Canton Day by Day – Canton Historical Museum

A Calendar of Happenings from of the Past

This sampling of happenings from Canton’s past illuminates the character of our community and its changes over more than two-and-a-half centuries.

It is by no means complete, nor does it cover all the most important events. It’s a lens for seeing our town flowing in the stream of time. Differences between then and now abound, but the similarities are even more striking.

Comments or any errors should be reported to David K. Leff, Canton Town Historian at oonktaadn@comcast.net.

Rents in older Collins Co. houses raised from $4 and $5 per month to $8 and $10, 1920.
Mills Pond crowded with skaters, 1929.
The Hartford Courant reports 33 marriages in Canton during 1867, a decrease of 7 from the previous year, 1868
Sarah Henry, who could fix anything, retires from Eaton Hardware after 44 years, 1992.
Rev. Jeremiah Hallock preaches dedication sermon for Canton Center Congregational Church, 1815.
Edward H. Sears becomes president of the Collins Company, 1886.
Guy Whitney, last Collins Co. plant engineer, born 1889.
“Loaded tobacco and drove oxen over to Bloomfield,” Everett Case’s diary, 1869.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that the Public Heath Board had148 patients cared for by its nursein December, 1929.
East Hill Community Club holds dance, 1925.
Hartford Times reports Collinsville’s Mary P. Lewis becomes 3rd female probate judge in Connecticut, 1923.
Town Meeting approves Collinsville Historic District Commission, 1988.
Charles Hawley found dead from an overdose of chloroform self administered to alleviate a toothache, 1868.
Collins Company announces closure, 1966.
Annual town meeting reaches consensus to restore Town Bridge, 2015.
George Henry advertises services of his “very valuable boar,” 1860.
First “informational” town meeting under new charter, 1985.
Collinsville Congregational Church destroyed by fire, 1857.
First Selectman Kathy Corkum hosts meeting to promote arts and antiques, 1994.
Collins Company President Edward Hale Sears (who started as a temporary bookkeeper in 1862) dies, 1907.
Charles Bahre, 17, fractures skull sledding on East Hill, 1935.
Sebrey G. Weeks, Canton’s oldest man and 56 record years with Collins Co. dies at 93, 1904.
Collins Company’s Charles Blair testifies before Congress about John Brown, 1860.
Morning temperature at 36 degrees below zero in Canton Center, 1857.
William Hill becomes president of the Collins Company, 1907.
Farmington River reported flowing freely after several charges of dynamite breaks up ice jam at Collins Co. dam, 1938.
David C. Collins becomes treasurer of the Collins Company, 1841.
Newspaper reports that the Forge Shop, Machine Shop, & Box Shop beat the Construction Crew, Tempering Shop, and Polishing Shop in Collins bowling league, 1938.
Trinity Episcopal Church holds first service in old firehouse on Center Street, 1854.
Phoebe Humphrey chapter of DAR organized, 1905.
Sam Collins’ house burnsto the ground, 1912.

Martin C. Bryant, Civil War soldier, dies in Richmond, VA, 1864.
Collinsville Congregation Church, rebuilt after fire, dedicated, 1858.
Alphonse Courtemanche retires after 50 years with Collins Company, 1913.
Hubert Katzug, 47, insurance salesman & former Collins worker hangs himself in his cellar, 1935.
Farmington Valley Herald reports installation of bowling alleys in old Collins plow shop, 1925.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that plumbers are kept busywith frozen pipes, 1910.
Hartford Courant reports grand list increase of about 7.5%, 2008.
Fred Widen, musician and creator of the Collinsville Museum dies at age 67, 1952.
Fortnightly Whist Club meets, 1911.
High school students perform “Aaron Stick of Pumpkin Crick” in town hall, 1925.
Collinsville Baseball Assoc. rents Town Hall room ($15) for dramatics and dance, 1911
Farmington Valley Herald reports that Dr. W. H. Flynn will open an office on River St., 1920.
Canton Ski Club formed, 1948.
Ada Johnson, 44, dies of burns following an explosion and fire in her Johnson Place home, 1933.
Town meeting discusses whether to discontinue Doyle Rd., 1994.
Newly formed Lion’s club holds Charter Night Ceremonies attended by over 100 people at the Brass Lantern Inn, 1952.
Rose Terry Cooke, poet and short story writer born, 1827.
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church on Torrington Avenue (now apartments) dedicated 1894.
Collinsville’s The Portfolio newspaper reports that Dr. Tiffany has delivered 11 boys since January 1, 1870.
Canton High School debates the Monroe Doctrine, 1918.
Collins Co. sends letter to employees on cost of strike after six weeks, 1946
Collins Company grind shop burns down, 1854
Annual banquet of the Collins Co Interdepartmental Bowling League held at Johnnie’s Restaurant in Forestville, 1952.
Registration for war ration books held at schools, 1942.
State “scenic road” designated from Burlington town line to Allen Place, 1991.
Waste paper, rubber, rags and aluminum collected by Canton Defense Council, 1942.
Hartford Courant reports closure of Collinsville’s Traut & Hine buckle factory throwing 35 people, mostly women, out of work, 1919.
First Collinsville historic district defeated, 1978.

