Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — If you think the winter season is bad in New England today, rest easy. Our forefathers had it a lot worse than we do, enduring particularly harsh conditions around the latter part of the 19th century.

This photo appears on page 39 of a great book of photographs from the 1880s through 1950s, entitled Images of America: Enfield Connecticut. The book was compiled in 1998 by Michael Miller for the Enfield Historical Society.

"The worst snowstorm to hit Thompsonville - and much of the eastern United States" was a blizzard which began March 12, 1888. Several feet of snow fell, and the problem was magnified by drifts which reached many rooftops, as seen in this view of North Main St.

Since we always feature "before and after" shots in this column, here comes the surprise look at the current day approximate site of the above picture.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "The bell atop the old Scitico School currently is located at what town school?" The answer: Hazardville Memorial School, which upon its opening in 1951 received the bell which had been in the tower at the Scitico School. Several people guessed the answer correctly, with Andrew Tarnowicz being first; he wins a 10-cent gift certificate to Connecticut Valley Tobacconist.

This week's trivia question:
Only three public schools in Enfield are not named for people. They are? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page, or on the You're Probably From Enfield If Facebook page, or by emailing me directly at tim.jensen@patch.com. The first person to correctly answer the question without blatantly Googling, copying and pasting the answer, as well as gives their actual name, will be acknowledged the following week.

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