Wallingford

The Wallingford Historical Society

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 1999
• Print ISBN:
  9780738500751
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439626863
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Wallingford depicts the interesting history of this Connecticut community.Wallingford lies nestled among the hills along the valley of the Quinnipiac River in Connecticut. Its first settlers were 38 planters and their families, who arrived in 1670. The land proved to be productive for farming and orchards. Many years after its founding, Wallingford flourished as a center for the making of silver holloware and flatware. With names such as Wallace, Simpson, Rogers, Elton, Hall, Miller, International Silver, the Community (a commune, which later joined the Oneida, New York community), and later Boardman, Wallingford became known throughout the country. Unique areas of Wallingford such as Yalesville, Tracy, Pond Hill, North Farms, and Cook Hill sprang up, taking on the names of the people who started businesses and farms there. Today, although most of the farms and the silver industry have disappeared, Wallingford still has a thriving industry and rural expanses. Revering its heritage, the community has worked hard to achieve this balance as it has gone forward to meet the challenges of the present and future.

Two

COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

THE SIMPSON BLOCK, C. 1905. The block, built in 1887 by Samuel Simpson, had George Wilkinson’s Opera House on the top two floors; the second floor had offices such as that of well-known attorney C. Albert Harrison. The stores at that time were the Crossett & Emerson Shoe Store, L.R. Cook’s dry goods and notions, the New Haven News Room, Pixley’s Drug Store, and the post office. This was before the original fieldstone fountain was constructed at the south end of Simpson Court.

F.C. SLATE’S MILLINERY STORE, C. 1889. This dry goods store occupied the second shop in Simpson Court, prior to Lorenzo Cook’s store (noted on the preceding page). It was later the location of Cahill’s, a well-known women’s store in the mid-1900s.

THE BACK ROOM IN PIXLEY’S DRUG STORE. Mr. Pixley is on the left along with Fred Marx, who bought the business upon Mr. Pixley’s retirement. This later became Stimpson’s Pharmacy.

LOOKING SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE SITE OF THE CURRENT POST OFFICE, C. 1863. The building we see houses the Main Street Meat Market. This was once a tavern with a large taproom, and was reputedly moved to this location from down near Orchard Street. The pole at the left is the Liberty Pole that Moses Yale Beach had erected at the start of the Civil War in 1861.

THE JONES BLOCK, C. 1895. This was located on the south side of Center Street, west of today’s Gallagher Travel. The picture shows the Hall Brothers’ Meat Store and delivery wagon. The store was operated by Henry D. and Julius Hall. The right side was later occupied by Heilman’s Bakery. The building was demolished to allow for the construction of the current post office.

THE F.H. SMITH GROCERY STORE, 1898. It was a thriving grocery and dry goods store located at the northeast corner of Academy and North Main Streets. Shortly after this picture was taken, Harry D. and William F. Pattee bought the business and moved it to the Dickerman Block in Simpson Court. This house was later used as a medical office by Dr. Alfred St. James.

THE E.E. HALL FEED STORE, C. 1893. This was just west of the Jones Block, noted on p. 19, at 353 Center Street. In the picture are Almon E. Hall, Edwin E. Hall (owner), Minnie Hall (E.E.’s son and daughter), and an unidentified little boy in front. This building was later home to Charles Gammon’s gas station, and later still to Andy Ohr’s Texaco station.

THE WALLINGFORD TOWN HALL WITH STORES ON THE FIRST FLOOR, PRE-1910. The town derived income from the storefronts before it needed the space for offices. This was well before the police occupied the east end of the building.

THE CARRINGTON STORE ON SIMPSON COURT. Started about 1810, this was Wallingford’s first de...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• One - STREET SCENES
• Two - COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
• Three - SCHOOLS AND SPORTS
• Four - FACTORIES AND MILLS
• Five - TRANSPORTATION
• Six - BENEFICENT WALLINGFORD
• Seven - SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT
• Eight - WALLINGFORD UNDER SIEGE BY MOTHER NATURE
• Nine - AROUND THE TOWN
• Ten - PUBLIC SERVICES
• Eleven - FARMS AND ORCHARDS
• Twelve - YALESVILLE