From 1813: Washington Hotel

The following is an advertisement appearing in the Hartford Courant 200 years ago yesterday, on August 31st, 1813. If you have any information about the hotel, please leave it in a comment, I am curious to know where it stood.  
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From 1938: Crowds Make Last Passage Over Old Middletown Span

The following article is from 75 years ago, published in the Hartford Courant on August 5th, 1938.

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Thousands of autoists and pedestrians crossed the old Middletown-Portland Highway draw bridge for the last time Thursday night and thronged the brightly lighted approaches of the new bridge, which will be opened to traffic Saturday after it is dedicated by Governor Cross and other public officials.

The old drawbridge is partially hidden behind the new bridge

Thousands more are expected to make their final passage over the old bridge Friday night when exercises attendant on the dedication of the new structure will start with band concerts by the U.S. Coast Guard Band on the Portland High School grounds and by the Old Guard Band of Middletown at Union Park, Middletown, form 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 o'clock.

Traffic will be stopped on the old bridge Saturday at 1 p.m. Until that hour people coming to Middletown from the north, east and south over highways east of the Connecticut River will be allowed to use the old route to get to this city to witness the dedication exercises, which will start with a parade at 2 p.m. After 1 p.m. traffic in the center of Middletown and Portland near the parade route will be halted.

Samuel S. Mattes is bridge parade chairman.

From 1913: Miss Wilson's Fiance Visits Middletown

The following article is from 100 years ago today, published in the Hartford Courant on July 14th, 1913.
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From 1938: Middletown Officials Won't Emulate Cross

The following article is from 75 years ago yesterday, appearing in the Hartford Courant on July 6th, 1938.
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From 1953: A Mayor Practices What He Preaches

The following article is from 60 years ago, published on June 21, 1953 in the New York Times. It was written by David Anderson.

Bailey was born in 1916 and died in 1982 (NY Times obituary). He moved to Middletown in 1946, served as Mayor from 1950 to 1952, and moved to Princeton in 1954. 

His biggest legacy was the destruction of the four-story city hall on Main Street, and replacement of a thriving Sicilian neighborhood on Center Street with Riverview Plaza, anchored by a Sears store (the current police station is on the site of Center Street, and its architecture echos that of the old city hall).

For more on the history of Bailey's downtown redevelopment, and the destruction of what Bailey called the "East Side slums," see Vijay Pinch's excellent Eye article from 2009.
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Dr. Bailey Wears Path of Good Government From Campus to Connecticut City Hall
Dr. Stephen Kemp Bailey, Associate Professor of Government at Wesleyan University, hangs his cap and gown on a peg in the campus faculty room and strides down to the musty old brownstone Town Hall here, where he marches confidently into the Mayor's office, rolls up his sleeves and wastes no time at all putting into practice what he preaches.

The Mayor of Middletown, at 37 years of age, is only one of several successful characters rolled into the slender, energetic person of Stephen Bailey. There is, for instance, the distinguished Rhodes Scholar of 1937-39 who won a number of awards in the pursuit of political science. There is the young naval lieutenant who became chief of Balkan intelligence with the Office of Strategic Services. And the Government expert who served the Hoover Commission in Washington.

Mayor Bailey tries to play his role as he expects it ought to be, yet there are undertones of more than the average city father might bring to his job.

"I'm spending a lot of dough, there's no doubt about it," he said today. "There's been plenty of dirt swept under the rugs in the last twenty years."

The technician within Dr. or Mr. or Professor or Mayor Bailey, depending on who you are and the time of day, has recommended as part of the cleansing process three new schools, a revitalized park and playground program, a solution for the parking problem, a revision of the city's charter and more efficient financial planning.

He Can't Afford to Lose
Elected last October as a Democrat by a sizable plurality of 1,000 over a divided Republican opposition, the Mayor is in office for two years. This taste of politics does not mean that he will abandon the cloister for the clubhouse.

"I can't afford to lose, that's the trouble," he said, adding, "no dough."

City Hall experiences of the Mayor have opened the professor's eyes. In this community of 30,000, which is so typical of the nation at large that Dr. Bailey likes to refer to it as "Middletown, U.S.A.," the theory of government has been surprisingly useful in running the town. Furthermore, he testifies, "It is awful doggone useful in the field of ethics."

