Thursday Doors – Stafford Springs

History, New England Life, Thursday Doors 87 comments
How could you walk by this building?
How could you walk by this building?

Back in May, when I took the photos of American Woolen Company, I snagged a few other pictures from the Towns of Stafford and Stafford Springs, Connecticut. The area was originally settled, in part due to the abundant water supply, both in the form of rivers and mineral springs – hence the name.

The rivers are tributaries of the Willimantic River, and they helped power a variety of mills in the 1800s. During the Civil War, factories in Stafford made war supplies for the northern forces, including cannonballs. After that, textile and fashion accessories like buttons were manufactured in Stafford.

The buildings in Stafford are beautiful and even though some of the doors have been replaced with modern, soulless glass and aluminum substitutes, I think it’s pretty easy for door lovers to imagine.

I’ve featured a few buildings today. Some were once industrial buildings. Some, such as the two churches are survivors. I wasn’t able to find enough history about any of the buildings to tell a complete story. The answers may lie inside the Stafford Historical Society, but it was closed the day I drove through. I do know a little about the building it’s in, and I’ve included that.

If you’ve been here before, you know that I favor the “Tiled Mosaic” gallery for my photos. I had to partially abandon that feature today, so I could better control the flow. It’s hard to organize the galleries so that you see one photo before the others. So, today, you get a stream of large photos and a few small galleries. Please feel free to let me know if you prefer this over one large gallery. Otherwise, I will probably return to the tiled-gallery next week.

Next week, in fact, every week on Thursday, I participate in Norm Frampton’s Internet phenomenon known as Thursday Doors. If you want to participate, or if you just want to see a lot of interesting doors from around the world, hop on over to Norm’s page. After you check out his doors, click the blue button and a world of doors will be yours. And, you will be able to add your doors.

As you drive into Stafford on CT Route 190 from I-84, you arrive at a New England staple, a traffic circle. The first group of doors on display here are located around that circle.

I'm not sure what this building was originally
I’m not sure what this building was originally
Many questions here.
Many questions here.
Congregational Church
Congregational Church
Congregational Church
Warren of Stafford - This was purchased by American Woolen
Warren of Stafford – This was purchased by American Woolen
Warren Memorial Town Hall
Warren Memorial Town Hall

If you stay on Rt-190, you’ll drive through Somers and Enfield, CT. However, if you cross the river and wind around a few hills, you ‘ll drive through Crystal Lake, Ellington and East Windsor, CT. That’s the route I took, and I brought me by the Historical Society Museum, a mineral spring and another church.

Historical Society
Historical Society

Grace Episcopal Church

This is the lower level of the Episcopal church
This door would lead to the alter area of the Episcopal church. Not easy access.

The building that houses the Historical Society Museum was the Stafford Public library for over 100 years. The building dates to 1885 when it was an office for Julius Converse, owner of the Mineral Springs Manufacturing Company.

I have to finish with a non-door tribute to the water that brought this area of Connecticut to life, over 200 years ago.

There are several small waterfalls in Stafford
There are several small waterfalls in Stafford

87 comments

  2. You’re right, Dan. How could anyone just walk past that first building? It’s charming and so is the Historical Society (despite the “soulless” door). The little waterfall is a terrific finale. Such a lovely place. Have a thriving Thursday. Hugs

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      1. Ah! Yes, I did, in my novel. :D That would be cool setting for “Annie’s Antiques and Consignment Shop.” Too bad I didn’t put a little waterfall like this one in Atonement, TN when I made up the town. But in a moment of pure insanity, I decided to do Novel Writing Month (an extreme way to take my mind off things), and there will be a river in that story — Hmmm… a waterfall would add some excitement!

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        1. I was pretty sure that was your concoction. At first, I thought it was a place I had actually been in. Then I remembered that I read about it. I’ve always said that you have a gift for description.

          Good luck with the writing. Is that the November deal?

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          1. I’m truly flattered, Dan. Yes, “NaNoWriMo” is every November. I didn’t participate last year — still too many drafts awaiting completion… But under the circumstances, I thought it would be a good distraction. I’m not sure if the story will come together, but the distraction is the more important thing. Thrive on!

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  3. This looks like a lovely town with lots of old buildings to admire. I particularly like the Historical Society building with the small balcony over the doorway. It’s the decorative pattern combined with the soft green to offset the red brick that I find visually attractive.

    I don’t have a preference for tiled vs individual photos, but I did notice that even your individual photos can be opened in a larger format in a different window. I can’t get the photos in my posts to do that unless they are tiled. It frustrates me to no end. Is there a trick to it that I’m missing?

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    1. Thanks Joanne. If you edit the photos, you can specify that they should open in a new window. You might have to make sure the link points to the media library. That used to be the default, but it seems WordPress changed that a few weeks ago.

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        1. I am still using the old editor, Joanne, but you can do it in the new editor. It’s just not really intuitive or easy (which is usually what WordPress means when they say “improved”).

          Anyway. Once you place your image in the post, click on it to select it. Then, while it’s selected, click on the Link Button in the upper menu (it’s not in the photo menu). Set the link to open in a new window and try not to touch anything else (I’ve done some damage that way). I just tested this with the little image at the top of this post.

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            1. I’m glad that worked for you Joanne. You can still get to the old editor. Try appending ‘wp-admin/’ to the end of your blog’s URL. That’s how I get there.

              In anticipation of the day they (WP) permanently breaks that, I am trying to figure out the new editor.

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            2. That trick doesn’t seem to be working for me. It keeps bringing me back into the new editor.
              That’s ok – because I actually don’t mind the new editor … at least not now that I know how to have the photos open in a new window :)
              Happy Friday! Hope you have a great weekend!

