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Monroe Historical Society
Box 212
Monroe, CT 06468
The following items have been excerpted from a series of articles that were written for the Monroe Courier during 1997 and 1998.
When Monroe Became a Town
Monroe will celebrate its 175th birthday on Memorial Day weekend of 1998 with a rededication ceremony at noon on the Monroe Center Green. Starting this month the Monroe Historical Society will provide a monthly column on Monroe's past. This first column furnishes a glimpse of United States History when Monroe became a township.
The year is 1823. James Monroe, the nations fifth president, is well into the third year of his second presidential term. In May, the area known at various times as Ripton Parish, North Stratford, New Stratford, and Huntington becomes named Monroe after the president.
This is not an uncommon practice. Many towns and cities are being named for James Monroe at this time. The town of Monroe, already numbering quite a few residents, will receive a charter from the General Assembly on May 23.
The town's first meeting is to take place on the third Monday in June at the Congregational meetinghouse with Levi Edwards presiding. (Because the town minute book from 1823-1886 has been missing for some time, readers can only speculate on what took place.)
James Monroe's term of office (1817-1825), designated by a Federalist newspaper as the Era of Good Feeling, has been a successful one in the sense that there has been great expansion of land with the admission to the Union of Mississippi (1817): Illinois (1819), Alabama (1819), Maine and Missouri (1821) as states. The Union has acquired the Oregon country to be occupied jointly with Great Britain in 1818. East Florida was acquired from Spain in 1819.
On Dec. 2, seven months from the date of Monroe's designation as a township, President Monroe, in his annual message to Congress, will propose what is to become his famous Monroe Doctrine. The message states a nationalistic determination to oppose any European influence in the Western Hemisphere and to remain completely detached form conflicts in Europe.
In 1823, Monroe liked out on a world that is truly broadening it horizons. During President Monroe's tenure, a growing enthusiasm for road, bridge, and canal building has stimulated internal commerce and trade.
In April, the Delaware and Hudson Company is charted for canals and railroads. The Champlain Canal connecting the Hudson River and Lake Champlain is opened. In May, the first steamboat up the Mississippi River arrives at Fort Snelling, Minnesota taking less than a month to make the journey.
" The Pioneer" the first book in the series the "Leatherstocking Tales" by James Fenimore Cooper, is published in 1823. Cooper is one of the first American novelists to achieve a widespread audience among the American public. On May 8, " Home Sweet Home" gains instant popularity when it is introduce in the opera Clari, or the Maid of Milan, and is soon to become the most popular song in America.
Just before Christmas, an anonymous poem will appear in the Troy (New York) Sentinel. The poem entitled, " A Visit from St. Nicholas" and better known as the "Night Before Christmas" was discovered to have been written by a classical literature professor, Clement Clark Moore. These works of art will certainly become part of the daily lives of Monroe residents.
In less than two more years, James Monroe will complete his presidency and be succeeded by John Quincy Adams. The Era of Good Feeling will be over. On the 4th of July 1831, James Monroe will die, leaving a rich legacy to remind the nation of his term of office. Part of that legacy is that the residents of Monroe are privileged to live in a town that honored its president by taking his name.
Soldiers passed this way in August of 1912
You can always count on August to be a hot month and the August on 1912 was certainly no exception. In blistering hot weather on Aug. 10 of that year, 20,000 men arrive at stations all over Fairfield County to take part in the Connecticut campaign maneuvers.
These maneuvers were to be carried out by two armies-the Red Team was aggressive invaders and the Blue Team as the defenders. The men came from the area. The Blue Team was made up of men from the 5th Regular Army Infantry and National Guard divisions from New Jersey and Vermont and several units from New York.
The Red Team was comprised of the 10th U.S. Cavalry, the National Guard from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine and the remaining New York units. The object of the Maneuvers was to have the Red Team "capture" New York City by gaining control of that city's water supply at Croton Dam north of the city. The Blue Team was to stop them within a period of eight days.
Scarcely a town in Fairfield County lacked the excitement of the arrival and the encampment of these soldiers. The purpose of these exercises has been explained in various ways. It is described as part of an exercise to train solders under conditions which exist in the actual field battle.
Since prejudice is often existed against soldiers and the army, in general, it was also believed to be an exercise to promote a positive feeling toward the military. In White Hills, residents were assured that it was not in preparation for a forthcoming war. There are even those who said it was a "showcase operation" to entertain the visiting European generals of whom there were several.
