Picture South Windsor - Then And Now

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — Time once again to delve into an amazing 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.

On page 27, we find a structure which no longer exists; in fact, it was torn down just after the turn of the 20th century. It is the Bissell Tavern, at the corner of Ferry Lane and Main Street in what is now the East Windsor Hill section of South Windsor.

The tavern building was constructed in 1760 and, according to the book, "featured a ballroom with a fiddler's gallery." John Adams, later to become the second President of the United States, stayed at the tavern in 1771.

In the 1800s, the tavern was owned by Aaron Bissell, who lived in the still-standing Federal-style house next door at 1891 Main Street.

Here is a 2012 photo of the corner, courtesy of Google Maps. The flagpole is no longer there.

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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