Michael Zimmer charged with evading quarantine and confined to home under guard, 1908.
Major league baseball player Danny Hoffman born in Collinsville, 1880.
State troopers seize state’s largest “wildcat” cider brandystill in Louis Messenger’s barn, North Canton, 1931.
Hartford Courant reports Farmington River Trail is a boost for Collinsville businesses, 2002.
Charles H. Smith, Collins superintendent, given a diamond ring by employees on his 50th birthday, 1906.
Annual meeting of Canton Soldiers Memorial Association, 1911.
Town Meeting levies tax of 20 mills, 1939.
Reduction in wages announced by Collins Company, 1921.
Ida Gridley Case, Canton’s first female doctor dies at age 41, 1904.
Town meeting approves 20 mill tax on grand list, 1920.
Soldiers Memorial Assoc. sponsors performance by monologist Edward H. Frye to raise money for library building, 1908.
Edwin Katzung is overcome with heat while working in Collins Co. knife department, 1925.
Collinsville High School plays Southington in basketball, 30 cents admission, 1925.
William E. Simonds, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, congressman, dies, 1903.
Collins Company established as partnership between David and Samuel Collins and their cousin William Wells, 1826.
Farmers institute held at Collinsville grange hall on the subject of poultry, 1909.
Levi Rainault arrested for breaking a house window while intoxicated, 1908.
Charles Blair, Collins superintendent who met with John Brown, dies, 1893.
Smith Hardware Company on Main St. advertises it’s ready for fishing season with “tackle of all kinds,” 1925.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that frozen canals prevents Collins Co. from operating at full capacity, 1908.
Edward Diters, last of Canton’s old time family doctors, receives his medical degree, 1948.
“The Pirates of Penzance” opens at Canton High School, 2002.
Mrs. M. Stanley Neal, Mrs. John Meconkey and Everett Eaton reported at home with the grip, 1936.
“Attended church . . . . It’s not either sleighing or wagoning. There are some drifts and bare ground.” Malvina Case diary (b. 1843, No. Canton), 1861.
Town Meeting defeats zoning, 1941.
Farmington Valley Herald calls for boroughgovernment in Collinsville including parts of Avon, Burlington and Canton in order to improve services, 1925.
First recorded use of a motorized fire engine in Collinsville puts out fire at the Cox toy shop, 1925.
William Wood becomes fifth president of the Collins Company, 1884.
Landslide blocks railroad in Satan’s Kingdom, 1910.
Collins Co. president Charles Taylor, 68, dies at home in Hartford, 1944.
Town meeting accepts $1.2 million federal grant for housing and street improvements in Collinsville, 1980.

