“Panel Series” to Shed Light on Old Wethersfield History
WETHERSFIELD - There’s the First Church of Christ, which saw the likes of George Washington, John Adams and theologian John Edwards pass through.

       There’s the Hurlbut-Dunham House, which was purchased by the first sea captain to sail to from North America to the South Pacific. Then there’s the Solomon Welles House, a relic of the state prison that stood in Old Wethersfield from 1827 to 1967.

       It might seem like there is a piece of history virtually everywhere in Wethersfield, and by the Spring of next year, residents and visitors will be able to give themselves a guided tour. The town’s Department of Economic Development, in partnership with the Wethersfield Historical Society, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum and Comstock Ferre, amongst others, will be putting up informational panels at a number of historic landmarks around the Old Wethersfield district.

       A few months ago, the department held a community input workshop at the Keeney Cultural Center in order to solicit suggestions as to how to enhance the panel series, which will cover everything from the former state prison site to locations relevant to the Revolutionary War. Director of Economic Development Peter Gillespie is hoping to have the project completed and on display by May 23, just in time for Wethersfield Heritage Week.

       â€"During the Heritage Week, there will be a lot of people visiting town, so we want to piggy back off of that,” Gillespie said at a recent Town Council meeting. â€"It will tell the history of this community in an attractive, comprehensive way.”

       Sites will include the Buttolph Williams House, the colonial mansion that inspired the novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, as well as Hanmer Park, the former pond where Revolutionary War soldiers camped on their way to the iconic Battle of Long Island.

       The panels will also detail settler relations between the Wangunks, a tribe that lived along the Connecticut River, as well as the role Hartford Avenue played in Wethersfield’s transition from a rural community to a bedroom suburb for Hartford during a period of transportation development that included the electric trolley.

       â€"We talked about this project for a number of years,” Gillespie said. â€"In 2008 we did a master plan for Old Wethersfield and [the consultants] stressed what an enhancement it’d be for visitors, so we think this’ll be a great contribution not just to visitors, but also to town residents. There’s a lot of history town residents don’t know about.”

       The four largest panels will be in front of the Keeney Cultural Center, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, Cove Park and the Broad Street Green, and will detail â€"key locations,” Gillespie said. Eighteen smaller ones will be spread out amongst other landmarks, he said.

       â€"We decided that because of the nature of those locations, they’d need a larger panel,” he said. â€"Those panels tell larger stories.”

       The project, which costs between $80,000 and $90,000, got $17,500 in a planning grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Another $35,000 grant was provided for implementation by Connecticut Humanities, according to Gillespie.
MORE WETHERSFIELD NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  Sep 24 2014  |  COMMENTS?