The generals weren't the only ones entertained. Thousands of local townspeople throughout the Housatonic River Valley flocked to see these military rivals. Monroe citizens were no exception. They joined their neighbors from surrounding towns providing lemonade and other cold drinks for the troops. In many local families stories have been passed down that tell of young children handing out fresh baked cookies to the men encamped nearby.
Local towns such as the Walnut Tree Hill section of White Hills, Oxford, and Redding were sites of preliminary battles and skirmishes. Local residents were invited to attend. The final full-scale battle took place in Newtown at Cobb's Hill (now Castle Hill) on Aug. 19.
Reports from the period tell of over 50,000 spectators. There was representation form 11 newspapers, many from major U.S. cities. A newsreel team was also on site. After the smoke cleared, the Battle of Newtown was declared to be a draw, and New York had been "saved."
Although information regarding Monroe's involvement in these maneuvers is sketchy, it is obvious that Monroe served as a military thoroughfare for the soldiers. The Old Zoar Bridge was their passage to many battle sites on the opposite side of the river culminating in the final Battle of Newtown Aug. 19. Many photographs exist of these maneuvers and the encampment in the collections of local historical societies, and in private collections. What a spectacular event it must have been!
Early Education
Monroe's settlers held education in high esteem.
Education was important to Monroe's early settlers. Their religion emphasized that to truly know God, one had to read the Bible. The earliest known school was Moose Hill in 1793. In the 18th century, the state of Connecticut mandated that all children be given the opportunity to read, that schools should be in session for six months a year, local property taxes and tuition fees would support the schools, and that a school be provided for every 30 families.
By 1789, there were 10 district schoolhouses in Monroe (then known as New Stratford). Children attended school for three months in summer and three months in winter because they were needed to help their families during the spring planting and fall harvest. In 1823, at the time on Monroe's incorporation, the local taxpayers provided the schoolhouse and fuel while the parents boarded the teacher and provided books they had on hand.
The first one- and two-room schools that dotted the countryside of Monroe were filled with children of varied ages and abilities. The older and more capable students helped the younger ones. The children were together year after year in the same country schoolhouse, and it may have seemed like one big family for many of them.
By the 1930s however, students were bused to schoolhouses by grade level. Third- and fourth-graders from all over town went to the Elm Street schoolhouse. The seventh-graders went to Cutlers Farm School, and the eighth graders to Edison School in Trumbull. Monroe students were bused to Bridgeport for high school.
In 1935, Monroe closed all of its schoolhouses and opened Monroe Elementary School (known then as Monroe Consolidated School). The handsome school, built with local fieldstone, was funded by the Administration which provided jobs during the Depression for building projects intended to have long-range value. A noted local auctioneer, Edward Beardsley, sold the schoolhouses for the Board of Education to raise money for emergencies that might arise with the new building.
The Barn Hill\East Village Schoolhouse sold for $25 to the East Village Methodist Church. They used it as a Sunday school and church hall. The Center School was bought by the Monroe Congregational Church and moved there for a Sunday school room. Elm Street and Walkers Farm Schools on Hammertown Road were purchased by local people to be used as private homes.
Beardsley remarked that the new Monroe Elementary School "was almost like goin' to college. The only drawback was a boy couldn't take his dog with him to school anymore." Miss Lillian Wheeler, who attended Center School in the 1880s, reflected on her old school days, " When a tiny child of six I trudged the long weary miles to school, holding fast to the collar of an old Shepard dog- such a faithful friend& that dear old dog was my great comfort."
In addition to the district schoolhouses, there were several private academies in Monroe's history. Congregational minister, the Rev.Rexford, tutored teen-aged boys to prepare them for college in the late 18th century. Samuel Beardsley ran an academy on Moose Hill from the 1820s until the Civil War. The brick house on the Monroe Green was Dr. Gray's Academy for boys. In 1884, the Hazeltine sisters opened Hazel Hall on Wheeler Road for boys and girls.
The Buff sisters of Elm Street attended there and went on to Mount Holyoke College and Yale Art School. Hollister's School for Fashionable Females was located at the intersection of Hammertown and Old Zoar Roads in the late 1880s. Scholars from nearby, as well as out of state, attended Monroe's private academies.
The Barn Hill-East Village Schoolhouse, circa 1790, was given to the Monroe Historical Society by the East Village Methodist Church and moved to Wheeler Road near the corner of Old Tannery Road. This earliest existing schoolhouse in Monroe was restored and opened in 1973 under the direction of Ed Coffey, town historian, after several years of research and fund-raising. It is a hands-on living history museum where school classes spend a day back in time. For information about the schoolhouse, call the society at 261-1383
Tale of Hannah Cranna Resurrected
An historic sketch of Monroe would not be complete without mention of the tale of Hannah Cranna, the "witch" of Monroe. It appears that Hannah's real name may have been Hannah Hovey and Cranna was just a nickname given in jest.