In the classroom up on the hill, Professor Bailey has been telling students that ethical behavior rules out absolutely the kickback or pay-up, the split and such doings. In practice, he lectures, you simply ought not to go in for it. But soon after assuming office he was advised that in the case of a certain purchase, say, a fire engine (although that industry is not involved), it had long been the custom for so-and-so to receive such-and-such.

"It seemed pretty darn easy for me to slip into the pattern," the Mayor recalled. "What I did was this. I told that fellow I'd raise the amount he wanted some other way. I'd no idea how, still it didn't matter, for he went away and has never come back."

Alumni Form An Honor Roll
Dr. Bailey concedes that when he first stepped forward in the mayoralty race, many people suspected he "must be some sort of wild-eyed guy" wh had wasted too much time hanging around Washington and traveling abroad. He believes he has allayed these fears.

The course he charted is not a new one. Woodrow Wilson was an instructor in government at Wesleyan University before he entered public life, the late Gov. James L. McConaughy of Connecticut was president of the university and former Gov. Wilbert Snow a professor of English.

G. Albert Hill, State Commissioner of Highways, was head of the Chemistry Department. Chief Justice Ernest Inglis of Connecticut and Justice Raymond E. Baldwin are both alumni and trustees of Wesleyan. Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson is a native of Middletown.

It is clear that the present Mayor thinks as an expert and writes as a scholar, notwithstanding his interest in the folksy touch.

From 2008: Welcome To The Middletown Eye

The following three articles are from 5 years ago today, the first two were published on June 16, 2008, and the third on June 17, 2008. Each was written by Ed McKeon.

These articles were the first ones posted on The Eye, and they are as relevant today as they were 5 years ago. What you read on The eye is entirely dependent on volunteers who write a short report or send in a photo about an event (usually one they would have attended anyway). McKeon's original guidelines have been fleshed out a little, the Eye Stylebook contains further elaborations and suggestions.

Please consider contributing, send an email to the general Eye email address; any of the current contributors can also point you in the right direction.
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Here's looking at you
Increasingly local media is failing the municipalities and communities they cover. Corporate ownership has drained valuable dollars from the local papers, leaving them to scramble for coverage. It's not through any fault of reporters, it's through lack of reporters because the corporate parent believes more in advertising than editorial content. No single reporter can be at any one meeting.

Think of Middletown. Forty-two square miles. An active Police Department. Municipal meetings nearly every night. Cultural performances galore. Sports at many amateur levels. There's no way that even a handful of reporters can do the town justice.

But what if we become the reporters - those of us who go to the meetings, and concerts, ballgames and social events. With a digital camera, an audio recorder and a laptop, we might be able to do a far better job than the newspapers ever could.

So that's the idea. A blog devoted to our town, and written by its residents. Imagine what might happen if there were a set of Middletown eyes at every significant (and maybe insignificant) event.

Of course, we need volunteer correspondents. More on that in a later post. For now, think about what you would have liked the newspaper to report at the PTA meeting, and then consider how you could write it to get the most important points made.

Consider it your Eye, and your point of view.

Ed McKeon
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The EYE opens
Today marks the official blog publication date for The Middletown Eye, a cooperative news, information and opinion blog created by, and for the residents of Middletown CT.

Inspiration for the Eye came from Jennifer Alexander who mentioned more than a year ago that such a web presence would be valuable for Middletown (because of that, it's an honor and pleasure to feature a posting by Jennifer as the opening blog). Jennifer also noted on hearing about the Eye, that the name of the blog has a triple meaning - "eye" as in seeing, "I" as in created for and by residents, and "aye" as in voting for progress.

In addition, the success of the Wesleying blog, created by and for the Wesleyan community, but not officially linked to the university, has been a huge source of inspiration.

Please bookmark the page, and feel empowered to contribute. Our initial goals will be modest - at least four original postings a day, with hopes that by the 6 month mark we'll have 500 daily visitors.

And so opens the Eye. Let's see what there is to see.
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Looking for correspondents
There's only one way this is going to work.

We need people who are willing to blog about the events they attend. We're not necessarily looking for "reporters" to attend specific meetings, we're just looking for folks like you who are attending anyway and would like to write a few words about what you witness, and how the voting went.

