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South Windham HouseThe
Fitch School (aka Pine Grove Seminary) operated
in South Windham from 1848 until 1867. It was
conducted by Dr. Jabez C. Fitch (1815-1885), who
prepared boys for entry into Yale College. The
school building pictured here was erected om
1855, and by 1905 it was purchased by Smith and
Winchester and became the South Windham Hotel.
The hotel was known primarily for its saloon and
a pathway between Smith and Winchester and the
saloon was called "Whiskey Alley".
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Tree Planting at
Guilford Smith LibraryWe
received a note from Helen Card who was present
when this early 1940s picture was taken at the
Guilford Smith Library in South Windham. It was
the dedication of a tree from Obwebetuck Grange
in memory of the men and women in the armed
services. The tree was planted on the library
lawn and it is still there.
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South Windham F.D.
at Smith-WinchesterPerhaps
early 50s? Photo courtesy of
Mike Tirone
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 Babcock
Hill Road schoolhouse - South WindhamThe
schoolhouse was bought by Morris Kerachsky
(Morris Hardware). Here is what Ada Kerachsky
Albright told us. " The stone for the terraces
in front of the house came from the blasting for
the Case Gymnasium which had just been built.
The stone fireplace which my father built over
two or so years was built with field stone from
near my grandmother's farm in Lebanon. We were
told that the Norway maple tree on the lower
north side of the lawn was planted by students
of the school. "
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Babcock
Hill Road schoolhouse - South Windham.
. It was one of the nine district schoolhouses in the
town of Windham.
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South
Windham Road and Jordan Lane
This is the intersection of South Windham Road
and Jordan Lane.
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Old Route 32 in
South WindhamRetired
Willimantic Fire Captain Joseph “Al” Beaulieu
provided this information about this
picture. “The brick building on the left of the
photo is the present gray vinyl covered building
on the northeast corner of 32 and 203. The
second and third buildings on the picture’s left
are gone. RT 32 then curves right (at the small
house almost in the middle of the picture). That
is today’s Old Windham Road and is the original
RT 32. That small house is the one just before
the gas station. The big tree in the center of
the picture is still there and is showing the
effects of the ’38 hurricane. “Al” pointed out
that you can still see the same branch
configuration. A few years later, the present
day 32 as we know it was constructed
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Main Street looking west
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Main Street looking east
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Machine Shop HillThis
is the intersection of Machine Shop Hill and
where the Old South Windham Road becomes Babcock
Hill Road (a short block off of Route 32). The
white building with the columns was divided down
the middle, with the Post Office on the left and
Celia Johnson's little general store on the
right. Smith-Winchester’s factory is in the
background.
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The Obwebetuck Hotel
opened in either 1888 or 1889. It was popular as
a summer resort and also used for such
gatherings as the June, 1889 First Annual
(Windham?) High School Alumni Banquet.
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Doctor Rose's Sanitarium
Houston InstituteBy
December, 1892, the Obwebetuck Hotel had been
leased by “The New England Houston Narcotic Cure
Company”. Dr. W.D. Waller of Columbia was
appointed as house physician. By 1897 it was
known as Dr Rose’s Sanitarium. On April 4, 1907
a devastating fire completely destroyed what by
then was called Grand View Sanitarium. 16
inmates escaped the fire
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Doctor Rose's
Sanitarium - South WindhamThe
photo entitled “Cozy Sleeping Room” was
taken from an advertisement for Dr. Rose's
Sanitarium.
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Smith and Winchester
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Smith Winchester Workers
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Fulling Mill
Dam
(East side of Pigeon Swamp Road)
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Backus Brothers StoreThis
is the Backus Brothers store in South Windham.
Standing outside are Joe (the butcher), George
Backus, Henry Ormsby and Charles Palmer.
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Murdock's StoreMurdock’s
Store was on Babcock Hill Road in South Windham.
The Murdocks sold Moxie, homemade ice cream,
lemonade and other confections to workers at
Smith Winchester and to people waiting for the
trolley
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The photos below are from an album given by
Francois Gamache to retired Willimantic Fire
Captain Joseph "Al" Beaulieu. "al" was born and
raised in South Windham. We are grateful to "Al"
for allowing us to share these photos on
threadcity.us.
as of 5-22-2024 |
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