E.A. Hough acquires Cadillac touring car, 1911.
“A Dog Named Gucci,” with director Q & A at Collinsville Film Festival, 2016.
Edward B. Watkinson becomes secretary of the Collins Company, 1844.
Funeral of Stephen Marusiewski, Collins Co. maintenance dept., after fall from staging 25 feet to concrete floor, 1950.
Dr. Solomon Everest, “father of Canton,” dies 1822.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that Arthur E. “Ted” Johnson, Jr. is awarded a Purple Heart, having been gassed in Verdun during the Great War, 1933.
Canton High School stages Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” 1983.
Town meeting votes to join Mid-Connecticut trash to energy project, 1981.
Five acre brush fire in Barbourtown section of Canton, 1941.
Collins Co. president William Hill given watch by employees celebrating his 30 years with company, 1913.
Dr. Solomon Everest, “father of Canton” born, 1760.
Benefit dance in town hall for Collinsville Opera House Orchestra, 1909.
Russell Bristol, 49, dies trying to save his nephew in a Canton Center house fire, 1953
William E. Simonds rescues fellow soldiers while under enemy fire in Louisiana, 1863.
Zoning Commission adopts regulations for distance between businesses selling liquor, 1980.
Collins Co. grinder Anton Lindberg fatally stabs two men and commits suicide, 1875.
Cherry Brook Garden Club formed, 1940.
Harry Miles of Center Street catches 14-inch rainbow trout, 1937.
Collins workers reported drafting contract with Steel Workers, CIO, 1941.
Pfc Leonard Smith, first Canton man killed in action, Korean War, 1953.
Farewell reception for William Hill, after 40 years with the Collins Co., 15 years as president, 1922.
Bradford Marcy sued by Samuel Collins for violating a deed provision prohibiting alcohol, 1853.
Minstrel show in Collinsville considered best ever, 1920.
Beehive block (now town hall parking lot) burns, 1919.
Charter Oak descendant planted by Boy Scouts at Collinsville post office, 1964.
Swedish Pilgrim Church kicks off 50th anniversary with services in Swedish, 1937.
Canton Benefit Productions stages “Promises, Promises,” 1980.
Collinsville Swedish church founded, 1887.
Collinsville baseballstar Danny Hoffman traded from Philadelphia Athletics to New York Highlanders, 1906.
Samuel Collins dies, 1871.

Canton Public Library reports circulation of 1,422, 1939.
Canton Land Conservation Trust holds annual meeting, 1985.
Town meeting requests state highway commissioner to use local unemployed labor, 1933.
Canton Public Library reports 1,749 patrons in previous year, 1931.
Totaling up all his years in various civic activities, John C. Meconkey honored for 229 years of service to Town of Canton, 1965.
Carl Svenson, Jr. honored for 25 years as Republican registrar of voters, 2001.
Fire at “Old Hotel” on River St., then a Collins Co. tenement, 1921.
Roscoe C. Bristol, first selectman since 1940, dies while in office, 1950.
Dentist J. B. Flint advertises “laughing gas or ether administered . . . if desired,” 1870.
Three stop sign violations fined $3 each in Canton Justice Court, 1941.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that Howard Bahre of East Hill has purchased the Humphrey ice business, 1939.
Tailor Ludwig Bahre, born in Lindholm, Germany, dies at 82, 1911
Nearly 200 voters at town meeting approve $22.9 million budget 4 to 1, 2002.
J. E. Goodman’s “New Double Store. The Head Quarters for Dry Goods” opens in the Valley House, 1868.
Cherry Brook Grange #210 formed, 1945.
Collinsville town baseball team beats Tariffville 3-2, 1937.
Margaret “Peg” Perry, for 35 years librarian at the Canton Public Library, born 1922.
Collinsville VFD celebrates 50th anniversary with jamboree, 2016.
Petition to legislature to create the Town of Canton, 1806.
Special town meeting authorizes gypsy moth spraying, 1954.
May Carter kills her husband with a shotgun in their Collinsville home, 1944.
Collins brothers and their cousin purchase 5 acres along the Farmington River, 1826.
Collinsville Savings Society robbed of $2,109 by armed bandits, 1935.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that Amiel Bahre fathered so many children (12) he ran out of middle names, 1956.
American Legion Auxiliary poppy sale begins, 1935.
Collins Co. labor contract includes a 5 cent hourly wage increase and a week paid vacation, 1941.
The Rising Star, Canton’s first newspaper publishes initial issue, 1858.
Newspaper reports that Charles Plunge of North Canton shot off his finger while cleaning a .22 rifle, 1942.
Fire crews rescue a man who fell 25 feet onto the ledges below the Collinsville dam, 2005.
Ordinance adopted creating an Economic Development Commission, 1974.
Dedication of Civil War Monument, 1903.
First officers of Cherry Brook Grange installed, 1945.

