I posit that the excerpt below is from  CT State Representive's, Francis Foote's diary.
The entry is for Christmas Day, 1865.




It is Christmas day. Took Mary down to Hillmans (?) then went down to Fair Haven. Ruby (?) went with me. When we came back went for (?) dinner. Sarah went up to (?) A very pleasant day overhead, a bit muddy underfoot...

Captain Riley's Narrative

 Zahara. The word sounded familiar. It was contained in a title of a book donated to the library which I saw several months ago: Skeletons on the Zahara. It made me wonder if this was a retelling of a book in the library's vault, the story of which is summarized in its title:

An Authentic Narrative Of The Loss Of The American Brig Commerce, Wrecked On The Western Coast Of Africa, In The Month Of August, 1815. With An Account Of The Sufferings Of Her Surviving Officers And Crew, Who Were Enslaved By The Wandering Arabs On The Great African Desart, or Zahahra; And Observations Historical, Geographical, &c. Made During The Travels Of The Author, While A Slave To The Arabs, And In The Empire Of Morocco.  By James Riley

I placed the newer book in the vault next to the older book. At one point I took a few photographs and finally came to compare the two books. As I had guessed, the newer is an updated presentation of Captain James Riley's account of the 1815 wreck of the brig Commerce, and the remaining crews' subsequent sufferings as slaves of the Arabs.

 The updated version was put together by Dean King who stumbled across Riley's book in the library of the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. King was intrigued  and re-traveled by camel and land rover Riley’s 800 mile trek.

 

 

Old Money: A Numismatic Mystery

We have here a numismatic (which means of or pertaining to coins) mystery,  a fascinating treasure trove of coins from the vault of the Hagaman Library.

The coins most likely belonged to Isaac Hagaman or his father. Some are so obscured by tarnish or patina, which in coins is called "toning," that the age and origin are a mystery.

Of particular interest are the two shown below:

East Haven Commemorative Tercentenary Coins

These commemorative coins were produced for a number of towns including East Haven, as seen above, for the Connecticut Tercentenary Celebration in 1935. 

Also issued were Tercentenary automobile plates, stamps, postcards of CT houses, and pamphlets on Connecticut history.

One Acre of Salt Meadow Situated in East Haven

A 1789 land deed signed by Jared and Sarah Bradley for an acre of Salt Meadow in East Haven. The wax seals are of particular interest.

Three Photographs of Trollies

Below are three photographs of trollies generously donated to the library by Catherine Satula.  My thought is that all views are of New Haven as one trolley has the header for streets as State and Ames. The photographs were taken by Edward D. Satula.

Hagaman Memorial Library Local History and Archives New Pinterest Account

See this and other archival and historical photos from the Hagaman Memorial Library at Pinterest.com

Melinda's Maps

More thanks to former East Haven resident, Melinda Tillie for another letter which included her hand drawn maps of  Main Street, East Haven. Melinda fondly recalls Holcombe's Drug Store and states in her letter:

'Holccombe's Drug Store was great and always a stop on the way home from Union School! They had a great old fashioned soda fountain...'

 She also commented on the Capitol Theatre and "The Farms" on N. High Street: 

'The Capitol Theater. You could go on Sat. and spend the afternoon, see at least two pictures plus the news etc - price? .25!'  

'You cannot believe the shock it was when "The Farms" up on N. High Street, Hine's Farm and Knudsen's Farm were sold. They were going to build houses there! If you drove up  N. High St. by The Farms, all you could see was the greenest grass and cows from N. High St. to over by the ridge.'

Thank you, Melinda.

Main Street Revisited

I received a lovely letter from Melinda K. Tillie regarding the "A Closer Look, Main Street Looking West" the March 26th, 2012 entry which was posted with the above photographs.

Melinda was born and brought up in East Haven and she lists the stores along Main Street as following:

Left side in photograph

Baltimore Brothers Meats (Main and Taylor)

Christ Church
House with gift Shop

The Diner (corner of Kirkham Ave.)

Right side in photograph

Clothes store

Wolfe's Bakery

Grand Union

Daytons (Women's Clothing)

Ice Cream store
Cleaners
Hair Salon

Barkers

Melinda also mentioned remembering Goodies, Smitty's Bar and Dairy Queen.

I was very encouraged by Melinda's letter and interest in this archival blog. Thank you Melinda!

Also relating to Main Street, I picked up some papers from an East Haven resident's estate at the Old Stone Church tag sale. Interestingly, among them were a card and a receipt from businesses at 281 and 224 Main Street as shown below.

