One of the side benefits of doing
research is the number of interesting facts (and trivia) that show up.
This week, we’ll check out four. (1) For years, the Brainard House was
Willimantic’s leading Hotel. “Henry
Brainard had retired from the teaming business and
bought Mr. Potter’s hotel, the Tremont, now Young’s Hotel, in
1846”. He did business there until he bought out the Lewis property and
opened a new hotel under the name of the Brainard House, which he kept
for a number of years until his retirement to his pleasant home on Maple
Avenue. Brainard had built the house when Maple Avenue was first opened
and “it has been kept in excellent condition, being almost the only
brick residence of any size in the city”. In April, 1894, Mayor
Harrington bought the house and the next lot east. Harrington went on
the be a State Senator. In 1903, Harrington sold the house to the Rev.
Arthur DeBruycker, pastor of Saint Mary’s Church. Father DeBruycker “at
once (began) such alterations as are necessary for the home of the
seventeen sisters who are connected with the church and schools of Saint
Mary Parish.
(2) Some Willimantic area folks may remember Main Street when the
trolley tracks were still visible. While most folks know that
Willimantic once had a trolley that ran along Main Street, few may know
the extent of the ambitious original plan at the time the legislature
approved it. The line in Willimantic was supposed to begin at the city’s
west end and run along Main Street to the Horseshoe Bridge, and from the
junction of Union and Main through Union Street to Broad Street and then
to Valley Street. Other sections were planned (a) from Main and Windham
Streets, up Windham Street to Prospect Street (b) along Valley Street
from Windham Street to Jackson Street. (c) Along Walnut Street from
Prospect to Main. (d) Along Jackson Street from Valley Street to the
city line at Mansfield. The trolley line DID run from Thread Mill Square
to the city line and beyond in South Windham but another “spur” had been
planned from what was known as “Jillson Hill”, along Pleasant Street to
the city line and from the Pleasant Street, Bridge Street junction along
Bridge Street back to Main Street.
(3) When “moving pictures” first came to Willimantic, it was during the
time when Blue Laws were still somewhat enforced. When movies began to
be shown on Sundays, some groups protested. For example,
The 1907 enforcement of “Blue Laws” in
Willimantic was brought on by the Womens’ Christian Temperance Movement
which brought charges against Manager John Gray of the Loomer Opera
House. Citizens, however, were unhappy with all the closings. At the
time there were four “movie houses” in the city and some people proposed
an “arrangement” where the theaters could have a Sunday night opening.
Sunday night performances would not interfere with church services. The
“arrangement” was that “much help could be procured for the poor and
needy of the community during the winter”
if the theaters would turn over to the proper authorities the
proceeds of their Sunday night shows, after expenses, and the proceeds
spent for those in need. “By having such Sunday night entertainments,
many people would spend an hour in innocent amusement and contribute
financially towards the support of the poor”.
4) One of my favorites was a story during the smallpox
epidemic of 1912. Willimantic was doing everything it could to help
those who suffered from it. It opened a special isolation hospital
(today’s photo) and offered sufferers generous assistance from the town.
One family, however, presented the town with a hefty bill that caused
suspicion. They had received, “pork, lamb and steak…ninety-five cans of
vegetables, two dozen eggs daily, a pound of the best butter and a lot
of other things”. It was said that the First Selectman “did not feel
kindly” about this and could not believe the family had eaten so much.
He and Chief Richmond went to the home and searched it. “There were
three large hams hanging in the cellar. There were over twenty-five cans
of vegetables…”. The woman told Selectman Mitchell that she was doing
it, “because her friends told her to go ahead and stock up. The town
would pay and no one would kick”. Since there were six cases of smallpox
in the house, the goods were left there since no one would want them.
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