were less than 50 feet from the Stone Row houses’ front doors added more risk, pain and problems. Children who lived on Stone Row had little area in which to play (today’s colorized photo). Two Chronicle stories from 1882 give examples. “A painful example of the danger which is constantly threatening the children of families residing in the Stone Row occurred last Thursday. A two-year-old girl was playing about the railroad tracks and to escape its mother ran on to them just as the noon freight of the New London Northern road approached. The child ran directly before the locomotive, and was caught and both legs were severed at the knees, before the very eyes of its mother.” “(A) thirteen-year-old lad living in the Smithville company’s stone row, was severely burned Sunday evening. A number of urchins were amusing themselves with kicking around a can filled with kerosene which they had ignited. It came in contact with this boy and the flames caught his clothing below the knee and quickly ascended to his body. Dr. McNally was called and rendered medical assistance in alleviating the intense suffering of the boy.” Stories of Stone Row folks and trains were plentiful. Accidents resulted in injuries of various degrees and at least three other deaths. A common pastime for some was to try to jump on freight cars as they rolled past. Sometimes, jumping on the cars became almost a “way to avoid arrest. One story tells of a policeman who twice had to jump on and off freight cars in order to apprehend a “Stone Row tough”. As might be expected, there were problems such as a woman who was charged with, ”keeping a disorderly house” meaning it was frequented by people who were “not of the best repute” and doing so, “when her husband was away”. There were several stories of assaults upon young women and even one in which Police Captain Richmond spent an afternoon searching Stone Row and finally arresting a man after he had received complaints that someone, ”had been enticing small girls in the vicinity of Stone Row by offering them five cents”. Then there’s the case of Eassen Locke who, ”was before the police court for the tenth time within five years…Some women have made the complaint that Locke has manifested an altogether too strong desire to kiss some of the Stone Row beauties”. Police were often put at risk while trying to enforce the law there. Policeman Anderson came upon a “trio of drunken brawlers” and as soon as he was noticed, they assaulted him. One of them, a woman, ”belabored him with a baseball bat and forced him to retire”. Anderson returned with several other officers and the trio was arrested. Lieutenant Killourey had a close call as well. While giving chase to some men who had been fighting, he had almost captured them when, “a stone larger than a mans fist and weighing not less than two pounds struck him a glancing blow on the right side of the chin. The stone came with force enough to have killed him had it struck him a little higher.” Killourey, with blood freely flowing, continued the chase and caught the stone thrower. The stories go on and on. They are just a reminder that, for some in factory housing in a factory town, life was difficult.
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