Pomeroy Higley found guilty of breaking into an animal pound, 1858.
H.N. Rust finds Native American skeleton while walking along Farmington River, 1858.
Final meeting of Charles Blair and John Brown about manufacture of Brown’s pikes, 1859.
Pilgrim Fellowship works on Canton Center Congregational Church lawn, 1943.
Town meeting votes $300,000 to expand Canton High School, 1953.
Town meeting votes removal of old jail with “steel or brick cages” in town hall basement, 1929.
Leonard Hough leaves town, first Canton soldier to see WWI service in France, 1917.
Cub Pack 77 receives its charter, 1944.
Chester Case dies at age 96, 1907.
Blacksmith W. D. West announces that he is “ready, willing, and competent to discharge any business” in his line, 1858.
Special town meeting votes to build consolidated grammar school, 1941.
Bristol family holds its 119th annual reunion at Bristol’s Grove, 2016.
Farmington Valley Stage Company opens “Becky’s new Car at town hall, 2014.
Civil defense coordinator G.F. Whitney reports a successful alarm and warning test, 1954.
Farmington valley Herald reports that all 19 Canton teachers have signed contracts for another year, 1933.
Collinsville VFD 22nd Jamboree opens, 1988.
Five students graduate from Collinsville High School, 1907.
Bulletin board on Town Hall designated official public signpost, 1987.
Collinsville High School graduation, 1914.
Collins employee Merrit Waldron, 28, drowns in river near railroad bridge, 1923.
Canton Show Shop summer theater opens with “Holiday,” 1939.
Conservation Commission established by town meeting, 1966.
Rev. Jeremiah Hallock dies, minister at Canton Center church for over 40 years, 1826.
Farmington Valley Herald reports Collinsville High School Athletic Association had a banquet in town hall attended by 30 members, 1920.
Collinsville Congregational Church organized, 1832.
Work begins on three new fire hydrants in Collinsville center with WPA labor and materials and equipment of the Collins Company, 1939.
Mrs. Herbert Smith’s screams alerts rescuers when a burglar enters her River St. home around 11:30 p.m., 1921.
East bound freight train derails off Lawton Road after hitting a cow, 1899.
Over 200 youngsters enrolled in swim classes at Canton pool, 1953.
Eaton Hardware Company closes after 105 years of business, 2001.

Batting .315 and playing outfield for the Philadelphia Athletics, Collinsville’s Danny Hoffman is seriously injured when hit by a pitch, 1904.
Horse race at Cherry Park, 1920.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that Canton Canoe Club will sponsor a river parade 200 feet long with 15 canoes and Japanese lanterns, 1908.
Independence Day parade from Canton Center toCollinsville, 1940.
Collins Company holds annual meeting in Hartford, 1911.
Tax collector Ralph Dowd, in office 40 years, receives Republican nomination for another term, 1959.
Mrs. Charles Schlosser murdered with cleaver in Collinsville by son, 1921.
Cob Web flea market on Rte. 44 at Dyer Cemetery Road closes after more than 30 years, 2001.
Fire destroys barn and tenement on A. O. Mills property, 1936.
Farmington Valley Herald reports on St. Patrick’s Church High Mass celebrating 25 years of Reverend John Sullivan as a priest, 1947.
Evander Morrison installed as first minister of Canton Center Congregational Church, 1750
A. Arthur Vincent, fire policeman, dies in the line of duty, 1987.
Gallery on the Green acquires the old schoolhouse, 1971.
Farmington Valley Herald reports Collins Co. employee Peter Riley overdoses on Hypo Brown Compound taken for insomnia, 1921.
George Winters, age 19, drowns in the Farmington River after falling from a rope swing, 1935.
Farmington Valley Herald reports a plentiful crop of black raspberries around Collinsville, 1925.
Centennial reception at Town Hall, 1906
Canton Centennial parade, 1906.
Collinsville Savings Society holds 101st annual meeting, 1954.
H.S. Collins advertises need for 1,000 chestnut rails, 1858.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that Collins Co. employee Joseph Michel may lose sight in his right eye from a particle thrown off a polishing wheel, 1921.
Farmington Valley Herald reports five British students will spend a month at homes in Canton Center and North Canton, 1954.
Fred H. Leland of Dyer Ave. fatally shoots himself at age 67 near Town Bridge, 1941.
Last day of annual carnival on Canton Green sponsored by Canton Vol. Fire Coo, 1948.
Newspaper reports that that John Meconkey has been named registrar of voters, 1941.
August Knaple, WWI veteran and Collins forger commits suicide by gunshot at 62, 1955.
Town meeting appropriates $1,000 to move North Canton school to new site, 1926.
Collinsville male chorus sings at Burlington Congregational Church, 1940.
Eliza Daniels, 99, oldest Canton resident dies in North Canton, 1935.
Old Home Sunday held in Canton Center, 1939.
Water Carnival concludes Red Cross swimming program for Canton children in Barkhamsted, 1950.

