Good Will Grange Hall (1929)

John H. Hale, famous for his growing of peaches in Glastonbury, also organized the town’s chapter of the Grange in 1885 and became Master of the Connecticut State Grange in 1886, serving for four years. He also served as a representative to the state’s General Assembly and was a founding trustee of the Connecticut Agricultural College In 1929 the Glastonbury Grange erected a new Hall, called Good Will Grange Hall, at 43 Naubuc Avenue. Today, the Glastonbury Grange #26 meets at the Masonic Hall at 895 Main Street and the East Central Pomona Grange #3 (founded in 1887) meets at Good Will Grange Hall.

Odd Fellows Hall, East Hartford (1922)

The building at 989-993 Main Street in East Hartford was built c. 1850. It was known as the Garvan Block or the Odd Fellows Building/Odd Fellows Hall, because it was later owned by Crescent Lodge No. 25, International Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekah Lodge (the Daughters of Rebekah began as the female auxiliary of the IOOF). There was also a post office located in the building. The structure was damaged by a fire on May 28, 1922. As reported in the Hartford Courant on July 21, 1922:

The Odd Fellows and Rebekah Building Association have completed plans for the renovation of the Gravan block on Main street, which was gutted by fire last May. The two upper stories of the building will be rebuilt entirely, and the whole frame will be stuccoed. There will be a Spanish tile roof [. . .]. The first floor will be used by various stores now occupying it. The second floor will consist of a lodge room, ante rooms, and a banquet room. The third floor will be used for billiard rooms and robing rooms. [. . .] It is expected that the remodeling will cost about $50,000. George Zunner of Hartford is the architect.

Hebron Center School – American Legion Hall (1883)

The American Legion Hall at 18 Main Street in Hebron was built in 1883 as the town’s Center School (District No. 1). A two-room schoolhouse, it replaced an earlier one-room Center Schoolhouse that burned down in the Great Fire of 1882. Because it was the largest school in town at the time, students from one-room schoolhouses in Hebron that were closing in the 1930s were transferred to the Center School. The building was in use as a school until 1949 and then was transferred to the American Legion.

Masonic Temple, Mystic (1911)

At 7 Gravel Street in Mystic is a building erected in 1911-1912 as a Masonic Temple for Charity & Relief Lodge No. 72. The Lodge had its origins as Charity Lodge No. 68, formed in 1825, which first met in Gurton Bill’s Tavern in Groton. The Lodge was inactive from 1846 to 1850 due to its members unwillingness to move to Mystic. After this move took place, the Lodge met on the Stonington side and then on the Groton side of the Mystic River. A split led to the creation in 1869 of Relief Lodge No. 71 on the other side of the river. Charity Lodge lost its rooms in the Central Hall Building on West Main Street due to a fire in 1880 and were invited to used Relief Lodge’s rooms until new quarters were found. The two lodges reunited in 1891-1892 to form Charity and Relief Lodge #72. After almost of century on Gravel Street, the Lodge faced declining membership and the lack of parking. It merged with Asylum Lodge No. 57 and Pawcatuck Lodge No. 90 to form Costal Lodge No. 57, which meets on Pequot Trail in Stonington. In January 2008, the former Masonic Temple on Gravel Street was sold to developers, who converted the building into two condominium units by 2010.

Helen Plumb Building (1883)

From 1883 to 1957, the building at 571 Church Hill Road in Trumbull served as the Town Hall. It was Trumbull’s second Town Hall. The first Town Hall, purchased by the Town of Trumbull in 1862, was a building on Daniels Farm Road, formerly known as Beach’s Tavern. Some years ago the old second Town Hall building on Church Hill Road was renovated and it is now used by the Trumbull Chamber of Commerce. The building is named for Helen E. Plumb (1904-2001), who was town clerk in Trumbull for many years. (more…)