Valley Street - 4 by Pete Zizka 6-4- 2022 |
Last week we paused at 138 Valley Street, the building that eventually became the home of what many, even today, remember as Watson’s Taxi and Watson’s Moving and Storage. By 1892, three more brick structures were erected between 138 Valley Street and Bank Street. 140-144 Valley Street was a three-story building with shops on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors. The shops belonged to Whitaker and Cady Grocers and Meat. It later became home to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. 146 Valley Street was built as the Park Central Hotel. 152 Valley Street was built by William Vanderman as part of his growing manufacturing business. Later, it was home to to J. B. Carpenter’s Plumbing Co. and the W.G. Potter Oil Burner Co. The last lot, on the southeast corner of Bank and Valley Streets was occupied for a time by the Willimantic Water Department. Later, a brick building was erected and became home to the Cotter Brothers Garage and then Capitol Garage. Many older residents may remember when it was the home of Leonard Motors. On the southeast corner of Bank and Valley Streets was A.G. Turner’s Silk Mill. This industry was started in 1886, and the mill was built in 1889. It employed about 100 people. The company went into liquidation in 1917, and was later used by the Willimantic Trade School. It was demolished in 1970. In 1892, there were three more buildings between Turner’s Mill and Walnut Street. There was a house at 174 Valley Street and then a large building owned by the A.R. Burnham Carriage Manufacturers. The last was a paper box shop run by A. Kingsbury and Son. 174 Valley Street to Walnut Street would later become occupied by the O.L. Willard Lumber Company. The First Congregational Church and Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church occupied diagonal corners at Walnut and Valley Streets as they do today. Grog Shop owner Thomas Cunningham gave the northeast lot to the First Ecclesiastical Society. he Rev. Horace Winslow was chiefly instrumental in getting the society to build the new church at the corner of Walnut and Valley streets, dedicated in May, 1871, purchased land known as “the Chase lot”, from land donated by the Windham Cotton Manufacturing Company and the rest already belonging to Windham County. The Normal School opened in 1895. Newspaper articles gave high praise for the school’s location, saying it was,” on a pleasant elevation with a large grove of stately oaks in the rear. (The site) overlooks the picturesque valley of the Willimantic River”. The original school burned in a spectacular 1943 fire and was replaced. There were two houses situated on the northwest corner of Valley and High Streets. One was razed and the brick one remains today. When the Normal was built, Valley Street had been extended to Windham Street. Eventually it was extended again to Mansfield Avenue and finally to West Avenue.
UPDATE:
"I enjoyed the article about the buildings/businesses on Valley St in the
late 1800's. In particular was "a paper box shop run by A.
Kingsbury and Son". I thought you might enjoy a little more
information.
That would be Addison Kingsbury (a distant relative on my mothers side)
a nephew of my Great Great Grandfather. His "Son" would be Arthur
L. and/or Louis Addison Kingsbury.
Addison lived in South Coventry.
"Addison Kingsbury is one of the most noted and successful paper box
manufacturers in New England. The business includes the product
from five factories, which are located in South Coventry, Rockville, New
London and Willimantic...and Northampton Mass. Mr. Kingsbury is
the inventor of the machine for cutting the blanks for the
boxes...Millions of boxes are now turned out annually by aid of the
machinery devised by Mr. Kingsbury" ** (He also invented a gluing
machine and a machine for cutting box blanks.)
**Taken from: The Genealogy of the
Descendants of Henry Kingsbury of Ipswich and Haverhill, Mass.
From collections made by Frederick John Kingsbury, LL.D. and edited with
extensive additions by Mary Kingsbury Talcott. 1905 Also included was a photo of Mr. Kingsbury.
|
<<HOME>> <<back to Historical Articles index>> |