Keeney Schoolhouse (1751)

The Keeney Schoolhouse in Manchester was built around 1751 on Keeney Street. Little is known of its subsequent history until 1975, when the Town’s Bicentennial Committee voted to restore the building and relocate it to the grounds of the Cheney Homestead to become a museum, furnished and maintained by the Manchester Historical Society. The former schoolhouse had long been used as a farm building by that point and was in such a deteriorated condition that a restoration was not possible. Instead a replica was constructed, complete with rounded ceiling. It was rebuilt utilizing as much material from the original structure as possible.

Old Canton Public Library (1920)

The building at 26 Center Street in Collinsville was erected in 1920 as the Canton Public Library. The library had started in 1913 and was initially housed in the basement of the Collins Company office building. The 1920 building was a gift by Helen R. Collins in memory of her husband, Howard R. Collins, son of Samuel W. Collins, founder of the Collins Company. It was erected on land donated by the Canton Memorial Association in memory of the soldiers and sailors of Canton. The library moved out in 1999 and the building now houses the law offices of Burns & Lovejoy.

Ponemah Mills Office Building (1929)

Ponemah Mills, in operation from the 1870s to the 1970s, was a cotton textile manufacturer with a massive mill complex in the village of Taftville in Norwich. Along Norwich Avenue can be found Mill #1, built in 1871, and Mill #2, built in 1884. In 1929, the company erected a building for its offices, attached to Mill #2, directly in front of that structure’s north tower. The building is now home to Amazing Furniture. The former mill buildings are now being converted into luxury apartments.

Church of St. Colman (1962)

The original St. Colman’s Catholic Church in Middlefield stood at the corner of Main and Stow Streets. The cornerstone was laid in 1886 and the church opened its doors on August 7, 1887. Construction was completed in 1889 and fourteen stained glass windows were installed the following year. It was a mission church under St. John Parish in Middletown until 1903, when it became a mission of the newly formed St. Francis Parish in Middletown. The last service in the old church was held on September 16, 1962, the same day that the new Church of St. Colman, located at 170 Hubbard Street, was dedicated. The church was granted full parish status in 1964.