Picture Ellington - Then And Now

ELLINGTON, CT — It's time to return to a fascinating picture book entitled Images of America: Ellington. The book, compiled by Lynn Kloter Fahy for the Ellington Historical Society, was first published in 2005, and contains 128 pages of amazing photos and stories of the small town formerly known as "the Great Marsh." It may be purchased from the Nellie McKnight Museum store here.

On page 116, we find an expanse of farmland in the area of 135 West Rd. known as Westbrook Farm, owned by George Hughes. In the late 1930s, the farm was bought by the Eastern States Farmers' Exchange, and engaged in feed research for cattle, horses, turkeys, swine, rabbits and dogs.

According to town land records, the farm was sold to Edwin Aberle in 1967. After 35 years, he sold it to Valley Farms in 2002, and milk was produced on the site until 2005, when the property was sold for $3 million to Cornerstone Ellington LLC. Construction of several single-family homes took place on the old farm, as well as commercial buildings such as Big Y Supermarket and McDonald's.

Here is a contemporary aerial view of the area, courtesy of Google Maps.

Do you have a photo of an old Ellington business which no longer exists, to which you own the copyright and which we could feature in this column? Email tim.jensen@patch.com.

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