There are a few rules:

No personal attacks.
No anonymous rants.
Facts trump opinion.
No slander, unfounded gossip, innuendo.
No hearsay.

What we are looking for is people who would like to blog in areas like these, and more:

Middletown civic meetings
Middletown politics
Middletown events
Area cultural events
Wesleyan
State politics which affect Middletown
Federal politics and policy which affect Middletown
Middletown sports
Middletown business events
Middletown crime
Middletown successes
Think pieces (which are not personal attacks)
Travel
Education

(Additions to this list are welcome)

If you decide to write, it would be great to carry your cell phone with camera, or a digital camera along because photos help people pay attention to what you're blogging about.

If you're interested, drop me an email at mieyeed@gmail.com

From 1913: Resist Street Paving Tax

The following is an excerpt from an article published 100 years ago today, on June 2, 1913 in the Hartford Courant.
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Middletown Property Owners Stand Pat
Evidently the property owners on Sumner street are planning to make a determined stand in regard to the assessment on their property for the paving of the street with amiesite last fall, for thus far only a half dozen have paid the amount of the levy, and on Saturday fourteen liens were filed against property on the street by the city. The unpaid taxes amount to more than $700 and are as follows: Josephine Benham $37.18, Grace K. Allison $46.02, Walter B. Hubbard estate $42.40, Carl A. Allison $48.64 and $8.79, Allison Brothers, Incorporated, $133, Joseph Shapiro$37.45, David Leltzes and Israel Lesser $68.25, Benjamin Friedman $25.20, Henry L. Battalin and Yale Gordon $41.32, Luzerne A. and Mary T. Allen $42, David Mittleman $21, Michael Santangelo $41.48, Herman Poliner $49.

It is probable that suit will have to be undertaken by the city before a settlement is made in some of these cases, at is understood that some of these property owners in particular have made up their minds not to pay. This state of affairs is rather interesting just as the present time, because pavement is being laid on Main street this month, for which the abutting property owners are to be assessed in the same proporaion [sic] as those in Sumner street.

Captain Buell Sued For Divorce.
Captain John H. Buell, well known along the towns on the Connecticut River, has been made the defendant in action for divorce brought by his wife Lucy Buell of this city, in which she alleges intolerable cruelty, and also improper conduct with one Katherine Buell. The latter offense is alleged to have taken place at Clinton between January 1 and April 1 of this year. Mrs. Buell seeks besides the divorce, the custody of her son George, 19 years of age, and alimony of $3,000. The suit is made returnable to the June term of the superior court, and is brought by her attorney, Frank D. Haines. Captain Buell runs a boat between this city and Long Island, peddling fish and clams at the various towns between here and Saybrook.

Council Meeting Tonight
The June meeting of the common council will be held tonight in the council chamber, but as far as is known there is but little business of importance to come up. It is understood that Corporation Counsel Gustaf R. Carlson will make a report in regar4d to the reclaiming of the water front from the railroad company, a matter which he has been investigating during the past month. It is not thought that Mayor Fisk will make any attempt to oust the present water commissioners who are holding over,his original appointments to the office having failed of confirmation.

From 1913: Easter In The Churches

The following is an excerpt from an article published about 100 years ago today, appearing in the Hartford Courant on March 24, 1913. The Courant routinely published articles on church activities.
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Easter Sunday was appropriately observed in the local churches yesterday, elaborate musical programs being the order at most of the services. At the First Baptist Church, the ordinance of believer's baptism was administered to three, while in a number of the other churches new members were received. Tuttle's Orchestra assisted the choir in the music in St. John's Church at the 10:30 mass, which marked the opening of the forty hours' devotion. Special services were held in the afternoon at both the North and South Congregational churches, at the former the choir rendering a cantata "The Resurrection" by Manney, while at the latter T. Alexander Matthew's cantata, "The Life Everlasting" was given.

