Extra credit: In what decade was this building replaced with a stone church?

Wednesday, April 12, from 10:00 to noon, the Historical Society's Genealogy Group will meet at the History Center, 175 Pine Street. The group is for all levels of expertise. Free for members, $3.00 for non-members. Questions may be directed to the History Center at 860-647-9983.

Thank you to artists who have brought in artwork for the Historical Society's art exhibit about Manchester's past. Pictured at right is Dorothy Hall's mixed media image of the Pitkin Glass Works. The art show will have a grand opening on Saturday, May 13, when a "trolley" will bring visitors to the three-location art show and other historic spots. Here's more info from Work_Space: "As we reflect upon our first 200 years of Manchester and look toward the next century, Lutz Children’s Museum, the Manchester Historical Society, and WORK_SPACE ...will feature works of artists...marking this momentous occasion. Each organization is bringing a slightly different slant to the celebration."

Open Wednesday through Friday 10:00 to 2:00, and Saturdays 12:00 noon to 4:00. The exhibit tells the story of Manchester's past as it relates to the future. Photos, artifacts, stories! While you're here, peruse other displays, including vintage signs from former businesses in town.

Museum store items: Local-history books, maps, t-shirts, coffee mugs, magnets, Herald cookbooks, note-cards, etc.

←click the image to solve.

These cookbooks are still popular, and they are now scanned and searchable on our website here: Cookbooks.

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Our online booklet: 23 hikes for 2023 lists free history hikes. Printed copies of the booklet are available at the History Center, 175 Pine Street during regular hours, Town Hall customer service, and Town libraries. Upcoming walks of interest to history buffs and area residents -- FREE. These events will be held rain or shine. Details in the booklet, whose link is above.

90 years ago in The Manchester Herald

March 24, 1933 was a Friday. The Herald contained news, photos, entertainment ads, and page-one articles about 3.2-beer production not keeping up with demand. While prohibition didn't end until December 5, 1933, regulations allowed for 3.2-beer beginning in March 1933. See the whole edition: March 24, 1933 Herald, or to peruse all our Heralds, see: Index of Heralds. See a history of The Herald on our website.

Enjoy the large collection of Somanhis (South Manchester High School) and junior high 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.

The Methodist Episcopal Church, pictured in the 1918 photo by John Knoll, stood on the corner of Main Street and Hartford Road -- the location of today's South United Methodist Church, which was dedicated in 1925. The wooden church pictured served the congregation from 1854. The woman at far left with the baby carriage is passing by a fountain for horses -- that fountain is now located in the medical-facility parking lot immediately west of the Cheney homestead on the south side of Hartford Road. More about the photo, thanks to Dick Jenkins.

You can watch this month's show right now by clicking "Living without Electricity" show. If you live in the Manchester area, you can watch it on TV, Saturdays at 12:00 noon and at 8:00 p.m. on Cox cable channel 15 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. "Living without Electricity in 2018 and 1818” is a 67-minute television show featuring gardener and Homestead volunteer Bettylou Sandy, who spoke at the Manchester History Center on February 4, 2018. Bettylou says, "Historically, most people in Manchester have lived a lifetime without electricity. Today the power goes out and we panic. In this talk, demonstrations, and discussion, we will relive 200 years of history to learn to save electricity and live a simpler lifestyle, while saving money!" The TV show is produced by Historical Society volunteers. You can watch this month's show ANY TIME on the Public Access website, by clicking here Current TV Program on Manchester Public Access.

Sunday, May 14 from 1:00 to 4:00. Experience Early American lifestyle -- the 1785 homestead with period furnishings as the people experienced life at the time. The house is staged, on the first floor, in 1818. The second floor reflects 1840. A $5 donation is appreciated for upkeep of the 1785 Homestead. The Homestead is located at 106 Hartford Road. Come for 10 minutes or stay for hours. PLEASE NOTE, no open house in April.

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. 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.

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. .