Manchester Historical Society
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Visit and shop at the History Center at 175 Pine Street. Free admission.
Regular hours: • Wednesday through Friday 10:00 to 2:00, and • Saturdays 12:00 to 4:00.
Then & Now exhibit
This exhibit tells the story of Manchester's past through photos, objects, and artwork. While you're here, peruse other displays, including vintage signs from former businesses in town, including Marlow's, Clifford's, and Savings Bank of Manchester.
Museum store
We sell local history items: books, maps, note-cards, magnets, coffee mugs. Hours are the same as the exhibit.
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For a series of illustrated lectures by Steve Penny on Sundays in March, April, and May
We want to create a display of artifacts -- do you have Native American artifacts to share? We can display them in glass cases during this series. You can bring them to the History Center during regular hours: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 10:00 to 2:00 and Saturdays noon to 4:00. Or phone 860-647-9983. More about the lecture series on our events page.
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View Manchester yearbooks
On our website here. Thanks to the volunteers who scanned, uploaded and organized these great resources. Unlike commercial websites, there are no ads to interrupt your viewing.
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Genealogy opportunity
The Arbors will host a free Ancestors Road Show
Saturday, February 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Register and fill out a questionnaire -- email Laurie Robinson or phone her at 860-533-2526 at the Arbors. Free 25-minute consultation with a genealogy volunteer, who will give guidance on the subjects described in the participant's questionnaire.
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Jigsaw puzzle --
←click the image to solve.
The Poorhouse
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Wednesday, February 14, from 10:00 to noon at the History Center, 175 Pine Street. Roundtable discussion or possible special guest. The Genealogy group welcomes newcomers and experts to its meetings. Free for Society members, $3 for non-members. Meanwhile browse the Herald archives -- a great place to track down dates of birth, death, etc.
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Guest column -- Manchester memories.
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Stairway in the Howell Cheney mansion, 110 Forest Street. The house was built circa 1901 and vastly expanded in 1905. More: Howell Cheney house.
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The Quish family lived in the mansion from 1958 to 1968. Pictured are Sheleen and her brothers, Mike, Peter, Tom, and Tim.
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Guest column by Sheleen Quish, whose family bought the former Howell Cheney mansion for $25,000. “My four brothers, my parents, and I lived at 110 Forest Street from 1958 when I was nine years old, until 1968. It was amazing to move from a standard four-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath house, to one with almost 7,000 square feet of living space on 2.25 acres. It had seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and seven fireplaces. Before we moved in my parents, friends, and family pitched in to get the house ready – it appeared to have been unoccupied for quite a while. They wall-papered, painted, and restored the hardwood floors. They fixed oddball plumbing issues. My Dad’s uncle was a plumber and he offered to fix the toilet and sink in the bathroom off the breakfast room. He was done pretty quickly but the first person who used the facilities discovered that hot water was connected to the toilet and only cold to the sink. We all laughed and teased him until he fixed it correctly. My mother’s family, the Turkingtons, came from Northern Ireland, and my father’s, the Quish family, came from a small town in County Cork Ireland called Ballylanders. My mother thought it would be nice to name our property something special. She had a sign made that hung on the back porch that said "Ballylanders." I have offered to share more Ballylanders adventures in this e-newsletter. Watch for my next post.”
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For frequent photos and tidbits, check out our Facebook page.
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70 years ago in The Manchester Herald; Tuesday, January 12, 1954 -- Skiing at Mt. Nebo before I-384 construction, life-time batteries (is there such a thing?) interesting names of basketball teams, thespians hear play-reading. See the whole Herald edition: January 12, 1954 Herald, or to peruse all our Heralds, see: Index of Heralds.