The annual carol service at Holy Trinity was held at 3:30 o'clock and as usual the church was crowded. A chorus of thirty-five voices rendered Adam Gelbel's "Light Out of Darkness" at the First Methodist Church in the evening. At the high celebration at the Church of the Holy Trinity in the morning the choir was assisted by an orchestra. Special exercises were held in a number of the Sunday schools in observance of the hundredth anniversary of David Livingstone. The programs at the South Congregational and First Baptist schools were particularly elaborate. Professor William North Rice of Wesleyan spoke at the special Easter services of the Connecticut Industrial School for Girls in the afternoon. There was also a cantata "The Morn of Hope," by the girls. At the Italian service, at the First Methodist Church in the afternoon the new pastor, who is to succeed the late Rev. Armando Natali, preached his first sermon. The choir of the Swedish Lutheran Church of Portland rendered a special Easter program at the Middlesex Hospital in the afternoon.

From 1913: Uncle Horace Johnson Warns Wilson To Take Fur Overcoat

The following article is from about 100 years ago, published on March 2nd, 1913, in the Washington Post.
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Middletown, Conn.,--Uncle Horace Johnson, the aged weather prophet, who predicted the storm at President's Taft's [sic] inauguration four years ago, when Chief Willis Moore and other government weather sharps promised a fair day, has written to Woodrow Wilson, advising him to take his fur coat with him to Washington, as in all probability he will have to wear it next Tuesday.

Uncle Horace, who is in his eighty-ninth year, has been forecasting weather conditions for 75 years, and ever since his predication of the blizzard of 1888 farmers throughout the State have placed great faith in his predictions. For upward of half a century he has made his home in Middle Haddam, living in a bungalow on the banks of the Connecticut River.

From 1856: What's In A Name?

The following was published over 150 years ago, appearing in the Hartford Courant on March 29th, 1856.  

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From 1984: Sale Paves Way for Renovation Of Historic Wesleyan Building

The following article is from about 30 years ago, published in the Hartford Courant on August 2nd, 1984. It was written by Martin Kearns. The building is currently an attorney's office. It is adjacent to property that Wesleyan has currently agreed to sell to Centerplan, a development company that has proposed to replace several historic houses with a shopping center.
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Wesleyan University, long interested in preserving the architectural beauty of buildings surrounding its campus, last week sold a historic building to have it rehabilitated.

The university sold a three-story, red brick building at 190 Washington St. to Theodore O. Bertz and Judith A. Bertz, both of Durham, July 25. The building, at Washington and High streets, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wesleyan gave the Bertzes a 10-year mortgage for $122,080.

Theodor O. Bertz, a graphic designer, owns Ted Bertz Design Inc. in Middletown.

As part of the agreement, the Bertzes gave Wesleyan the right of first refusal over any future sale of the property.

In the event that a third party offers to buy the property from the Bertzes, the agreement gives Wesleyan the right “to purchase the premises upon the same terms and for the offered price.”

Bobby Wayne Clark, Wesleyan’s director of public information, said, “The right of first refusal is protective on Wesleyan’s part. We, in effect, retain control (of the property).”

Clark said the Bertzes plan to move Ted Bertz Design Inc. to the building and have agreed to rehabilitate the structure. “It’s going to be an extensive renovation,” he said. He said the Bertzes also plan to rent space in the building.

“In this way our mutual interests are served,” said Clark. The Bertzes will get new office space and the university will have protected the building.

Bertz could not be reached for comment.

The property is adjacent to the northeastern corner of the Wesleyan campus. The sale was the second property transaction this year designed to shield the campus from development.

In February, Wesleyan paid $1 million for a 43 unit apartment building at 254-256 Washington St. to establish a buffer between the campus and the city’s business district and to ensure a stock of apartments for faculty members.

“We are not on a buying spree,” said Clark. “But we are interested in properties adjacent to the campus.”

From 1963: Bridge Rededication Planned Memorial Day

The following article is from about 50 years ago today, published in the Hartford Courant on February 21, 1963.
There had been at least three previous attempts to name the bridge, including Seicheprey, Mattabeseck, and my personal favorite, General Clarence Ransome Edwards Yankee Division Memorial Bridge
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Re-dedication of the Connecticut River Bridge between this city and Portland as the Arrigoni Bridge now is being planned for May 30, Memorial Day.

Preliminary plans for a holiday program were started Wednesday by a small committee of the Chamber of Commerce with other city representatives.

