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Cheney Homestead open house and seasonal fun for all ages

Sunday, October 18, 12:00 to 2:00. Celebrate pumpkin season -- cornstalks, pumpkins and mums greet visitors and each room in the Homestead is decorated with floral arrangements that reflect the season. The young and young at heart can decorate mini pumpkins and experience Early American games. There will be a giant wooden pumpkin for photo ops. Please come by and visit for 10 minutes or 2 hours. Plenty of parking. Short video preview here. Regular open house schedule at the Homestead: first and third Sundays of the month, through October. In December, there are two holiday open houses, with decor by the Manchester Garden Club.

106 Hartford Road.

Free. Donations in support of the Homestead warmly welcome.

Walking tours -- free and informative.

Moderately paced walk with historic commentary. Rain or shine; extreme weather cancels.

• Sunday, October 18, 12:00 noon. Adaptive re-use exploratory walk and visit the Cheney Homestead. Park at 146 Hartford Road. Special guests!

• Sunday, November 8, 12:00 noon, East Cemetery walk. Meet at Harrison Street entrance, park along Harrison or cemetery lanes.

• Saturday, November 14, 1:00 p.m., North End history walk. Front steps Whiton Library, 100 North Main Street.

• Saturday, December 26, 1:00 p.m. History hike Highland Park, two options for length of walk, 670 Spring Street.

Woodbridge Farmstead

FINAL DAY OF BARN TAG SALE and

LAST OPEN HOUSE OF THE SEASON

Sunday, October 25, 12:00 to 2:00

BARN TAG SALE, end of season and everything must go. Even the most unreasonable offer will be accepted! Our newly restored 19th-century barn is still filled with antique farm tools that need to find new homes before we can move forward with the next phase of our farm museum displays. These vintage tools weren’t originally part of the Woodbridge Farmstead, but they’re every bit as interesting! Come find a treasure, make an offer, and help us clear the barn! 

LAST OPEN HOUSE OF THE SEASON! Fall is a beautiful time at the farm, with colorful leaves, crisp autumn air, and gardens settling in for winter. We’ll celebrate the harvest season and Halloween, so costumes are welcome! Whether you stay for ten minutes or two hours, we’d love to see you. Come enjoy the fall scenery, explore our historic barns, and help us celebrate another wonderful season at the Farmstead.

Convenient parking is available off Woodbridge Street, behind the barns. Short video visit.

495 East Middle Turnpike. Free. Donations welcome.

Open year round. Come visit!

The History Center museum

175 Pine Street

Open Weds., Thurs., Fri., Sat. 10:00 to 2:00

See exhibits, research resources, and shop at the museum store. Genealogy library is open. Meet our volunteers. Bring friends and neighbors. Learn about your town's history. Free. Visit for 10 minutes or 4 hours. Donations welcome.

Lectures commemorating the Declaration of Independence on its 250th anniversary

Our Sunday lecture series focuses on the Declaration, the Revolutionary War, and the people who struggled to gain independence from Great Britain. Thought-provoking lectures at the History Center, 175 Pine Street. Light refreshments will be served. Free. Donations welcome.

SUNDAYS AT 1:00 p.m.

• October 25, Steve Armstrong presents "Communication: How did the colonies learn about the Declaration of Independence?" Preview here.

• December 6, Steve Armstrong presents "Women in the American Revolution."

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BONUS! Our friends at the Glastonbury Historical Society invite us to a talk by Matt Warshauer, "Four Score and Seven Years Ago; Lincoln’s 87-Year U-Turn on the Declaration and the Meaning of America," Monday, October 19, 6:30 p.m. at First Church Glastonbury, 2183 Main Street, Glastonbury.

A new exhibit at the History Center

The Sculpture Project invites everyone to a reception celebrating the opening of an exhibit about the three bronze statues created for Manchester. Thursday, November 5 at 5:00 p.m., 175 Pine Street. Read more on our website here.

Open House

Saturday, November 7, 10:00 to 2:00, visit the Old Manchester Museum and its new dinosaur exhibit. Free. Shop at the small museum store with local-history items such as maps and books. 126 Cedar Street. Some research materials available.

SPECIAL Guest -- John Rosetti will speak in the person of a member of the Podunk tribe.

Open the first Saturday of the month 10:00 to 2:00 through December.

Phishing attempt

One of our neighbors alerted us about a fake email that was sent, supposedly from info@manchesterhistory.org (which is our curator's e-address), with the subject "Please Review Statement Agreement Reports." If you receive any such email, do not open it. Our neighbor said that the email contains a link to a site known for spam and malware! Delete or mark as spam, but do not open. 