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    1. Ha! Thanks John. I love your comment. I was attracted to that church because of the way it’s built into the hillside. It is something you don’t see much around here, but could quickly find in Pittsburgh.

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  7. I am such a sucker for these old buildings. My husband loses patience with my meandering downtown snapping photos of random buildings. “Where are we going” he asks. And I just keep walking and snapping. I love the Historical Society building. You know, I pick and choose how to post photos. Mostly, I like the caption to show instead of having to hover over it. I like the way you mixed it up with these, though. It worked very well.

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    1. Thanks Lois. Sometimes the captions are important, especially your captions! I worry that some photos in the galleries are too small to see and I know that not everyone has time to start a slideshow. I usually take the gallery option because it’s easier for me ;)

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  8. Dan, you can arrange your photos any which way you like. Whatever works for you and the post you write. These are very nice photos and doors, regardless of how you display them.

    The Historical Society building is so adorable, so quaint. It’s too bad they replaced what were probably very charming doors with the soulless glass. It’s a shame.

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  9. The first building is a clear winner for me this week with the Historical Society Building a fairly close second. As for the photos, do them however you like. I only know a few ways to do mine and with the new system, can’t find a way to do a slideshow anymore, which I’d like to use sometimes. Seems like the more things change, the worse it gets. :-)

    janet

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    1. Thanks Janet. I hope to get back to the Historical Society and maybe do a post on it. I have more photos.

      As for the slide show, although I still use the old editor, you can do it with the new one. It just isn’t clear, how to do it.

      In your post, click the Picture button to add media. Click on a photo, then hold down the Control key (if Windows, not sure what if Mac) and select the other photos you want to include. When you go to add them, you will get the options to put them in a Tiled Mosaic or slideshow like the old editor gave you when you started off to create a gallery.

      I hope that helps.

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  11. Some gorgeous buildings today, Dan. I must say that I favour that magnificent red Episcopal church! Personally, I like what you’ve done this time with mostly large stand-alone photos. Makes it much easier to go back if I want to reference something I saw in a caption!

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  12. Oh my goodness, the Historical Society building is adorable! And that Episcopal church is quite the find! The bridges and walkways, the wood, the detail! Wow on the six-sided star window, just wow.
    Great doors, all around! :)

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  13. The first photo at the top of your blog is more typical of some west coast architecture. I’ve seen similar ones on route 49, in the Gold Country and also in Williams, Arizona, for example. And I love the Historical Society building. Although not a door, your waterfalls pic is really nice too.

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  14. And this is what I love so much about small old New England towns: so much charm and quaint, classic, never over-the-top architecture. I find that places like this have a serene calming effect that transport you back to a simpler time.
    Great post Dan :-)

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  15. I do love stone and brick buildings, but that top building…how could one not stop and admire it! The Art Deco color scheme is nice, and it looks like it’s in pretty good shape.

    I like the church with it’s lovely stone, red door, and great windows, and the balcony over the door at the Historical Society is awesome, and it’s Green! Love that! :)

    Regarding image formatting. I like the large images with captions a lot, but like the gallery tiles for the details of the larger images.

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    1. Thanks Deborah. I’m glad you liked these. I want to go back and revisit the Historical Society when it’s open. I like the gallery tiles, but maybe I’ll mix it up a bit in the future. The stone church is wonderful. I think the red door is the back door, but it works.

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          1. So what Theme are you using that you can use both large images and galleries?
            Although I just had a thought…” he’s so computer savvy that he could probably make that work with any WP Theme!”.

            My current Theme has been discontinued and WP is urging me to find another, but I can’t find one that feels like this one so I keep using it despite their prodding.

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  18. Yes, your first house is a great intro piece! Am smiling at the red church door (in my European mind it does not fit), but I LOVE that terra-cotta house with green accents! Whatever style you chose to do your post is your prerogative:)

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  24. The fact that you got a corner stone from 1850 was one of my favorite photos, Dan. I loved the deep red brick, the outline of black and all the beautiful buildings. The arches over windows and green spindled, small balcony over the door on the Historical Society were what became your “best of show” on Thursday!
    (I am waiting with tummy growling, for my 11:00 am cataract surgery, while Felicia is off at yoga class. I prefer early surgery, less trepidation and empty stomach complaints. :) )
    A great water supply is always the reason for towns to develop, but rarely do people give credit for its bringing life, people and their livelihood into an unsettled territory. Thanks for featuring the final thought and lovely waterfall. :)

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    1. I’m glad you enjoyed these, Robin. I thought it was interesting how they continued the black accent bricks across the wall where they bricked-in the old windows. I love the waterfalls around these old mill towns, I think they remind us of the power that once drove the economy. I mentioned above that I want to go back and tour the Historical Society. Maybe on some winter weekend.

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  25. I really enjoyed the format with this post, Dan. I like to read as I look and that is what you brought here today. That mystery building with all those windows and then some that were bricked over had me staring trying to figure things out. I cannot stress enough how I really enjoyed this post today. Thank you!!! <3

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  26. Some beautiful details here. That first building is a treat for the eyes! And I love the gingerbread under the balcony on the Historical Society. I like the pictures un-galleried. I always read your post first in my email, because the pictures are un-gallerificated in the email. Then I come and read it again online, so I can see it the way you arranged it. :)

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    1. Thanks and thanks for the input on the pictures. This is a little bit of both. I might stick with that setup for a while. I definitely have to get to the Historical Society when it’s open. So many people like that building.

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