Town offices start “vacation” schedule with curtailed hours, 1936.
Lions Club sponsors annual Aquacade at town pool, 1959.
Collinsville Savings Society displays old coinsand currency to mark 100th anniversary, 1953.
Chautauqua opens in Collinsville, 1920.
Canton Vol. Fire Co. opens annual carnival on Canton Green, 1953.
Town meeting appropriates $540 for its share of traffic light at Trailsend Drive and Route 44,1964.
Public announcement that Helen Collins, wife of Howard Collins (Samuel Collins’ son) will donate a library building to the town in memory of her husband, 1919.
Collinsville Savings Society opens, 1853.
Lt. Sterling Bristol, pilot, killed inaction over Germany, 1944.
David C. Collins (Samuel’s brother) dies at age 55 in New Haven, 1861
Sgt. John Bower dies at the notorious Confederate prison at Andersonville, GA, 1864.
Elijah Eggleston advertises his harness making business, 1858.
Farmington Valley Herald reports work will soon start on expansion of phone co. building at River and North Streets, 1953.
Farmington Valley Herald reports on Collins Co, grinders’ strike, 1908.
Farmington Valley Herald reports large profit for first annual North Canton firemen’s clambake, 1946.
Rollin O. Humphrey, oldest Collinsville resident during town Centennial and postmaster under Lincoln, born, 1827.
22nd annual Lobsterfest at Canton Vol. Fire Co., 2002.
Registrars in session to enroll voters from 6 to 8 p.m., 1966.
Flood waters crest at 24 feet above the Collins Company boiler room, 1955.
First Canton soldier wounded in Civil War, Pvt. Thomas Sessions, Rappahannock, VA, 1862.
George Viering’s pet alligator escapes to Collins canal where it is caught by a boy fishing, 1940.
Collinsville post office dedicated 1959.
Farmington Valley Herald Reports that town meeting authorizes application for federal urban renewal survey grant, 1962.
Creative Arts Councilgives “Canton Gate” sculpture at Mills Pond Park to town, 1992.
“The chief obstacle to generating hydropower [at Collinsville] is red tape,” says Thomas Perry, 1979.
Farmington Valley Herald reports Aviation Cadet H. Lloyd Hinman injured in crash, 1943.
Collins workers walk out, protesting company’s failure to negotiate with union, 1942.
Gallery on the Green opens exhibition by its instructors, 1960.
Fifty members of the Collinsville French community hold a clambake, 1909.
Lack of water closes Collins Co. during dam repair in New Hartford, 1921.
Vacation Bible class held at home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Konold, 1921

Elisha K. Root, mechanical genius, hired by Samuel Collins and later Samuel Colt, dies at 57, 1865.
Collinsville Savings Society announces savings account interest at 6%, 1858.
Albert E. Newton, Collins general manager since 1921, dies in his office, 1941.
Canton Senior Citizens meet at Fellowship Hall on Dowd Avenue, 1962.
Schools open for fall term, 1923.
Gas tank at Collinsville Steam Laundry explodes, 1911.
Raymond Beckwith, 18, crashes into Mrs. Doane while riding his bicycle on River St., both knocked unconscious, 1906.
First Canton soldier killed in Civil War, Pvt. William A. German, 1861.
Four new teachers join Canton schools for a total of 37 principals and staff, 1953.
A 260 foot long temporary Bailey Bridge completed across the Farmington River to replace iron bridge washed out by flood, 1955.
Ground breaking for Dowd Avenue elderly housing, 1978.
Flentrop organ at Collinsville Congregational Church dedicated, 1965.10
Second day of Cherry Park Fair, including track events with surrounding towns, 1921.
School superintendent: Collinsville “in great need of a new school building with laboratories,” 1906.
Town meeting votes to build new grade school, 1945.
Sgt Thomas Carpenter released from Japanese POW camp, 1945.
Corporal Jessie Barnes killed in Civil War at Antietam, 1862.
Canton Parent Teacher’s association organized, 1945.
Collinsville Savings Society opens office on Albany Turnpike, 1999.
Sheldon Woodford dies in a Confederate prison, 1864.
Dr. Ralph Cox honored at “Cox Baby Day” for delivering hundreds of babies in 50 years of practice, 1952.
Collinsville’s Simonds Military Band marches with Tunxis Hose Co. in Plainville firemen’s parade, 1916.
Police dog “Blue” tracks down a felon who hadstolen a van, 1989.
First record of a “town meeting” held at the home of Richard Case, 1746.
Forty-one members elect officers of the Male Chorus, Fed Widen, director, 1933.
Red Cross bloodmobile at Collinsville Congregational Church, 1978.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that Nursing Association directors have appointed a new public health nurse, 1962.
Farmington Valley Herald reports selectmen likely to apply for new federal grant for constructing and equipping new high school, 1933.
Town meeting appropriates $80,000 to purchase 40 acres from Mills family for park purposes, 1967.
Health officer C.J. Kilburn reports 29 cases of measles, 3 of tuberculosis and 2 of whooping cough in previous year, 1932.

