Candlestick Factory
NUGGET #67
Brothers John W. and Francis A. Rockwell first operated in the building that was afterward part of Bailey Inn, then moved to Catoonah Street in a building which stood on the site of Sperry’s Livery Stable. That factory was destroyed by fire in April 1859, with a loss of $5,000. “More than 20 hands are thrown out of employment,” says the Hartford Times. Diary of Anna Ressiguie (April 15, 1859) says it was insured. Then was at Catoonah Hall, 1860-68. The factory chiefly made brass and tin candlesticks, but also produced newspaper holders used by libraries and special patented clamps to keep the covers fastened on a child’s bed.
More Historical Nuggets
First Pride Day, 1998
FIRST ‘PRIDE’ DAY: “A Celebration of Community: Straight, Gay and Lesbian“ took place in 1998, on the Community Center lawn. Just a year later, a Rainbow Flag was flown for the first time in the nation over a state capitol, Hartford, on March 21, 1999.
Hezekiah Scott (1789-1879)
Hezekiah Scott was a weaver and operated a distillery on the brook near his home on Barlow Mountain Road — a stream now called Kiah’s Brook.
Paving
The first road paving, part of a state experiment, was done on the eastern end of Branchville Road around 1912. Catoonah Street was paved in 1922.
Lillian Barnard Gilkes and Louise “Lulu” Davidson
Gilkes, Lillian Barnard, (1903-1977), was a nationally recognized scholar, author and critic who lived at 93 Olmstead Lane with stepsister.