Named For Former Senator
The bridge was renamed at the last session of the general assembly as the Arrigoni Bridge in honor of former state Senator Charles Arrigoni who served as chairman of the county commission which erected the bridge, starting in 1936. The bridge was dedicated in 1938 by state officials after a big parade.

It was known simply as the Middletown-Portland Bridge. The county delegation in the general assembly two years ago pushed through the legislation to honor Arrigoni, a well known Durham contractor.

Regatta Day
Plans for the new dedication still must be made but they may be held as part of a holiday celebration which each year includes the Connecticut Outboard Assn. race regatta on the Connecticut River here.

This usually attracts more than 100 racing outboards in several classes for the events.

New Daughter
A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Chadbourne of 69 Front St., in Middlesex Memorial Hospital Wednesday.

From 1913: 17 Meriden Women Ask To Be Arrested

The following is from exactly 100 years ago today, published in the Hartford Courant on February 17th, 1913. Can the decline of the newspaper industry be traced to the loss of articles like these in the last century?
(Photograph is of John Wiernasz, a policeman in the 1920s, from a story on our city's Polish immigrants from Middlesex Historical Society).
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Middletown Police Station Attacked by Small Female Army.
The sergeant on duty at the police station felt nervously to see if his revolver was in place in his hip pocket and the doorman sought safety under a table, when seventeen women, apparently excited and belligerent, entered the station in a body and lined up before the desk tonight about 11 o'clock.

"We bane from Meriden. We want to be locked up," was the chorus that greeted the sergeant's ears, in seventeen different varieties of Polish dialect, when the women had sufficiently recovered their breath to talk.

The sergeant decided to investigate and await threatening action on the part of the strangers before taking extreme measures.

"What have you done that we ought to lock you up for?" he demanded.

"We bane from Meriden---," began the chorus again, but the sergeant interrupted.

"I understand that," he said, "That's bad enough, but we can't arrest you for it."

The sergeant finally found that the seventeen were all members of a Meriden Polish Church, who had come to Middletown to attend a service at the Polish church here. The last trolley car from Middletown to Meriden leaves at 10:30 on week nights, but goes ten minutes earlier on Sundays. Not knowing this difference in the Sunday schedule, the seventeen women stayed at the church too long and missed the last car.

When the situation was explained to the sergeant he found himself facing a serious dilemma. There are eight cells in the lock-up and three of them were already occupied. This left five cells, each about two feet by four to be divided between seventeen people. He figured it out on paper and found that it would be three and two-thirds of a woman to a cell. "Impossible," was his verdict when he had worked the problem out.

At the sergeant's suggestion, the women finally decided to go down to the Polish quarter of the town, where, with the assistance of the police, they all found lodging. They will remain until the cars start running tomorrow morning.

From 1868: Snow and a Fenian Ball

The following is an extract from an article published about 145 years ago today, it appeared in the Hartford Daily Courant on January 29th, 1868.

Perhaps as an indication of the importance of Middletown in those days, the article was simply entitled, "New England News", and included sections on Middletown, New Haven County (where Edward Nettleton slided downhill into a loaded ox sled), Middlesex County, Fairfield County, Litchfield County, New London County (where a large number of New Londoners take the steamer for California February 1st, to try and improve their fortunes), Windham County (they had a large Fenian mass meeting), Maine (earthquake in Andover), New Hampshire, Massachusetts (where "An Irish woman who stole a cod-fish from a grocery in East Arbington, returned it during the night, hanging it on the store door with a note stating that her heart was 'proke,' and she 'couldn't kape the fish.'"), and Rhode Island (where "a union of all the circles of the Fenian Brotherhood of Providence has been effected.").

From 1963: Police Arrest Man, Woman on Morals Charge

The following is an extract from an article published 50 years ago today, in the Hartford Courant on January 20th, 1963.
Lascivious carriage was defined as "conduct which is wanton, lewd or lustful and tending to produce voluptuous emotions." It was no longer defined as a criminal offense following major changes to the penal code under Governor Dempsey in 1971.
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Police early Saturday arrested Boyd Reynolds, 32, and Edna Fone, 32, both of 41 S. Main St., on a charge of lascivious carriage, with the woman also being accused of breach of peace.

