Picture Windsor Locks - Then And Now

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Today's look at Windsor Locks history brings us back to the great photo book Images of America: Windsor Locks, compiled by Leslie Matthews Stansfield in 2003. Here we see the effects of the flood of 1936 on the bridge over the Connecticut River, connecting Windsor Locks and Warehouse Point.

According to local history expert Mel Montemerlo:

"The March 1936 flood was devastating to communities along the banks of the Connecticut River. Spring came early and caused the frozen Connecticut River to break up in to huge chunks of ice which dammed the river. When the massive dam burst, the river flooded towns and farms. Windsor Locks was hit hard."

Construction on the original wooden suspension bridge was completed in 1886. It was a toll bridge until 1908, and a truss bridge replaced it in 1921. The current bridge is a highway bridge completed in 1992.

Here is a more contemporary photo of the bridge, taken by yours truly. It is now known as the World War I Veterans Memorial Bridge

Do you have a photo of an old Windsor Locks 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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