Steve Taylor was recently given this early scene of Main Street in Meriden, taken between 1868-1871. It is a stereoptican view done by WW Culver, then a Lebanon photographer, but later a scene painter who painted the stage backdrop for the Meriden town hall, now restored and on display in the meeting room.
The image is not as sharp as we'd like, but a magnifying glass does reveal details. The large barn on the left side of the road was Oliver Baker's barn, now the site of Garfield's. The granite posts in the photo are still there. The Cape with attached barn below the Baker barn is the LaFlam's house. The Cape behind the bushes in the right foreground is now a rental property owned by Judy Belyea. The stone wall in the center of the photo may be the same stone wall now in front of Steve Taylor's.
Main Street has been rebuilt and shifted many times over the last 150 years, so it's wonderful to have this record.
The current satellite view shows about where Culver was standing. The round circle is the site of Baker's barn.
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Did you know that Plainfield has its own song? In 1961, for the 200th anniversary of Plainfield, Lucy Ruggles Bishop wrote “Song of Plainfield.” Girls in bonnets and pantaloons sang the song and played tonettes, performing it on the stage on the town hall. We are so fortunate to have been given, by David Taylor, the original handwritten music to add to our archives. The third verse is special!
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