Policeman Samuel Ruffino and Edward Krol, Policewoman Marie Higgins and Det. Carl Zywocienski made the arrests.

From 1913: School For Girls Makes Good Report

The following is an extract from an article published 100 years ago today, appearing in the Hartford Courant on January 20th, 1913.

The "Connecticut Industrial School for Girls" opened in 1870 and was transferred to the state in 1921. It became the "Long Lane School" in 1943 merged with the "School for Boys" in 1972, and was shut down in 2003. The state sold the 152 acres property to Wesleyan for $15M.
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Aims of institution are made plain
The directors of the Connecticut Industrial School for Girls have issued their biennial report in printed form, and it covers thoroughly the work of the school, which is located at Middletown, for the two years ended September 30, 1912. The proper subjects of the school are not merely paupers, according to a statement printed in the report, neither are they orphans, nor confirmed thieves nor prostitutes, nor other criminals, but include the stubborn and unruly, who refuse to obey those who have proper charge of them; truants, vagrants and beggars; those found in circumstances of manifest danger of falling into habits of vice and immorality, and those who have committed any offense punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, other than imprisonment for life.

From 1937: B.B. Fall Wins Middletown Turkey Hunt

The following is an excerpt from article is from approximately 75 years ago, published in The Hartford Courant on December 26, 1937. It was written by Theodore Buell.

The Saddle and Spur was a regular column in the Courant that highlighted equestrian news in the area. This particular article was nearly a half page of the paper. Other stories in it were about a free Polo match at the Armory in Hartford, the Miss Vera Steele's victory at the Brooklyn Winter Horse Show, and the charity visit to the Municipal Nursery and Isolation Hospital by the Nomad Riders club.

The L.B. Riding Club was on Arbutus Street. It was founded in the early 1930s and seems to have been functional at least into the 1970s.
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L.B. Riding Club
Note to society editor: The Burton B. Falls of Middletown enjoyed turkey on Christmas Day.

Explanation: Mr. Fall, the most recent of the L.B. Riding Club's ex-presidents, won the Yule Log Hunt after, according to reports, being lost for two hours in the woods. Still, says Mr. Fall, being lost has its compensation ... In this case a 12-pound turkey. (Editor's note: was it just a mediocre turkey or did Colleague Fred Clark furnish it?)

The hunt was its usual success. After the log was dragged back to the Johnson Lane Lyceum it was burned on Monday night on the occasion of the club's annual Christmas Party. Another feature of the party was the mystifying work of "Milrod," the magician. (If "Milrod" is really a good magician perhaps he can do his tricks elsewhere, showing other leading horsemen how to organize such enthusiastic groups, of all ages, in other communities.)

Elliot V. Kidney, Louis Wetherbee and John Lucy were in charge of the hunt, while Mrs. Florence Green was the annual party's chairman. The club now recesses until January 3 as far as social events are concerned. However, over the present week-end it is probable that the members will be out on the trails en masse.

A Wildness For Christmas, From 1909

The Eye wishes all a Merry Christmas, with a reprint of an article published in the Hartford Courant on December 27, 1909 (long-time Eye readers might recall this as a "This Date in History piece in in 2009). This is a glorious description of a wild and beautiful landscape which still today has pockets of primeval character, it would make a wonderful afternoon hike today or on New Year's Day.

Unfortunately, the article's author is not identified; if I didn't know better I might attribute it to John Muir, as it has the same breathless worship of a desolate wilderness characteristic of so much of his writing about the Sierra Nevada.

The magnificent photographs are all by Barrie Robbins-Pianka.

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Enjoyment from a Day's Tramp Down River

Wild country to be found South of Middletown

Long Walk a Panacea for many troubles

An open winter has its own particular joys, and among them are the true delights of the woods, for strange to say, the latter make a better tramping ground than in the months when the foliage is thick. The woodsy places up and down the Connecticut River are veritable delights for those who love a tramp in the open. The true joy in living is only for those who are willing to get into the

open, the further away from the haunts of man the better, and if possible to reach a place where an occasional woodchopper's ax is the only discord in nature's harmony of breeze and underbrush.

