South Congregational Church

Granby, Connecticut

125th Anniversary Afghan

The Granby-Dewey Ancient Oak stands close to the road on Day Street on the Dewey property. It is approximately 500 years old with extensive arms that require support. The branches spread 128 feet from north to south. The tree design has been adopted for the official seal of Granby.

The McLean Game Refuge consists of 3000 acres of natural woodland that was established for the protection of wildlife and birds and waterways. It was given by Senator George P. McLean in 1932 and is open free of charge to the public for hiking and picnicking, cross-country skiing, and conducted nature walks.

In 1968 the Marquis of Granby Ancient Fyfe and Drum Corps was organized and named after a town in Granby, England. Its youthful members wear authentic uniforms and play faithful reproductions of old instruments that were used during the Revolutionary War. The musicians have performed in many states and have won several important awards.

The Holcomb Farm in West Granby was named for Tudor Holcomb who, in 1976, gave his 315 acre dairy and tobacco farm on Broad Hill Road for the purpose of education and research. Today it has a professional staff and year round programs that promote environmental study and cooperative gardening with Hartford’s inner city families.

The brownstone statue which stands on the town green at the intersection of Routes 10 and 189 was dedicated on July 4, 1886 to the memory of the 37 men who fought and died in the Civil War. The sculptor of the monument was J. G. Batterson.

Abijah Rowe owned a house and blacksmith shop from 1753 until his death in 1812. Salmon Brook Street was a main thoroughfare from New Haven north to Westfield, and his business flourished. In 1903 the house was purchased by Fred Colton, a tobacco grower. In 1966 it was given to the Salmon Brook Historical Society by Mildred Colton Allison and by Carolyn Colton Avery, his daughters.

In 1834 the First Congregational Church was built on North Granby Road. In 1845 Dr. Peter Jewett, a local artisan, built and installed a wooden pipe organ, and he played it each week free of charge. In 1989 the church was completely restored exposing the balconies that had been hidden for many years under a false ceiling.

The Cossitt Library with its unusual Queen Anne architecture was built in 1890 at the intersection of North Granby and Mountain Roads. It was a gift from Frederick H. Cossitt, a “local boy made good,” who left $10,000 in his will to build Granby’s first free public library. It is now part of the Granby Public Library System.

In 1872 the South Congregational Church which is near the town center on Salmon Brook Street was organized when twenty-two members left the First Congregational Church in order to worship closer to their homes. Services were held in the library building on the site of the existing Visiting Nurses Association which the church bought in 1866. In 1917 after that church burned to the ground, the present building and the Community House were built.

The Granby Memorial Middle School for grades 6, 7, and 8 opened in 1992 adjacent to the Granby Memorial High School on Salmon Brook Street. The central tower has skylights that are above a well-equipped library.

The horses on the afghan represent the large population of equines in Granby – which varies from year to year, but is the highest per capita in Connecticut. The Granby Horse Council is active and highly respected in the Connecticut River Valley.

The Granby Afghan is available in Maroon/Ivory or Navy/Ivory; Cost = $45.00 each

Contact Joan Schramm, at South Congregational Church: (860) 653-7289, for more information.