 Search this site Home Table of Contents Calendar Newsletter Archives Membership Information Properties Hands-on-History |
Box 212 Monroe, CT 06468
by Nancy Zorena  Back in 1899, students in the East Village Schoolhouse were given an essay assignment by their teacher, Miss Anna Dimon. The assignment was to write about the past, present, and future of the town of Monroe. The compositions were judged by Oliver Blackman, A.M. Stevens, and D.C. Wells. The judges selected three essays as award winners. Miss Emily Twist of Monroe Turnpike was awarded first prize and received a gold pen for her efforts. Miss Florence Clark and Miss Flora Burr received second and third place, respectively. The three winning essays were read by the writers at a celebration held in the schoolhouse, which at the time was on Barn Hill Road. Afterwards all of the students and guests enjoyed an ice cream party. The three essays appeared in the Newtown Bee. The girls made many predictions about the future of their town but none of them predicted that their schoolhouse would be moved twice before it rested on Wheeler Road in the Monroe Center Historic District. Emily Twist did predict that there would be a high school built near Monroe Center. She imagined it would be, "largely attended, especially if my industrious young schoolmate Edward Beardsley should teach Latin, and the agile Charlie Stowe of my school days becomes a trainer in athletics for boys." She named the future high school Center High and also predicted that students would go to school by trolley. (Actually, it would be 58 years before Monroe would build its first public high school.) Emily also imagined that when the new dam was built over the Housatonic River, the falls would be second to none, except Niagara Falls. She wrote about town statistics in her day. "The population of the town was 994 in the 1890 census. In 1897, the children between the ages of four and sixteen numbered 181. The Grand List was $373,491 and the rate of taxation was 12 mills." Emily wrote about Monroe's early years when it was part of Old Stratford. She described the land we now call Monroe as a perfect wilderness with wolves, bear, deer, moose, and wild fowl of various kinds that were quite numerous then. The Indians were the only inhabitants. She noted that among the first areas of land to be developed were Barn Hill, Bagburn and Moose Hill Roads. She wrote, "Tradition claims that the first barn in Monroe was built on Barn Hill Road, which probably derived its name from that circumstance." According to Emily, a pest house was built on Bagburn Road where people were inoculated for various diseases, especially smallpox. In addition, there were several tanneries in town for the production of leather. Situated on the banks of the Boys' Halfway River on Barn Hill Road, and not far from Emily Twist's house, was the Cargill Hoopskirt Factory where twine, hoopskirts, and even hats were manufactured. Today, all that remains of the old factory is a part of the stone foundation. Emily wrote, "In Hammertown there was a factory which employed about fifteen people to hammer out the scythes that were used at that time." She also mentioned that the construction of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (ca.1840) connected the town to the outside world and ensured daily mail delivery. Florence Clark, the second place winner, grew up on Barn Hill Road. She wrote, "I have been told that the town was called New Stratford, from which Monroe and Huntington were divided. When it came to naming the town in 1823, quite a dispute arose as to its name. Should the new town be called Monroe or Stepney? The people were called to vote upon it. The majority voted in favor of Monroe, for fifth President James Monroe." Florence chose to mention that the town was experiencing prosperity. "Numerous improvements have been made, especially in all of the schoolhouses, where new seats, blackboards, and floors have been put in to replace the old ones." She wrote that the most enterprising men of the town built a new townhouse (the Victorian town hall built in 1897and torn down 75 years later). "The name first given to the district school I attend was Nonnewaugs, now called East Village. Not far from this school is a hill which is said to be 607 feet above the level of the sea." Florence predicted that one day the town would have long rows of brownstone houses with large shade maples overhanging the roads, free delivery of mail and horseless carriages passing and repassing." Flora Burr, who placed third in the contest, grew up on Webb Circle and wrote that wagons were made extensively in Stepney and shipped south. She explained that the old settlers wanted the town to remain agricultural and were not happy with manufacturing at all. Flora said that there were a few little stores in East Village that were in people's homes. "The whole eastern part of town was owned by Colonel Webb. Down by the Housatonic River was a peppermint distillery where they made peppermint to sell. Houses are going up quite fast. Three fine mansions have been built lately including one in Stepney, one at Monroe Center, and one on Barn Hill," she wrote. All three essayists mentioned that the copper smelting factory built on Hammertown Road petered out after a year. The girls also realized the importance of extending the railway line into Stevenson. Flora Burr noted, "The new railroad line built in 1888 was very convenient and useful to everyone." She predicted, "There is to be a dam at Zoar Bridge. It will furnish power for a great many factories, which will manufacture cotton and woolen goods, boots and shoes to ship to all parts of the United States." She also thought that one day trolley cars would run from Zoar Bridge to Derby and through Monroe Center and the eastern part of town to carry the East Village students to Hillhouse High School in Bridgeport. With the train line and trolley service, Flora thought that Stevenson would flourish as a summer resort - the greatest, east of Saratoga - affording the guests great pleasure. If the young essayists were to come back to Monroe for a day, they would be amazed at the population of our town, which has grown twenty times since 1899. They would marvel at our new public library, even our old one would impress them since there was none in town until the 1950's. One has to wonder how they would feel about the scarcity of farmland now and all of the trees and houses that have taken the place of the meadows and fields of ol' Monroe. Credits: Archives of Monroe Historical Society, Edward Coffey, Town Historian and author of A Glimpse of Old Monroe, Elma Jean Beardsley Wiacek, Curator, Monroe Historical Society, Newtown Bee, June 23, 1899. (Return to index) |
. |