Thomas Bidwell, a survivor of the notorious Andersonville Confederate prison, dies at 67, 1908.
Town meeting appropriates $50 for Memorial Day exercises, 1934.
Town meeting votes to keep Canton dry, as it had been for 30 years, 1904.
Elisha Colt becomes secretary of the Collins Company, 1848.
Town meeting declares it “unlawful for any person to slide either by use of sled or other sliding devices on any public way” unless posted as allowed, 1970.
Canton Trust Co. reported out of business, 1916.
Collins superintendent Frederick Hough marks 50 years of service, 1940.
Post 90, Albert Johnson American Legion, organized, 1932.
Collinsville Congregational Church chapel becomes emergency hospital for influenza epidemic, 1918.
Town meeting votes in favor of Sunday sale of “alcoholic liquors,” 1939.
Pfc Gordon Goodrich dies of wounds received in action in Italy, 1944.
Catching for the Detroit Tigers, Canton’s Ira Thomas doubles and drives in a run in Tigers World Series game 3 victory, 1908.
“Trillium,” three one act plays, performed by Acts Factory Players at town hall, 2000.
Roaring Brook Nature Center holds 18th Nature’s Bounty Fair, 1989.
John Przeracki, Collins grinder, falls ill from grinder’s lung (dies in May),1921.
Cawasa Grange No. 34, organized, 1885.
Canton’s Ira Thomas has 2 hits in 3 at bats, scores 2 runs and has 1 RBI for Philadelphia in game 2 of the World Series, 1910.
Fully equipped Cadillac ambulance available for public inspection at Collins Co. office, 1957.
Funeral of Edwin J. Smith, 71, Collinsville Hardware merchant since 1903, 1948.
Interior of Canton Center Congregational Church rededicated after remodeling from gothic to colonial style, 1968.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that chicken pie supper at Canton Center Congregational Church was “a great success,” 1920.
Town meeting exempts Route 44 sidewalks from property owner snow removal requirement, 1985.
Maxwell Shepherd Memorial Arts Fund presents pianist Andrea Lam at Collinsville Congregational Church, 2005.
Collinsville Halloween Parade draws thousands of people, 2015.
Work begins moving bodies from St. Johns cemetery in the Nepaug basin, 1915.
Body of Willis Knowles found in Collins canal, 1936.
Canton Benefit Productions stages “Let’s Murder Marsha,” first play of 35th season, 1990.
Walter S. Case, Canton Center postmaster for 47 years, born 1859.
Seth Norton, Collins Company agent, first treasurer Collinsville Savings Society dies suddenly, 1867.
Frederick Hough, Collins superintendent, elected to third term in state House, 1936.
Dr. Ralph Cox, who practiced in Collinsville for 59 years starting in 1902, born in Kingsport, Nova Scotia, 1876

