Picture South Windsor - Then And Now

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — We just can't get enough of the wonderful picture book entitled Images of America: South Windsor, compiled in 2017 by Claire Lobdell for the Wood Memorial Library & Museum. The book, containing 128 pages of fascinating photos from the town's history, is available for purchase at the library's museum store here.

Today we make our way to pages 64 and 65 (that's right, two pages), to a farmhouse at 1407 Sullivan Ave. It was built in 1823 by Lawrence Stoughton, and remained in his family until being sold to the town of South Windsor in 1998. The huge tract of land adjacent to the house was dedicated that same year as Priest Farm, preserved by the town, Norman P. Priest and the Trust For Public Land.

"We have a committee working on preserving the house and property," Mayor Andrew Paterna said. "Our goal is to develop it into a working community farm with a barn to include agricultural education programs, as well as being a working farm. We are presently searching for some grant money to help complete the project development."

A dance hall, food pavilion and picnicking site known as Hills' Grove, pictured above from the book, was opened in the wooded area at 1407 Sullivan in 1877. Before burning down in the 1950s, the structure was the site of the Wapping Fair and other events.

Here is a more contemporary look at the farmhouse, courtesy of Google Maps, taken in Aug. 2019.

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

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