Mary Connolly Repairs Archival Documents

Library volunteer, Mary Connolly has diligently been working to repair tears in an 1885 map of New Haven, shown in the lower picture. The map was literally in pieces before Mary set about to repair it. She is using Kizukushi, a thin long fibered Japanese tissue made from the Kozo plant used extensively in archival repair work.  Torn strips of the tissue are applied in a reversible process using wheat starch paste



Mary Connolly repairing rips and tears in 1930s issues of
The Branford Review and East Haven News





Mary just finished repairing this 1885 Price Lee
Company City Directory map 



Farm River Stone Arch Bridge

The Farm River Stone Arch Bridge has entered the news, and I believe that the above photograph taken ca.1830 is a picture of the original bridge built in 1644 that stood where the current Farm River Bridge now stands.  Former East Haven Historian and author, Doris Townshend comments:

 A wooden bridge with stone supports had been built across the river in 1644 on the route to Branford  (path to Totoket) from East Haven...(1)

Donald Chidsey also commented on the 1644 bridge:

...it was found that the old wooden bridge that spanned the Farm River just to the west of Lake Saltonstall, was in danger of collapse and in its place, a stone arch bridge was erected. (2)

A thank you to Dana Nelson, 5th Grade Teacher at Tuttle School, for the realization that the above photograph is of the 1644 bridge. Also a commendation to her 5th grade class interested in and working for the preservation East Haven history. The class, the East Haven Historical Society and other interested individuals are working to preserve the 1876 Farm River Stone Arch Bridge which replaced the 1644 structure.  The text below from the from Sarah Hughes' History of East Haven comments on the building of the replacement bridge:

Stone Arch Bridge July 25, 1876. At a special town meeting the condition of the stone arch bridge was taken into consideration, and a committee appointed by the chair, consisting of Alfred Hughes, Willet Hemingway and Timothy Andrews, to consider what was best to be done. July 31, 1876 Alfred Hughes, chairman of the committee, reported that it was the unanimous opinion, that there was no other way but to rebuild the bridge. It was in a very dangerous condition, the sand had washed out five feet under the abutment, and that it hung shelving with danger of falling any day. Voted, "The Selectmen be authorized and instructed to build a bridge, with 28 ft. in the clear, the foundation to down to solid rock. The work to be done as soon as possible, also given power to contract and receive proposals for the same." (E.H. Town Rec.) (3)

The photo below, most probably taken in the 1880s or the 1890s, is of the current Farm River Stone Arch Bridge. The bridge has also been called the Stephen Bradley Bridge.

1. Townshend, Doris "The Farm River and Its Role in New Haven County History" Journal of the New Haven Colony Historical Society 44/No 2 (1988): 8. Print.

 2. Chidsey, Donald "First Federal Researches Bridges and Transportation in Early East Haven." The Journal-Courier (New Haven) 29 April, 1974. Print.

3. Hughes, Sarah The History of East Haven New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse &  Taylor Press, 1908.

A Closer Look - Main Street Facing West

According to the East Haven Photo Album index, this photograph is titled: Main Street Facing West About 1945.

I found the photo a bit of a puzzle. Christ Church at 304 Main Street is clearly seen on the left. The store in the foreground appears to have the word "Clothes" at the top of the building. However, I could not make out the remaining names of the stores going toward the Church, nor could I effectively match up store names with the City Directory though I looked through a number of years from the 1940's and 1950's.

The 1944-1945 Directory contains the following listings:

304 Christ Episcopal Church
308 Economy Meat Market
309 Concelmo Shoe Repair
East Haven Cleaners
Messina F W barber
310 Thompson Milton L
McMahon W E
311 Concelmo Anthony
Confrey Richard F
DeLucia T tires
314 Taylor Ave ends

Any help in identifying the stores is welcome!

A Closer Look: The Samuel R. Chidsey House

The Samuel R. Chidsey House, built in 1750, stood at the corner of Main and High Streets at 267 Main Street. According to an Evening Register article from the vertical file (date unknown) Samuel Chidsey bought the property from the Bradleys. Mr. Chidsey was first selectman of the town for many years.

The house was taken down in 1929 and the East Haven Bank was built on the corner.

Number One in the photo looks to be an advertisement for the Capitol Theatre and underneath that it states: "Free Parking." On the right however can be seen: "Tea Co." in what looks to be a separate sign. Could this have been an advertisement for the A & P market- the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company?

Number Two the sign over the door reads: "Rooms For Tourists" and under that "Meals Served." Below that is a hanging sign that states: "Greyhurst Tourists Inn." There is a sign in the window that states: Rooms. Does anyone have any information on Greyhurst Inns and the Chidsey House as a Greyhurst Inn?

A Closer Look: Atwater's Store

East Haven's Atwater's Store around 1905. The store stood near the fire house on Main Street. A closer look at the advertisements in the store window are interesting:

1. Gasoline for sale
2. This appears indistinct - Gene and Terry or Gen'l Terry? or some variant
3. Daisy Brand Mixed Nuts
4. Peanut Crisp
5. This is also indistinct - but appears to be HO or H & O Bee Soap