A victim of charity, she knew that area folk were partial to superstitions and by threatening them with dire misfortunes, she tricked her neighbors into accomodating her. As her infamy grew, many catered to her since few wished to draw her displeasure and wrath. Hannah's closest companion was a huge Shanghai rooster, named "Old Boreas." He was said to crow exactly at midnight each night. Boreas was so famous for his timing that residents for miles around set their watches by his crowing. Timpepieces set by his crow were said to keep perfect time.
On a morning in January, after one of the heaviest snows of the winter, a passing neighbor heard a low wail coming from the witch's house. Floundering in the deep snow banks, he waded to the door. The noise subsided and the door opened. "The spirits have called and it won't be but a short time before I will be in the Great Beyond". The next morning she was found dead in her door yard.
Returning home from her funeral it was found that her little house on Cragley Hill was ablaze. No one dared go near enough to extinguish the fire and it smoldered for weeks thereafter. Moans and strange occurrences reportedly still take place in her old haunts.
Ghosts of Christmas Past
Santa Claus arrived at Village Square parking lot each December. The tree in the foyer of Vernik Mansion was trimmed with popcorn and cranberries. A little child climbed the steps and peered through the window of the old schoolhouse to see the brightly lit tree.
Shoppers carried colorful maps from place to place on the Christmas Trail of Fairs. The glow of the luminaries lit the way from house to house welcoming the holiday season.
In the spring of 1966, my husband, my four-year-old son, and I arrived in Monroe. The town I was to call home for the next 31 years was truly a rural New England gem. To a four-year-old son, Santa Claus was a very important person, and his arrival each year was an event with a special kind of excitement.
Santa arrived just after Thanksgiving in the parking lot at the Village Square. He was welcomed by crowds of children and parents. In turn, he greeted the children and listened to their hearts desires for Christmas.
As the years went by, Santa arrived in a variety of vehicles, no longer making Village Square his ultimate destination. However, my memories of those delighted children awaiting Santa will always summon the warmth of Christmas in me.
When Fawn Hallow School opened, it was my good fortune to be part of its first teaching staff. In those years, my fifth graders were asked to help make strings of popcorn and cranberries for the Monroe Historical Society's Christmas tree which stood in the foyer of the Monroe Town Hall Annex, a building formerly the home of the Vernik family.
The tree was garland with the popcorn and cranberry strings and hung with gold painted walnuts and other decorations of the period. It was a spectacular sight! Nothing remains of the Vernik Mansion, the rooms occupied by the society, and the fun of making decorations for the tree but I still remember what a special time it was.
The tradition I miss most was created by the Monroe Historical Society. At the end of the society's Christmas Fair, a live Christmas tree was placed inside the Wheeler Road schoolhouse so it could be viewed through its window.
It was decorated with antique glass ornaments and illuminated so it could be seen from outside. Steps were places under one of the front windows so that the children could climb up, peer in and marvel at the loveliness of a bygone era.
Although a smaller version of its original self, the Christmas Trail of Fairs still survives. As I remember its early days, the trail was a major community undertaking with someone coordinating the project. Printed maps were distributed showing the route to all participating fairs. Special stops were set up where shoppers could get luncheon or tea.
The Christmas Fairs are held today the first weekend in December. Many of the original organizations still participate, but the event is more a collection of individual endeavors than the community event it used to be. Maps no longer guide shoppers from place to place nor is there a special place to have luncheon or tea. But it pleases me that some of the spirit of that earlier event is still there, albeit changing to meet the needs of growing Monroe.
More recently, the section of Monroe which includes Kimberly Drive and Wells Road created a tradition that warmed the hearts of residents. Luminaries, those candle-lit sand-filled paper bags that originated in the southwestern United States sent out a glow from houses all around the area. So impressive was this practice that for several years luminaries have been sold by the Monroe Woman's Club at all the fairs.
Thus the warm glow of light spread form Wells Road and illuminated the town. Luminaries still glow at Christmastime on Wells Road and others part of that area, I am so happy to say.
And so I have presented my ghosts of Christmas past. They belong to a Monroe that few of us can recall, but for those of us who remember, Monroe's Christmases will always be in our memory.
Monroe Historical Society, Monroe, Connecticut
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