Like the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch in Hartford, another of Connecticut’s most dramatic memorials to the Civil War is the Winchester Soldiers’ Monument, located in the circular Memorial Park at the end of Crown Street in Winsted. Sitting atop a hill, the monument takes the form of a three-story Gothic-style tower built of ashlar granite with a sculpture of a Civil War soldier, designed by George E. Bissell, atop a circular corner tourelle that projects from the third level. After two decades of discussion over the location and design of the memorial, it was finally erected in 1889-1890 and dedicated on September 11, 1890. The completed monument was designed by Robert W. Hill of Waterbury. At the bottom of the hill in front of the monument is a square entrance arch at the start of a path leading up to the tower.
In 2013, Ralph Nader purchased the former Winsted Savings Bank building at 654 Main Street in Winsted to become the future home of the American Museum of Tort Law, which he first announced was in development in 1998. The museum, which opened in 2015, has a mission to inform and inspire Americans about trial by jury and the benefits of tort law (the law of wrongful injuries). The museum‘s building was erected in 1925 by the Winsted Savings Bank, which was incorporated in 1860. From 1867 until 1925 the bank had occupied the 1851 building at 690 Main Street that had originally been erected by the Winsted Bank.
After being two years without the use of a building when the old fashioned dwelling house used for a quarter of a century had outlived its usefulness, the Winsted Young Men’s Christian Association Monday will, open for public inspection the beautiful new structure made possible by the gift of $30,000 in the will of the late Rufus E. Holmes, and a fund of approximately $50,000 raised in a whirlwind campaign among Winsted citizens. […]
The new building is of gray tapestry brick with artificial stone trimmings, of Colonial design, and represents an outlay of $75,000. It Is three stories high, and in appointments is second to none in the state for a town the size of Winchester. The lobby and office are located so that supervision is at all times assured, and is within easy reach of members. The boys and men’s social rooms are apart. The men’s room is fitted with one billiard and three pool tables, and the boys have two tables in their section. The reading rooms are well located and are well supplied with attractive reading materials.
The gymnasium is in reality a separate building, closely connected to the swimming pool. It Is 62 by 48 feet, with a gallery for spectators, and is equipped with the latest Narragansett Machine Company‘s apparatus. The swimming pool Is a little larger than the standard size and will prove one of the greatest attractions in the building, filling a long felt want in the town. […]
Three regulation bowling alleys furnished by the Brunswick-Collendar-Balke Company have been installed in the basement, and a better bowling room is not to be found in this section of the state. The dormitories are located on the third floor, and are sixteen in number, many of than having been engaged before work was started in the construction of the building.
On the second floor is the kitchen and serving room with gas range, china, linen and silverware belonging to the Women’s Auxiliary of the Y.M.C.A. and adjoining is a ladles’ rest room, parlor, lavatory and toilet. On the same floor is the assembly room which may be subdivided into three classrooms by folding doors, and may be used as a banquet room and for entertainments. A moving picture booth has been provided and an up to date machine bought. […]
Plans for the new building were provided by Louis E. Jallade of New York and the construction was under the personal supervision of Morris J. Sullivan of his office. The general contract was awarded to Frank W. Fuller of Torrington, and the superintendent was Frank H. Maher of Winsted, who died while the building was nearing completion. The Hutton Brothers Company of Winsted had the plumbing contract and the E. A. Perkins Company of Torrington did the electrical work.
As mentioned in the article, the gymnasium was in a separate attached building. It was later moved across the street and became the Manchester Feed Mill, but was lost in the 1955 flood.
There were many controversies related to the construction of the Winchester Town Hall building. In 1877, town leaders appropriated funds to build a town hall so as to provide a safe place for the town records. Before most people in town were aware of it, these men had moved quickly to start construction of the building in an area called the Flat, part of the central business district of Winsted. People in other parts of town, who thought that the building was unnecessary and too expensive, felt that promoters of the Flat had stolen a march on the voters, but at a contentious town meeting those who wanted to press on with the building won out. An injunction to halt construction was soon dissolved by the court and the building was completed in 1878. Bitter feelings over the episode continued for many years. The building was expanded in 1887 and 1904 for use by the County Court. Plans for a 25-foot addition on the front of the building fell through in 1910, but when this was finally done in 1927, the structure gained a more convenient entrance at street level.
Moses Camp (1803-1875), together with his brother Caleb J. Camp, owned a dry goods and grocery store, M. & C. J. Camp, in Winsted. The brothers also owned the Union Chair Company in Robertsville in the Town of Colebrook. The brothers’ other varied business interests included a gas company, an interest in the Sanford Hotel, and the Weed Sewing Machine Company in Hartford. Moses Camp, who also served as Town Clerk from 1846 to 1849, built his Greek Revival-style house at 682 Main Street in Winsted in c. 1840 (its also possible that he remodeled an earlier house on the site, built c. 1825). After he passed away, Camp’s widow resided in the house and rented rooms inside to boarders until her death in 1915. C. Wesley Winslow (1888-1967) bought the house in 1934. Winslow was a lawyer who served for decades as Town Clerk and Clerk of the Superior Court. Today the house is used as offices by the legal firm of Howd, Lavieri & Finch, LLP.
Sometime between the evening of Saturday, November 9 and the morning of Monday, November 11, 1861, robbers stole approximately $60,000, from the Winsted Bank. About $8,000 of this was in specie (gold and silver) and the rest included miscellaneous bills and treasury notes. The bank had been formed in 1848 (making it the second oldest bank in Litchfield County after the branch of the Phoenix Bank of Hartford on North Street in Litchfield) and the bank building was erected at 690 Main Street in 1851. Many of the stolen bills were Winsted Bank notes and the loss from the robbery led to the bank having insufficient net worth to receive a federal bank charter. The bank closed in 1864 and the building was acquired by the Winsted Savings Bank in 1867.