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January Historical Society television show: "Pioneer Parachute Then and Now"
You can watch this month's show at any time by clicking on the Public Access website RIGHT HERE Pioneer show on Public Access TV.-- and also on your television Saturdays this month. "Pioneer Parachute Then and Now,” a 107-minute television show recorded beginning in February 2003 interviews four retirees about the beginnings of the parachute industry, and changes in parachute operations over the years. Martha Seavey, Grace Tedford, Fred Ware, and Jim Reuter describe their jobs, including administration, sewing, supervising, and engineering. Susan Barlow also visits Fred Towle, a former pilot, who used his Pioneer parachute in 1944 to bail out of a B-17 over Germany. The show airs at 12:00 noon and 8:00 p.m. on Cox cable channel 15 on Saturdays, and runs on all the Saturdays of the month. The show changes each month. This Channel 15 broadcasts in Manchester, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington. Some previous local-history shows can be borrowed at Mary Cheney Library. The television show is produced by Susan Barlow, directed by Kathryn Wilson, researched by Jill Gelinas, all volunteers of the Manchester Historical Society. You can watch some of our previous television shows online at the the Cox Cable website. You can watch this month's show at any time RIGHT HERE on the Public Access website Pioneer show on Public Access TV. Also the very special LIVING HISTORY PROJECT 34-minute video by Zack Carroll, with commentary from Manchester residents about the Town's past, present, and future. Watch this bicentennial special by clicking here at any time .
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This e-newsletter is available free to members and friends of the Manchester Historical Society. Please feel free to tell any history buffs to subscribe for themselves via the red rectangle on our home page. Let me know if any problem subscribing. Your e-newsletter editor and Town Historian, Susan Barlow.
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MISSION of the Society
The Manchester Historical Society educates the public about the history of Manchester, Connecticut; collects, preserves, interprets, and exhibits information and artifacts about the town and its diverse population, and advocates for the preservation of significant historic resources.
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Our properties
The Homestead at 106 Hartford Road, Manchester, was donated to the Manchester Historical Society by the Cheney family in 1968 for use as a house museum. It's usually open to the public one Sunday per month and for special programs at other times throughout the year. For old photos and history of the Homestead, built in 1785, visit Cheney Homestead history. The replica Keeney Schoolhouse is on the grounds of the Homestead. Originally built in 1751, the schoolhouse had deteriorated so much that new materials had to be incorporated in the 1976 reconstruction. The Homestead is closed until the spring.
The History Center at 175 Pine Street, Manchester, was purchased in 1999. Our offices and many collections are in this building, which is the former Cheney Brothers Machine Shop, a 40,000-square-foot building constructed in several phases beginning in 1895. For the current exhibit, it's open Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 to 2:00, and Saturday 12:00 noon to 4:00, except holidays. Visit: photo tour of lower level of History Center.
The Old Manchester Museum at 126 Cedar Street, Manchester, is owned by the Town of Manchester, and the Society has rented it since the 1980s. We store collections there, and open it to the public on the first Saturday of the month, May through December from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., staffed by hosts Art Pongratz and Bob Kanehl. The building was formerly a school, built in 1859, and moved to this location in 1914. More: Old Manchester Museum.
Woodbridge Farmstead at 495 East Middle Turnpike, at Manchester Green, is a charming combination of vintage buildings and a bucolic landscape. The farmhouse dates from 1830. The Woodbridge Farm and Meadowbrook Dairy once encompassed many acres at Manchester Green. Today, the house and grounds are owned by the Manchester Historical Society – a gift from the late Raymond and Thelma Carr Woodbridge, who gave the property in 1998, reserving a life use. Weather permitting, the farmstead is open for free tours and programs generally on the second and fourth Sundays of the warmer months, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. Closed for the season.
Silk Vault Building at 110 Elm Street, Manchester, was purchased by the Society in 2017. A unique building, constructed in 1920. More: Silk Vault. The vault is rented out, and isn't open to the public.
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Membership for yourself or --
Consider a gift membership for a friend or loved one. Why join a local historical society, even if you don't live in that town? Some reasons: • support education about the history of the town • support preservation of artifacts and vintage photos • join in advocating for preservation of historic buildings and parks that make Manchester charming.
Print this online donation form and mail to 175 Pine Street. Or drop by the History Center, Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 to 2:00. Direct questions to 860-647-9983.
Additional ways to donate: Employer matching gifts! Direct United Way donations to the Society.
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