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Bethel Historical Society
40 Main Street - Bethel, CT 06801

203-743-5893

info@BethelHistoricalSociety.com

 



VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
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  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014
  • VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY
    VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, December, 2014

 

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS
LAURA INGALLS DAY

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  • BETHEL HIGH SCHOOL 1940....Originally built in 1887, the first public high school in Bethel stood on South St.. just to the left of the current Bethel Fire House. The school, which graduated its first class in 1888, remained in service as an educational facility until it was replaced by a newer building on School Street in 1939. In 1942 the building was converted into a firehouse which served the town until a newer building was constructed in 1965.
  • Greenwood Avenue
  • Main Street, Bethel c. 1900 .....This photo shows Main St. with the tracks of the old Shepaug Railroad connecting line running along its north side. This railroad line, which could take passengers from the Bethel Station at Deport place to the main line of the Shepaug at Hawleyville, Newtown, began service on July 4, 1872, and was actually owned by the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad, although most Bethelites referred to it as the Shepaug line. The line was abandoned, except for a service spur serving some Bethel businesses, in July of 1911. The building, now occupied by the Bethel Historical Society and the V.F.W as well as the Congregational Church can be seen at the left.
  • Maple Avenue and Plumtrees c. 1890
  • Putnam Park c. 1915
  • Cady Morse Home – located at the foot of Hoyt’s Hill
  • The Bethel Free Public Library c. 1930                                                                                                                                                   Note the field to the left of the library.
  • “Old Forgotten” ....Shown on P.T. Barnum Square, around the Doughboy, is  “Old Forgotten” Bethel’s first piece of fire apparatus. This hand-drawn pumper can be found in the South St Fire Dept. Museum.  Also shown is a hand-drawn hose wheel.
  • Governor’s Visit to Bethel c.1900....  A visit by Governor George E. Lansbury of Ridgefield, in office from 1899-1901. The carriage is stopped in front of the building that today houses a fitness center. The gentleman seated to the right of the Governor is Dr. William C. Wile, who is responsible for building Tarrywile Mansion. The individual standing to the right of the carriage is Rev. Henry L. Slack, who served as minister of Bethel’s Congregational Church from 1883 until his death in 1905.
  • Danbury Turnpike at Dodgingtown
  • Top of Hoyt’s Hill.....Top of Hoyt’s Hill
  • Walker Ferry’s Shoe Store c. 1890.... This still-extant three-story building at 12 Chestnut Street, dating from before 1851, was once owned by Walker Ferry. It housed his shoe store, McDowell’s Meat Market and a two-level residence
  • “Old Forgotten”....Bethel’s first piece of fire apparatus.
  • Greenwood Avenue
  • The Corner of Greenwood Ave. & Blackman Ave c. 1910                                                                          Bethel’s main thoroughfare in the first years of the 20th century.  Notice the dirt streets with the cobblestone path running between the trolley tracks. In the distance can be seen the hand-cranked railroad gates. The numerous Elm trees that lined both sides of the street eventually fell victim to the Dutch-elm disease that swept throughout a portion of New England in the 1960s.
  • The Orrin Benedict Mansion c. 1890                                                                                                                                                Orrin Benedict (1817-1901) was the wealthiest and most influential hatter in Bethel’s history. This elaborate Italianate style villa occupied a hillside behind today’s Sycamore Restaurant. Benedict’s hat factory was located where Burger King and the Bethel Cinema now stand. For a short time after Benedict’s death, this house served as the Pine Tree Inn and was later demolished in 1947, to make way for the restaurant and shopping center.
  • The Barnum Fountain c.1905                                                                                                                                                        In 1881, Bethel’s most famous son, P.T. Barnum, presented his birthplace with a tremendous 18 foot high fountain depicting a triton blowing a conch shell. Barnum had purchased the fountain in Berlin, Germany for $7,000 and had it transported to his Bridgeport mansion, Waldemere. Unfortunately, for Barnum, the fountain required more water than he had anticipated. So it was that on August 19, 1881 Barnum visited Bethel and formally presented the fountain, after spending $3,000 of his own money to have an island of grass created for the fountain and then to have the fountain transported to Bethel from Bridgeport by horse and wagon. The fountain along with its concrete basin that was 30 feet in circumference existed until October 18, 1924 when it was dismantled after falling into disrepair. Four years later the Doughboy statue filled the void caused by the removal of the fountain.
  • Parade Coming c. 1930....Greenwood Avenue near the south end of P.T. Barnum Square. The two wood frame buildings in the left of the photo were razed in the early 1960s and have been replaced by P.T. Barnum Plaza. The house, exhibiting the American flag, was home to a tailor shop operated by J.M. Thurner.
  • The Forgotten Engine Company of Danbury and Bethel c.1900                                                                                                         The small, hand-drawn pumper at the right is now in the Bethel Fireman’s Museum on South Street.
  • Old Shepaug Railroad Tressle crossing over Wooster Street.  The Shepaug ceased operation in 1911.
  • Blizzard on Center Street c.1900                                                                                                                                                  Greenwood Avenue, (then known as Center St,) following a winter storm. The trolley shown, began service on January 1, 1895, and ceased running in November of 1924. The spire of the Methodist Church as well as the Methodist parsonage can be seen on the left side of the street. The building to the left of the parsonage has since been obscured by the storefront currently occupied by H & R Block and The Toy Room.
  • The Barnum Fountain                                                                                                                                                                            An 18 foot high fountain depicting a triton blowing a conch shell.  Presented to Bethel in 1881 by P.T. Barnum, it was dismantled October 18, 1924, and replaced by the Doughboy statue in 1928
  • Bethel Center Cemetery c.1900
    Bethel Center Cemetery c.1900 Center Cemetery on South Street as it looked at the turn of the century. The cemetery had first been created in 1847, and South Street was also cut through that same year in order to make the cemetery accessible. The Civil War monument shown in the background was formally dedicated in 1892, and still stands but the fountain in the foreground has long since disappeared.
  • Fountain Place c. 1900                                                                                                                                                                        No respectable man would be seen out with his derby at the time of this photo. The scene is what is now known as P.T. Barnum Square.   The large wood-frame building that occupied the site at this time was the Cole-Ambler hat factory (later known as the Higson hat factory, and later yet the Fay-Gorman hat factory). The structure burned to the ground on August 26, 1913, producing one of Bethel’s most spectacular fires. The factory’s smokestack, however, survived until 1934. The bandstand in the background occupied the island that is now home to the Libby Kellogg Memorial.
  • 1842 Second Meeting House, Second Church Building of the Second Congregational Church of Danbury.                                  Located on Main Street it was subsequently used as a Town Hall, Post Office and William Judd’s store.
  • Blue Cedar Inn                             Once stood where Caraluzzi Discount Liquors is today.
  • Elm Street (now Greenwood Avenue) c. 1910                             Note trolley off in the distance.
  • Main Street, Bethe, Conn
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  • Nugent's Modern Cabins and Tourist's Home - Route U. S. 6 - Stony Hill
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