The air has a crispness and tinkle and smells clean and wholesome and, what is more, there is a call in itself in the short noon sunshine. Really one is very responsive to the various moods of nature during this season of the winter. It is true there is more fun going to the square inch in the woods at this time, with the leaves under foot, and the sapless branches crackling and the frost crunching and the thick moss and groundpine yielding under boot like a thick carpet, minus the dust and the steam pipes.

From 1987: Preservation Group Receives 20-Acre Gift

The following article is from 25 years ago today, published the Hartford Courant on December 16, 1987.

Middlesex Land Trust remains a vibrant force for preserving land in Middlesex County.
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A local land preservation group has received its first real estate donation, 20 acres off Forest Street, organization officials said Tuesday.

The Middlesex Land Trust, which was formed in May, received the tract last week, said Andrew Zepp, president of the trust.

"In addition to being our first gift property, it's really a sizable wetlands area," Zepp said. "Its main value is as a wildlife habitat."

The tract, which borders the Coginchaug River, is a home for ducks, geese and other waterfowls, Zepp said.

The land was donated by John Pearson, a lawyer in Hartford, and George Leaska, a developer in Bloomfield.

"It's a great spot for possums, raccoons, ducks and birds of all kinds," Pearson said. "We wanted to see that use continued."

Zepp said the property will require "little active management on our part."

"Basically, we will leave this one alone," he said.

The trust, which has about 80 members, is a non-profit group dedicated to protecting unique natural areas in northern Middlesex County, Zepp said.

From 1987: Middletown Groups Want Tougher Subdivision Law

The following article is from 25 years ago today, published in the Hartford Courant on December 8th, 1987. It was written by Mark Cheater.

One of the groups mentioned in the article is still active, Westfield Residents for Rational Development of Middletown is now called the Westfield Residents Association. Bob Fusari has built many large developments, most notably Riverbend.

Our current zoning code includes a provision under which developers can apply for a "Cluster design to produce open space subdivisions purpose," section 44.08.35. The minimum lot size is 10 acres, and it generally allows developers to build a few more houses in exchange for putting them closer together and leaving larger tracts of open space.
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Neighborhood groups are seeking changes in a proposed amendment to city subdivision regulations that would establish more options for cluster housing, a leader of one of the groups said Monday.

The groups want to fine-tune the amendment to prevent overdevelopment of the clustered "designer environmental subdivisions" and lessen their effect on surrounding neighborhoods, said Shirley Harris, co-chairwoman of Zone Watch.

"I like the idea of clustering. In many ways it could have less impact on the land," Harris said. "But I think there's too many dangers of it being misused."

But developers say that if the regulation is too restrictive, it may discourage them from choosing the designer subdivision option.

"It has to have incentives to encourage a developer to use it," said Robert Fusari, president of Real Estate Service of Connecticut, who helped to draft the designer subdivision regulations. "You want to make sure you don't create something that nobody uses."

The amendment is scheduled for a public hearing Wednesday by the planning and zoning commission.

The five-page amendment is part of an effort to re-establish a hierarchy of residential zones that was declared void by a Superior Court judge in July. The judge ruled that the planning commission failed to follow proper procedures in adopting a citywide rezoning in 1985.

The clustered housing category is intended to encourage developers to abandon the cookie-cutter approach to subdivisions, city Plan Director George Reif said.

It allows developers with tracts of at least 25 acres to subdivide the property into lots that are smaller than the zone allows in order to cluster homes. Developers who choose this option must hire a landscape architect to help design the subdivision and leave at least 25 percent of the tract as open space.

The proposed amendment would also establish a complicated formula to determine the maximum number of building lots allowable in the designer subdivision.

Zone Watch and three other groups--Westfield Residents for Rational Development of Middletown [this group is still active, as the Westfield Residents Association], the South Middletown Association and Your Neighborhood Friends--are worried the formula may be "too lax," Harris said.

The groups want the formula revised so that hte nubmer of building lots is kept to levels comparable to those allowed under standard subdivsion regulations, Harris said.

"We don't want [the developers] to get an extraordinary bonus by getting more lots than are normally allowed under standard zoning."

The groups also want to require 10-foot, landscaped buffer strips between the designer subdivisions and surrounding areas "to try to stop any destabilizing factor in any neighborhood," Harris said.

A local developer said the adoption of such requirements may discourage use of the designer subdivision option.