Historical Society of Rocky Hill on Facebook

The society now has a Facebook page. Please visit us here to add your comments, photos, and suggestions.

October Tag Sale to Benefit the Society: Oct 27 9-2

All proceeds from the October Tag Sale will benefit the Academy Hall Restoration Fund. The sale will be held on the grounds of the Academy on Saturday Oct 27 from 9 AM to 2 PM. Below an important note from a committee member:

Would any of you be able to help at the Rocky Hill Historical Society Tag Sale this coming Saturday, the 27th? We especially need people to help at 7:00 a.m. to carry boxes out to the tables on the sidewalk. We have a ton of stuff to put out, so the more people we have, the fewer trips each person needs to make, and the quicker we get done! Hope you can make it!

Thanks,
Nancy

Celebrate Saturday With Rocky Hill Ferry!

This report originally appeared at Rocky Hill Patch:

Saturday June 9,,,

Anyone who wants to cross the Connecticut River on the nation’s oldest continuously operating ferry service can do it this Saturday for free.

The Friends of the Connecticut River Ferries along with the Department of Transportation will be hosting an open house day celebration on Saturday, which is part of a statewide event.

The state is offering Connecticut residents discounted or free admission, free gifts, special exhibits and activities at more than 175 destinations across the state.

In Rocky Hill, the open house, which will run from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., will feature the following:

• Exhibits
• Activities
• Food
• Music

Continue reading at Rocky Hill Patch

Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry

Olga Rizza (Pashok) Dead at 90

Olga Pashok Rizza, 90, of Portland, passed away on Saturday, (May 12, 2012) at Middlesex Hospital. Born in Bloomfield, Olga lived most of her life in Rocky Hill moving to Portland 20 years ago after retiring from Rocky Hill Veterans’ Hospital. She was a long time resident and homeowner on Pratt Street. Interment at Rocky Hill Center Cemetery.

 

 

 

Obituary Hartford Courant

2011 in review; a report to our members and readers:

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,100 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 35 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Rocky Hill – Glastonbury Ferry Shuts Down (Forever?)

Connecticut River Ferry Rocky Hill a video by Steadyjohn on Flickr.

A short 2009 video of the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry in operation

Reposted from Rocky Hill Patch:

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget balancing plan confirmed what many people already knew that the ferry services would be cut to help balance the $1.6 billion deficit.

In Malloy’s plan, all eight employees of the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury and Hadlyme-Chester ferries would be laid off and services would be eliminated. The plan said the seasonal ferry service is a “convenience for residents in these areas” and there are year round alternatives available.

By eliminating the employees and the service, the state would save $377,634 in 2012 and $473,627 in 2013.

The Rocky Hill Ferry was closed Friday, due to staffing issues, Department of Transportation Spokesman Kevin Nursick said. However, people still came to Ferry Park to see if they could take a ride across the river.

Sara Weeden was hoping to take her daughter, Gwendlyn, on the ferry for only the second time in her life when she found out the news.

“I’m just surprised that they would do that,” Sara Weeden said. She added that her daughter enjoyed riding the ferry.

“It is a nice treat,” Sara Weeden said.

She added that on Wednesday, the last day the ferry was open, there was a line of cars backed up on Great Meadow Road.

The Rocky Hill Ferry was the nation’s oldest continuously operating ferry service. It traveled the Connecticut River from Rocky Hill to Glastonbury and back. The original ferry, just a small raft pushed across the river with the help of long poles, dates back to 1655. Privately operated for 260 years, it became a state facility in 1915 and had been operating until now by the State Department of Transportation.

Credit: Sean Conor,Rocky Hill Patch - Rocky Hill Ferry Landmark

Update July 17, Hartford Courant reporting: (also see AP report on CT CBS)

…John Serra, who works at the Rocky Hill Historical Society, said the ferry was once a financial lifeline for the town and has evolved into a social hub.”It was really the center of town,” Serra said.A stack of papers in a small library above the historical society includes a jumble of photos, newspaper clippings and historical documents chronicling the development of the ferry beginning in 1655, 121 years before the Declaration of Independence…

7th Annual Connecticut Open House Day-Sat. June 11

Connecticut residents are invited to discover – and rediscover – the state’s exciting arts, history and tourism offerings with a variety of special incentives, such as discounted or free admission, free gifts or special exhibits and activities during the 7th Annual Open House Day on June 11, 2011

Open House Day is a great way for you to experience all the state has to offer and to encourage you to become Connecticut Ambassadors who take pride in sharing your new discoveries with visiting family and friends. The annual event is coordinated by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.

Connecticut Open House Day specials and hours of operation vary by property. Be sure to check back often, as new participating properties are added to the list. Participating locations are listed in alphabetical order by town, then by the name of the property.Go to state web site for list of participating venues: http://www.ctvisit.com/dontmiss/details/163#R

The only Rocky Hill participating venue is Dinosaur State Park where admission will be free on Saturday June 11 from 9 AM to 4 PM.
Dinosaur State Park
400 West St.
Rocky Hill, CT
(860) 529-5816

http://www.ct.gov/dep/dinosaurstatepark

Welcome!

Welcome to the web home of The Rocky Hill (CT) Historical Society. Here you will find up to date information and articles about the activities of the society. Please visit the various pages to the right for detailed information about the society and our activities, our community, our historic buildings, etc.

Wall Stenciling-18th C House Rocky Hill (c. 1727)

This decoration found on the wall of a 2nd floor room in a house on Lower Pratt Street. Such stenciling decoration was a fairly common practice in the period but to find them intact and vibrant today is rare. It is unknown when this stenciling was added as the previous owners have passed on and the current owner does not occupy the house.

This decoration found surrounding a parlor fireplace in a house on Lower Pratt Street.

Here is information from a review of the book “American Wall Stenciling 1790-1840″ by Ann Eckert Brown:

“For today’s owner of an antique house, the discovery of an early stenciled wall—even a fragment of one—is a revelation that offers a shard of a tangible past. In post-revolutionary America, the decoration of choice for a surprisingly large number of home owners from all social and economic groups was walls painted with intricate stenciled designs. Stenciled walls were cheaper and more sanitary than those covered with paper, but the most compelling reason for the widespread use of stenciling was that it was considered far more stylish than impersonal, mass-produced paper. Stencil artists freely borrowed wallpaper motifs and crossbred them. Successive generations of wallpaper, which became increasingly more affordable after the Industrial Revolution, covered stenciled walls, hiding them, obliterating some and preserving others.”