Please note change in date and time of

Annual Meeting

Sunday, November 15, 5:00 p.m. at 175 Pine Street. This year's annual meeting includes an illustrated presentation about the Sculpture Project and its goal of bringing three bronze statues to Manchester. Members will receive a mailed invitation to the meeting and presentation.

Our artistic partner

The Dionysus Theatre Company is staging Scott McPherson’s "Marvin’s Room," which will open on Friday, October 30 and run for three weekends. As a member of the Manchester Historical Society, you are eligible for a ticket at the discounted rate of $22. We also need need some Society volunteers to serve refreshments, etc. Reply to this email if you want to volunteer. To purchase tickets go to https://dionysustheatrecompany.org/tickets or click on this link TICKETS.

Genealogy Group will meet Wednesday, November 11

Generally we meet from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the History Center, 175 Pine Street on the second Wednesday of the month. The meeting is for both amateur and more experienced genealogists. Free for Society members, $3 for non-members. Our genealogy library is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 to 2:00 -- same hours as History Center, where it is located. Questions: 860-647-9983.

Television show

Summertimes Past on TV

62-minute television program with photos and commentary about Manchester's summertime activities -- Globe Hollow, Laurel Park, shade-grown tobacco, ice cream, and other activities. Throughout the month the program will be televised at noon and 8:00 p.m. Saturdays on Cox Cable’s channel 15 in Manchester, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington. The television show is produced by Susan Barlow and directed by Kathryn Wilson, research by Jill Gelinas, volunteers of the Manchester Historical Society. But wait! You can watch Summertimes Past here, on your computer, tablet, or phone right now or at ANY TIME. Just click the link.

Featured clippings from The Manchester Herald, Wednesday, October 16, 1946

The Manchester Herald was published from 1881 to 1991. The South Manchester News was published from 1893 to 1924. For more newspaper info and editions, see: Index of Herald & So. Manch. News.

Find us on Facebook!

For frequent photos and tidbits, check out our Facebook page, which has 4800 followers. 

Jigsaw



← Click image to solve puzzle.



John Knoll photo of Wyllys copper mine. More on our website here.

Open house at the historic cabin at Case Mountain

Our friends and fellow preservationists at the Case Mountain Cabin invite you to an open house Saturday, October 17, from 11:00 to 12:30. Walk in from either the Spring Street side or the Birch Mountain parking lot side (about 1/2 mile either way). More here.

Welcome, everyone, to the ongoing seasonal open houses at our museums!

Woodbridge Farmstead, open second and fourth Sundays 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. through October. Short video visit to the Farmstead here. Pollinator garden, antique barns, and the 1832 Farmstead. 495 East Middle Turnpike.

Cheney Homestead, open first and third Sundays 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. through October. Activities and tours for young and old. Short video visit here. 106 Hartford Road.

Old Manchester Museum, open the first Saturday of the month, 10:00 to 2:00 through December, with a new exhibit about dinosaurs, Podunks, and colonists. Small museum store, and some research resources available. 126 Cedar Street.

History Center museum, open year round, Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 to 2:00. More info above. Come visit!

Did you know that there are monthly website costs, based on the amount of storage and usage? Your donation helps pay for these services. Donate online or send a check to 175 Pine Street, Manchester CT 06040. Meanwhile, enjoy our website!

Popular resources on our website:

• Maps ancient to modern here.

• Postcards from the Findlay collection here.

• Yearbooks

from junior high and high school are here.

• Town reports and directories click here to visit. This also contains links to research houses in town, including the 1937 auction of Cheney houses.

• Cookbooks -- "From Your Neighbor's Kitchen" Herald booklets include searchable recipes and photos. Click here to visit.

Contact info:

History Center phone: 860-647-9983. Mailing address: 175 Pine Street, Manchester CT 06040. General email and to reach the curator of our collections: info@manchesterhistory.org Contact the e-news editor.

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 the first and third Sundays of the month, May through October, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m, and for special programs at other times throughout the year, including June open-museum day and December holiday openings.

The Keeney Schoolhouse on the Homestead grounds, with identical open hours. Our one-room schoolhouse was originally built on Keeney Street about 1751, and in 1975 the Town's Bicentennial Committee voted to restore the building, but it had deteriorated and a replica was built, using as many original materials as possible.

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. Open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 2:00, except holidays.

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.

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 months May through October, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.

Silk Vault Building at 110 Elm Street, Manchester, was purchased by the Society in 2017. A unique building, constructed in 1920, the vault is rented out, and isn't open to the public.

Our friend and neighbor, the Fire Museum, 230 Pine Street, is open Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from May through early November.