welcome to a wonderful, fun-filled family-oriented evening a magic show with michael paul!

Welcome

To a

wonderful, fun-filled

family-oriented evening

A Magic Show

with Michael Paul!

A Fundraiser For

The Windsor Locks

Preservation Association’s

Save The Train Station Project

Thank You ToOur Event Sponsors!

Welcome to another wonderful evening

filled with family-oriented fun

A Magic Show

with Michael Paul!

Thank You ToOur Program Advertisers!

Markowski Dental

Windsor Locks Heating & Cooling

The 1st National Bank of Suffield

Joe’s Bass, Bait & Tackle

Charles S Carillo Agency, Inc.


Elmore Design Collaborative

Chestnut Oak Associates

Phil’s Automotive

Scata's Auto & Truck Repairs

La Notte Restaurant

American Ecumenical Catholic Church


Chiropractic Health Centers

Enfield Animal Hospital

Hair Styles Unlimited

Bacher Corporation

Dr. John T. Barrett DDS

Healthy Smiles Dental Care - Dr. Chris Kim DMD


T & S Sporting Goods Inc.

Fahey, Landolina & Associates

St. Mary Church

Smalley Brothers VFW Post 6123

Bobby G's Old Fashioned Service

Thank You ToOur Raffle Donors!

Lincoln Financial Group Napa Auto Parts

Cracker Barrel - East Windsor Ahlstrom

Stop & Shop – Windsor Shaw’s

Geisslers - East Windsor Red Robin – Enfield

Panera Bread – Enfield Skooters

Daley’s Florist The Donut Kettle


New England Air Museum Tastefully Simple

Joe’s Bass, Bait & Tackle Nancy O’Konis

National Amusements Colonial Printers

Boston Market - Bloomfield Sofia’s Restaurant

Alaimo & Barile Real Estate Quiznos Subs

Big Y – East Windsor T G I Fridays


Creative Clips Pet Salon Dorothy Musiol

Dairy Cream at Bradley Robin’s Nest Crafts

Dari Delite - East Windsor Joan Levitan

Hair Styles Unlimited Annie Raasch

Watch Me Now – Cathy Simonea

Montgomery Wholesale Florist


Jen DiPoppo Barbara Carlson

Bradley Bowl Barbara Tarbell

Tammy McKay Wal Mart

Mark Twain House Revay’s

Hands on Theraputic Massage Pickleworks

Basketball Hall of Fame Starbucks

Swede’s Jewelers Chris Morris

Thank You ToOur Corporate Sponsors!The following have made financial, product or service

contributions to the Save The Train Station Project throughout the 2005 and 2006 season.

Elmore Design Collaborative, Inc.

Cracker Barrel

and the Country Lady of East Windsor

Michael Paul Magic

The Lawrence Associates

Thank You ToOur Corporate Sponsors!

CT Trust for Historic Preservation in conjunction with the CT Council on the Humanities

C&S Wholesale Grocers

Ahlstrom

Yankee Signs

The following have made financial, product or service contributions to the Save The Train Station Project

throughout the 2005 and 2006 season.

Thank You ToOur Corporate Sponsors!

Alaimo & Barile Realtors - Mike Barile

T & S Sports

Storms & Storms - Attorneys At Law

Amherst Railway Society

Bearly Visible Design

The following have made financial, product or service contributions to the Save The Train Station Project

throughout the 2005 and 2006 season.

Windsor LocksPreservation Association

Our mailing address is:

Windsor Locks

Preservation Association, Inc.

PO Box 158

East Windsor, CT 06088-0158


The Windsor Locks Train Station is a fine example of 1800’s Passenger Station architecture - one of the few such stations that remain intact today

Train Station Time Line

• 1844New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail Road begins offering train service, connecting Windsor Locks with Hartford, Springfield and beyond

Train Station construction drawing – 1875


• 1875Passenger Train Station built by the

New York, New Haven & Hartford

Rail Road


• 1891 - June 10Crowds gather at train station for the grandest day in town's history - dedication of the Soldiers Memorial Hall

Hundreds of Civil War Veterans, judges, political figures & countless dignitaries arrive via train and form parade marching through streets to Memorial Hall

Passenger Depot – circa 1906

Tracks near Dexter Factory – circa 1908


• 1906 - DecemberCrowds gather as guests from all over New England arrive via train to attend the wedding of Thomasine Haskell and George Conant at Ashmere, (the Dexter Coffin mansion) further south on Main Street


• 1938 - September 21Brick Freight Depot next to Passenger Station blown down during hurricane

• Though rebuilt, Freight Depot was acquired and demolished in 1960's & 70's during urban renewal project

Freight Depot – circa early 1900’s

Main Street – circa 1915

Hartford & Springfield Street Car #22This street car is typical of those that

traveled through town in the early 1900’s

Train Station - circa 1920-1930


• 1940'sOriginally painted Yellow-Cream with Tudor Brown and Forest Green highlights, station is given a thorough clean-up and sand blasted, revealing bare red brick which remains to this day


• 1953-1961Dwight Eisenhower visited the Windsor Locks Train Station on a whistle stop during his presidency, much to the joy of the townspeople and school children who were let out and gathered at the station

Train Station – circa 1967


• 1971Last boarding passes sold

Building closed


• 1975The Train Station is 100 years old!

