 |
| (Courtesy of WH Historical Society) |
Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour.
Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour.
Roll up, we've got everything you need, roll up for the Mystery Tour.
Roll up, Satisfaction guaranteed, roll up for the Mystery Tour.
The Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away.
Waiting to take you away.
-"Magical Mystery Tour" (Lennon & McCartney).
 |
| "Roll up for the Magical History Tour." |
The newspaper article describing a bus tour of historical sites around town, made me think of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. It promised a 90 minute bus tour to showcase the "hidden history" of our town. Hmmm. I thought it might be interesting to learn something new and perhaps meet some new people.
By the time I signed up (i.e., made a reservation), the original tour was sold out. Fortunately, a second tour was added for a 3 pm departure and I was in! The price was $20 for members (which I got through my Let's GO Arts! membership) otherwise $25. I was kinda surprised of so much interest since the tour was scheduled for the same day (Saturday November 21, 2015) and time as the penultimate high school football game between both of our town's high schools.
 |
| "Climb aboard" |
Glen was the name of the bus driver; tour guide and narrator was Sarah. There were about 25 people on the bus. We were provided with handouts showing the tour route (similar to the picture above) along with pictures of the structures and places that once were at each spot.
The tour was called "History Drives Us." They had given several of these tours as part of a history class or lecture series offered at a nearby University (why?). There were 22 locations on the map but we skipped a couple due to traffic conditions (plus Sarah was suffering from a migraine - the first tour group must have been quite a bunch!).
 |
| Stop #3: Sarah Whitman Hooker House. |
Several of the sites, I was familiar with but others were new to me. Unfortunately, there was no time to get out and look at each place. Some places we could only drive past. Some were still private houses not open to the public.
 |
| "Stop" #6 Charter Oak Driving Park/Luna Park |
My son, Richard, would've been interested in hearing more about the defunct amusement park (Luna Park) which was near the present location of Colt Arms Manufacturing & Home Depot.
 |
| Stop #7 Quaker Burial Yard |
 |
| Stop #11 Wadsworth Tavern (now a private home) |
 |
| "Stop" #20 Four Mile Marker |
Near the end of the tour we drove past "Four Mile Marker." This is a stone marker has " H IV M" on it signifying 4 miles to Hartford (at today's Old State House). One of the people on the bus said that they measured it and the distance is pretty accurate. Since I live within walking distance of the marker, I came back later and took a closer look and shot the picture above.
When we finished the tour (in about 75 minutes instead of 90), I realized there are a lot of historic and interesting sites in West Hartford. There are enough places to have several bus tours. Although I didn't really meet any new people, my curiosity about the history of my town has increased. It is something I hope to learn more about in the future, especially since the Historical Society is located within walking distance of my apartment.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Links:
https://www.noahwebsterhouse.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Mystery_Tour_(film)
https://www.letsgoarts.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Whitman_Hooker_House
http://connecticuthistory.org/luna-park-a-20th-century-story-of-amusement-and-morality/
http://www.hartfordquakers.org
http://www.courant.com/real-estate/property-line/hc-wadsworth-tavern-hartford-connecticut-sold-20141203-story.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
Written Thursday 31 December 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment