Strawberry Fields in Shailerville, circa 1910
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Haddam Historical Society Scholarship Award 2020
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The Haddam Historical Society is thrilled to announce that its 2020 Scholarship was presented to Arjun Vikram Badami, son of Ms. Vishnupriya Santhanam and Dr. Vivek G. Badami of Higganum.
Arjun, is not only an exceptional student and role model, but he has contributed to the community in a variety of ways, including volunteering for the Haddam Historical Society at a number of our re-enactment events. At our cemetery tour, he portrayed a Civil-War soldier from Haddam who was a prisoner at Andersonville Prison and died of starvation. At our sold-out Jail Tour he played the role of a young car thief who had to get married while behind bars. He portrayed both characters with vigor, self-confidence and artistic talent. He gained a better understanding of the history of his community and became more connected to the place he calls home.
The $500 scholarship was awarded based upon his scholastic standing, contributions the school, community activities and interest in history. Arjun will be attending Georgetown University in the fall.
Scholarship Chairperson, Susann Costa noted that this is the 8
th
annual scholarship award and that the society is delighted to be able to help support the continued education of one of our community’s deserving students and advocate for the importance of history both locally and globally.
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Arjun portraying one of the Brooks Brothers who served in the Civil War for the Union, was a prisoner at Andersonville and died of starvation.
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Arjun portraying car thief, Fred Henderson at the Haddam Jail "Cell Block Tales" in 2018.
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Connecticut’s Historic Gardens Day
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Thankful Arnold House Museum
Connecticut’s Historic Gardens Day
Sunday, June 28, 2020
NOON to 4 pm
Celebrating Connecticut’s Historic Gardens Day will be a little different in 2020 due to Covid-19. Visitors to the museum garden will learn how herbs, vegetables and plants were used by the Widow Thankful Arnold in the early 19th century. The Wilhelmina Ann Arnold Barnhart Memorial Garden features over 50 varieties of herbs including those used in cooking, dyeing, fragrance and medicine. Guides will be hand to answer questions. The event is free of charge but reserved, timed tickets are required through Eventbrite:
https://thankfularnoldgardenday.eventbrite.com
The tours will last 45 minutes and the limit is 8 visitors per tour.
Please note that guests are required to wear a mask or cloth face covering during their visit and practice social distancing. The museum will not have guided tours and gift shop will not be open. The museum is located at 14 Hayden Hill Road, Haddam, Connecticut. For additional information visit our web site at
www.haddamhistory.org
or call 860-345-2400.
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Announcing BML’s June Challenge! “Haiku in My Garden”
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B
rainerd Memorial Library is seeking original garden themed haiku submissions until June 30, 2020.
The Haiku team will choose 2 entries to award $15 gift certificates from local garden centers.
We will also post the Haiku on our Poetry Blog
“A traditional Japanese haiku is a 3-line poem with 17 syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. …Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.” – poets.org
Here is a sample of a famous haiku by Matsuo Bashō.
An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
More information
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I
n the next week our annual appeal will be mailed to every household in Haddam, Higganum and Haddam Neck. This campaign is very important to the future success of the Haddam Historical Society---- particularly this year --since we have had to cancel or postpone all of our fundraising events and programs including the Connecticut Spring Antiques Show. Although the museum has been closed to the public, staff has been extremely busy cataloging and archiving collections and producing local history videos in lieu of in-person exhibits. Our blog also features a number of exhibits including one on Haddam Island and local outhouses.
http://haddamhistory.blogspot.com/
This year we have a
NEW MEMBER challenge.
An anonymous donor has pledged to match any
NEW
members contribution up to $2500, so we encourage you to ASK your neighbors and friends to join us and send in a contribution so we can take advantage of this tremendous gift.
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Answers to the WPA photographs in last e-newsletter:
1.
56 Bridge Street, Captain Timothy Shailer House
2.
318 Walkley Hill Road, Captain Noah Dickinson House
3.
1344 Saybrook Road, George E. Bailey House
4.
59 Christian Hill Road, Richard Walkley IV House
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1.
56 Bridge Street, Captain Timothy Shailer House
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2.
318 Walkley Hill Road, Captain Noah Dickinson House
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3.
1344 Saybrook Road, George E. Bailey House
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4.
59 Christian Hill Road, Richard Walkley IV House
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T
hank you to the wonderful volunteers who have signed up to water the garden at the Thankful Arnold House Museum. We still have a few weeks available.
Weeks Available:
July 13 to 19
July 20 to 26
August 10 to 16
August 17 to 23
August 24 to 30
August 31 to September 6
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Factory/Mill Housing in Higganum
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Higganum has a number of great examples of workers housing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These mill houses were put up by companies, such as the D. & H. Scovil Hoe Company, Higganum Manufacturing, Russell Manufacturing and Reed & Company to house (rent) employees of their firms and in some cases offered them for sale.
The houses were generally similar in design, 1 ½ stories wood frame cottages that featured an element of architectural details of the period such as decorative bargeboard, bracketed entrances, scroll sawn brackets and open porches. Many of these factory homes can be found on Dublin Hill Road, Calliari Place, Lake Avenue, and Thayer Road. Although some have lost their embellishments, a number of the buildings retain their architectural detail including 140 Dublin Hill Road, 4 Lake Avenue and 120 Thayer Road.
Many of these homes were lived in or sold to European immigrants including Swedish, Italian, German and Irish, many of whom have descendants living in Higganum today.
These houses are important links to those who toiled in factories making agricultural implements such as hoes and harrows during Higganum's heyday as a small manufacturing center and reflect how employees could work, save and ultimately buy their own home.
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4 Lake Avenue, Constructed by Higganum Manufacturing later known as Clark Cutaway Harrow
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Historic photo of 4 Lake Avenue, early 20th century.
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140 Dublin Hill Road
Leverett Spencer House
1938 Hurricane
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