• Slated for demolition, building placed on National Register of Historic Places by The Save The Station Committee, which was formed by Robert Bickford & C. Birbara

• Sadly, town's redevelopment agency does not pursue acquisition


• 1975 - January 8Windsor Locks native, Ella Rose Tambussi Grasso, first woman elected governor in the United States of America, boards train to attend her inauguration in Hartford


• 2000The train station vandalized by fire. Thankfully, fire is discovered quickly and extinguished


• 2004 - OctoberWindsor Locks Preservation Association founded by Barbara Schley & Mickey Danyluk

Train Station exterior - December 2004

Train Station interior - December 2004


• 2004 - DecemberWindsor Locks Preservation Association receives 501(c)(3) non-profit status

Windsor Locks Train Station

December 2004

Train Station History

The existing abandoned passenger train station was built in 1875 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, some 31 years after the railroad came through Windsor Locks, replacing transportation of goods and people on the Connecticut River and its canal

Train Station construction drawing – 1875

Rail Road Station and Main Street

Circa 1908


The train station is the sole surviving structure of the mid-19th century Main Street business district of the once quaint industrial village of "Windsor Locks" founded in 1854


Many of the products of the mills in town were shipped from the accompanying brick Freight Depot which was destroyed during a hurricane on September 21, 1938

Though rebuilt, the Freight Depot was later acquired for demolition during the urban renewal project of the 1960's through the 1980's

Freight Depot – circa early 1900’s


The railroad yard included the Freight Depot, Passenger Station, Water Tower, and Gateman's Shanty

A Gateman’s Shanty is where a gate tender would be sheltered from the weather, and upon an approaching train, would drop the gate manually to close the route to the canal and river bridges


The Passenger Train Station was for many years the "front door" to the town

The newly arrived, passing the station's thresholds, received their first impressions of Windsor Locks, and their parting glances from the Station


From its telegraph office - news from beyond the limits of this riverside town were received

The station was a gathering place to receive and send off loved ones, most particularly military servicemen who departed to train for service, and the place to which those who paid the supreme sacrifice were received

Train Station - circa 1920-1930


Military send-offs occurred during:- Spanish-American War- World War I - World War II- Korean Conflict

There were many whistle stop visits by war heroes after World War I


Crowds gathered at the station on June 10, 1891 for what would be the grandest day ever in the town's history - the dedication of the Soldiers Memorial Hall

Hundreds of Civil War veterans, judges, political figures and countless dignitaries arrived via train, and formed a parade marching through the streets of Windsor Locks to the Memorial Hall


In December 1906 crowds gathered again as guests from all over New England arrived via train and were transported by carriages to attend the wedding of Thomasine Haskell (grand daughter of Charles Haskell Dexter) and George Conant at Ashmere, the Dexter Coffin mansion further south on Main Street

Passenger Depot – circa 1906


From the Windsor Locks Passenger Station departed Miss Jane Carr, an Irish domestic servant who worked in the mansions of two families here

She left to attend to the needs of her nieces and nephews in Ireland, but before returning here, was lost in the Titanic tragedy of April 1912


Originally painted a Yellow-Cream with Tudor Brown and Forest Green highlights, the station was neglected and fell into disrepair in the 1920's and 30's

In the 1940's a thorough clean up was done and the building was sand blasted, revealing the bare red brick appearance we see today

Rail Road Station and Main Street

Circa 1908


Dwight Eisenhower visited Windsor Locks on a whistle stop during his presidency (1953-1961), much to the joy of the townspeople and school children who were let out and gathered at the station


The last boarding passes were sold about 1971 and the building was closed

Slated for demolition, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 (the Station 100th anniversary) by a group called, The Save The Station Committee

Sadly, the town's redevelopment agency did not pursue it's acquisition


Windsor Locks native, Ella Rose Tambussi Grasso, the first woman elected governor in the United States of America, boarded a Hartford bound train from this very station on January 8, 1975 for her inauguration

Train Station – circa 1967


By the late 1970's the Passenger Station ceased to be a functioning train stop

Twice in the past 30+ years, local businessmen attempted to lease and rehabilitate the structure, but their attempts failed

Train Station HistoryAlthough the building has been vacant, neglected and time-worn by the elements; despite surviving arson, the old Train Station has captured the imagination of the townspeople, railroad buffs and travelers, young and old

All cherish its appearance - its simple but stunning architecture, and wonder about the tales of people who have come and gone, and the places departed for and arrived from which hang in the space between its walls

Train Station exterior – circa 2005


We received 501(c)(3) non-profit status in December 2004

Our goals are to encourage and educate the public and town government on the importance of preservation

The Windsor Locks Preservation Association was formed on October 2004


Our main focus is to obtain and preserve the Historic Windsor Locks Passenger Train Station

Additionally, we have compiled and introduced educational programs into the school system and have encouraged students to become involved in our efforts

Train Station Magnets Now Available


Our group has completed a structural study, site work, and cost analysis of the area

A site plan for future renovations has been prepared, and an appraisal is in the works

Master Site Plan - December 2004


All proceeds from our fundraising efforts go directly to the Save The Train Station project and educational programs

To make a donation, join our membership, volunteer, or view our merchandise, call us at 860-798-5376

Train Station drawing by Alice Williams


Our mailing address is:

Windsor Locks

Preservation Association, Inc.

PO Box 158

East Windsor, CT 06088-0158

Main Street – Windsor Locks – circa 1900Main Street – Windsor Locks – circa 1900

welcome to a wonderful, fun-filled family-oriented evening a magic show with michael paul!

Documents

train station project

day slide

fridays slide

main street slide

windsor locks train

passenger train station

memorial hall slide

train station construction