Bids opened for five room addition to Cherry Brook School, 1960.
Timothy M. Curtis announces “no credit” in his store “under any circumstances whatever,” 1858.
Mary Eichhorn Fletcher elected first female first selectman, 1987.
Saturday hours at town clerk’s office for absentee ballots, 2000.
Cornerstone laid for St. Patrick’s Church, 1933.
Ballot cards for insertion in scanners first used in elections, 2007.
Hartford Times reports huge homecoming for Canton’s Ira Thomas, catcher for world champion Philadelphia Americans, 1911.
Leonard Hough is first cardholder on list of new Canton Public Library, 1913.
Fred Widen’s Collinsville Museum opens, 1940.
Farmington Valley Herald reports that the phone company will replace “open wires” with cables on the streets of Collinsville, 1911.
Veterans’ monument at corner of River and Bridge Streets dedicated, 2001.
Phoebe Humphrey Chapter DAR holds rummage sale in town hall, 1908.
Center School District authorizes $22.50 for purchase of schoolhouse building, 1847.
4-H Clubs hold Achievement Night in Canton Center, 1936.
Joseph W. Merrill retires at 80 after 40 years with the Collins Co., mostly as engineer of the rolling mill, 1913.
Selectmen approve $25,000 for skate park at Mills Pond, 2000.
Jolly Juniors Sewing Club card party at Canton Center Community House, 1934.
Collins Co. fire department called to chimney fire at L.P. Forkerhome, Canton Center, 1936.
Police officers Hull and Swain pull a man from a burning vehicle, 1989.
Town hall opens with farce comedy “Hello Bill,” 1903.
Farmington Valley Herald reports more illnesses than normal, including pneumonia, 1929.
St Patrick’s Church dedicated, 1936.
Town meeting approves two new trucks and snow removal equipment costing $2,200, 1936.
Farmington Valley Herald reports relocation of River Road, damaged by flood, is now underway, 1959.
“Special call to public worship and Thanksgiving” at the Collinsville Congregational Church, 1920.
U.S. Senator John A. Danaher speaks at Canton High School, 1943.
E.A. Hough & Co. announces new drug store opening in Collinsville, 1867.
Cherry Brook Grange holds public card party, 1953.
Annual supper of Collinsville Congregational Church Ladies Aid Society, 1949.
Selectmen approve purchase of 1959 Seagrave ladder truck to replace 1947 LaFrance, 1989

Collinsville jeweler A.H. Eaton advertises holiday watches in latest styles, 1911.
Annual sale and supper of the Collinsville Congregational Church Ladies Aid Society, 1921.
Collinsville Fire Engine Company No. 1 adopts bylaws, 1856.
Civil War veteran Leroy Jones, 76, loses part of a finger in a Collins Co. planer, 1910.
Farmington Valley Herald reports on weekend antiques show in Collins Co. recreation building, 1946.
Canton Memorial Ambulance established, 1950.
John K. Luntta, U.S. Navy, killed at Pearl Harbor, 1941
Fire damages Collins Co. rolling mill, 1867
Three degrees above zero, river frozen, Collins Co. short of power, 1910.
Frank Wilder, Collins chief electrician, killed in boiler explosion, 1948.
Selectmen call public meeting to discuss zoning, 1957.
Farmington Valley Herald reports no deaths in Canton in November, three births and five marriages, 1929.
Christmas in Collinsville champagne walk, 2013.
Moving picture “Ruth of the Rockies” shown at town hall, 1920.
Town Hall is severely damaged by fire, 1915.
Newspaper reports that Albert Ellsworth confessed to robbing E.J. Smith’s hardware store, 1908.
Gra Rock Spring Co. granted new trial by CT Supreme Court against railroad for spark that burned plant down, 1918.
Zoning commission approves zone change for 77 acre industrial park on Dowd Ave., 1985.
Town-wide trash pickup rejected by referendum, 1988.
Town hall evacuated in bomb scare over suspicious package, 1993.
Collinsville Congregational Church dedicated, 1836.
Cedaridge Road accepted by town meeting as a town road, 1965.
Best attended town meeting, over 700 people, reject zoning, 1952.
American Legion Auxiliary holds Christmas party at town hall, 1933.
Collinsville Gun Club holds Christmas shoot, 1907.
Faulty wiring causes fire at North Canton firehouse, 2000.
Center School District authorizes expenditure of $18.22 for books, maps, globes, etc., 1829.
Trinity Church Sunday School Christmas play, 1920.
Harold Humphrey begins annualice harvest in Canton Center, 1925.
Issue 18 of the semi-monthly Collinsville based The Portfolio newspaper published, 1870.
Farmington Valley Herald headline: “Better Spirit Prevails as Community Passes from 1936 to 1937, 1936.