Manchester Historical Society
Manchester quiz. Can you answer these questions?

What are these huge buildings? Location? Still in existence? Hint: The image was on a shipping label.


Scroll down for answers.
Then & Now exhibit
Lots of compliments on the exhibit at the History Center, 175 Pine Street. Let us know what your impressions are, by replying to this email. Then & Now showcases the history of Manchester from pre-Colonial times to the present. Free. Donations welcome. Open to the public Wednesday through Friday, from 10:00 to 2:00, and Saturday 12:00 noon to 4:00.
Help wanted!
Manchester Historical Society president, Jack Prior, announces an immediate opening for a paid Administrative Assistant to work at the History Center, Wednesday through Friday 9:30 to 2:30 and Saturdays 12:00 to 4:00. General office duties, data entry, answering phones, processing mail, greeting visiting historians and the public. Prefer a candidate with knowledge of Manchester history.
We need volunteers for:
• Fundraising at a concert at the band shell on May 19, circulating among the audience with buckets to collect money for the Society, and • Monitoring our Heritage events on Saturday, June 5, and then Wednesday through Sunday, June 8 to June 12.
Respond to [email protected]
The Woodbridge Farmstead open houses begin next month on a special schedule:
  • Open house on Sunday, May 15 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., celebrating the opening of our new Visitor Center. At 12:30, we'll have a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and a proclamation by Mayor Jay Moran. This is the only Woodbridge open house in May.
  • Special Connecticut Open House Day, Saturday, June 11, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Subsequently, our second and fourth Sunday open houses will run from June 26 through October 23.
The Farmstead is located at Manchester Green, 496 Middle Turnpike East. Parking available at the Manchester Senior Center, along the street in front of the farmstead, and off Woodbridge Street behind the barn and through the gate.
JIGSAW PUZZLE
Click the image on the right to try the puzzle.
Forest Street art studio of Russell Cheney (1881-1945). More about the studio, which is in the Landmark District. The building is still there.
Manchester Sports Hall of Fame banquet
Inductees will be honored at a dinner on Saturday, April 30, at the Manchester Country Club. Tickets available at Park Hill Joyce Flower Shop, 36 Oak Street, Manchester, phone 860-649-0791. Tickets cost $50.00, cash or check. Not able to attend? Watch live starting at 5:55 p.m. on April 30: live-streaming of awards. Due to the pandemic, we're honoring the 2021 inductees in April and possibly 2022 inductees in the fall. Here are the 2021 inductees: • Michael Hartfield: Manchester High School 2008 graduate, 2016 Team USA Olympian, long jump. • Michael Lombardo: Manchester High School 1975 graduate, soccer and high jump, brought the "Fosbury Flop" to Manchester High School. • Karl Then: Manchester High School1963 graduate, champion swimmer and football letterman.• Fred Lennon: Long time educator and coach at Bennet Junior High, receiving the "Founders Award." • John Gregorek: Long time Manchester Road Race Runner, receiving the "McCluskey Award." • Art Pongratz: Manchester High School 1938A graduate, receiving the "Legends Award."
Read more about the Sports Hall of Fame on our website.
At the 1785 Cheney Homestead, 106 Hartford Road
Open House
Sunday, May 8, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. -- For Mother's Day, special program on the Women of the Cheney family, featuring Electa Cheney, the mother of nine children: eight boys and one girl. "Electa" (portrayed by Bettylou Sandy) will be at the Homestead from 1:00 to 4:00 to answer any questions. At 2:30 "Electa" will give a 30-minute overview of her life, from the Woodbridge tavern, to the Cheney Homestead, and later years as a widow. Her daughter, also Electa (portrayed by Jamie Donahue) will also be on hand for questions.
Tour the historical gardens and the 1785 Homestead. $5 suggested donation is appreciated. See below for photos of newly painted and arranged rooms. Photos by Bettylou Sandy, Homestead committee.
Specialty newspapers published in Manchester

See The Highland News on our website.
For the advance planners
Concert at the Manchester Bicentennial Band Shell.
Thursday, May 19 at 7:00 p.m. (Rain Date: Thursday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m.) The Manchester Historical Society will present “Spring in Concert,” with music provided by the South Windsor Community Band. The Band Shell is located at 70 Bidwell Street, Manchester, on the MCC campus.
70 years ago in The Manchester Evening Herald
See the April 29, 1952 edition, or to peruse all our Heralds, see: Index of Heralds. Note the Mobil ad on the topic of gas mileage.
State Historian's trivia quiz.
Try the trivia quiz by clicking the image on the right. You can also subscribe to "Today in Connecticut History" to receive daily emails.
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 on the second Sunday of the 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 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 noon to 4:00. 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. The farmstead is open for free tours and programs geenerally on the second and fourth Sundays of the warmer months, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., but this year, starting the twice-a-month schedule in mid-June.
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.
Find us on Facebook!
For frequent photos and tidbits, check out our Facebook page.
High school yearbooks
Enjoy the large collection of Somanhis (South Manchester High School) yearbooks on our website. In addition to photos of the graduating seniors, these books have ads for local businesses, photos of school activities, and sometimes poetry and prose by the students. Thanking our volunteers, especially Bob Gauthier, Noreen Cullen, Jim Hall, Joshua Pruden, Dick Jenkins, Susan Barlow.
Counting down to Manchester's 200th anniversary year, which begins January 1, 2023: 247 days.
The Manchester Historical Society is planning exciting activities for the Town's year-long bicentennial celebration. Check out the activities of the 1923 celebration, documented in this booklet on our website.
Answers to quiz
The former Union Manufacturing Company buildings were along the Hockanum River, west of Union Street and the dam. It lent its name to "Union Village," the North End of Manchester, which was added to the National Register in 2002. The Union Cotton Mill was established in 1794 by Samuel Pitkin, using water power from the Hockanum River. As with other mill areas, worker housing was provided, and many examples of these houses are part of the district. The mills closed about 1900, and nothing remains of the bricks and stone near the river. Read more here about the Hockanum and its mills. BONUS, click the image for a jigsaw puzzle.
Art classes
Kids and adults -- ongoing and new offerings. Info: art classes at the History Center. Questions may be directed to Trudy Mitchell.
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. Sign in to Amazon via Amazon Smile and have a percentage of your purchases go to the Society. .