Ahh, Summer! All through the long, cold New England winters we wait, pining for the warm, lazy days we remember from youth. School’s out and kids are free to run, play, ride bikes or swim; all things that marked summer in the country. Of course, those days are, for many of us, long gone. Nonetheless, Hampton is still largely rural, and, for the most part, that’s the way we like it. In fact, at one time, being a “rural” area proved to be an economic boon to the town.
Between the early industrial days of mills and manufactories and today’s largely residential use, Hampton was a summer resort destination. Before the arrival of air conditioning, city dwellers looked for ways to escape the heat, bad air and general unpleasantness of summer.
In The History of Windham County, 1889, R.M. Bales writes, “One of the beautiful towns of this beautiful rural country is the town of Hampton. From a business point of view, it may be said that the town is declining. But it cannot be that a section of country possessing such loveliness of scenery in spring properties can long remain in obscure decay. Already the tide has turned in the direction of coming uses. The summer delights which are here offered to the overheated and weary citizens of the great centers of population and business are laying the foundations of a new system of culture, improvement and cultural use.”
Following on last month’s “Our Rural Heritage,” we’ll take a closer look at Hampton Hill as a summer destination.
Until the 1890s, Hampton was accessible only by horseback, stage or private carriage. Connecticut Governor Chauncy F. Cleveland, a Hampton native, was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Hampton. In addition to making it easier to get goods to and from city markets, the train made the town an easier and more desirable place to visit in summer.
From The Hartford Courant, August 23, 1900, “Hampton station is situated 44 miles east of Hartford on the Highland division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. When one steps from the train at that station, he immediately suspects he is very much in the country, the only evidence of a settlement being two houses, a small barn and a freight car. A drive of two miles or so brings one to the “center.” “Center” is at the top of the hill, you can’t say it is “out of sight, exactly, for it is a very prominent feature as viewed from the deep valleys and the surrounding hills.”
It’s worth noting that in those days, most of the land in eastern Connecticut was under cultivation, and the white houses and churches of the town could be seen for miles atop Hampton Hill, unconcealed by today’s forestation.
The article continues, “Hampton has two churches, an inn, a store, a post office, a village blacksmith, a population of 600 souls and a Republican majority of 3 to 1. It is a no license town, has no rough characters, no “lockup” and no need for one. The visitor soon learns that it is a prosperous and genteel community. Its broad main street, large old dwellings with liberal grounds, well-kept lawns, an abundance of shade trees and flowers, give it a particularly attractive and park-like effect. While the village street is well kept and more or less modern in appearance, the country round about is wild and picturesque in the extreme. It is the real New England farming country. Just the place to please the lover of nature and to inspire him anew with the restful and peaceful influences of country life.” The article names no fewer than 43 bird species which may be seen regularly in Hampton and environs. Some of those being game birds, the area is also described as a huntsman’s paradise. It also chronicles over 100 local wild flowers…all in alphabetical order.
The “Inn” mentioned above was of course the Chelsea Inn or Chelsea House as it was called in 1900. We know that it was not the only lodging to be found in Hampton, but it was the largest and best known. Others included the elegant Prospect House on the corner of Main Street and Hammond Hill Road. The Burnham-Hibbard House, now the home of the Hampton Antiquarian and Historical Society, was run by Mary Estelle Burnham as a more modest lodging choice and catered to some of the less wealthy boarders.
Per Janice Trecker’s Discovering Hampton, published in 2000, “Across from the Chelsea Inn annex, the old Mosley House took in Jewish tourists and other private homes were open for boarders. One of those houses was at 245 Main Street, where Miss Ella Sharpe ran a guest house for ladies only. One summer she accepted a request for a room from a Leslie Mathews who turned out to be a Mr. Mathews.” There is no record of how the immediate conundrum was settled, but the story goes that Mr. Mathews eventually wed Miss Sharpe’s niece, Helen Hammond.
Summer visitors to Hampton didn’t just rest on the ample porches of the Inn and lodging houses, enjoying the pure, clean and comparatively cool air to be had at 800 feet above sea level. There were lots of activities to enjoy. They rode horseback, golfed, boated and bathed in Bigelow Pond, hiked, hunted and fished and played tennis at “Wise Acres”, yet another well-appointed inn on Main Street.
In Alison Davis’s book Hampton Remembers, Bertha Burnham recalls, “One of the big events of the year at the inn was the annual field trials for hunters and their bird dogs. In late September and early October, the hunters came from Hartford, mostly, but other places too, and brought their dogs and dog houses and dog trainers. Early in the morning they’d have their warming up I guess you’d call it of the dogs out in front of the inn and then the men would drive in their cars down to the south end of town, to the farm beyond the Howard Valley Church and Jesse’d take the dogs in a high sided wagon. And they’d have their judging of the dogs. We’d put up a picnic lunch at the inn and take it down, and then at night there’d be the big dinner. They had a dance at the Grange Hall that night to end up with.”
Among other entertainments were sports. From the Hartford Courant, July 24, 1900, “The most interesting event in this summer resort so far this season was the golf contest which took place this afternoon on the Chelsea Inn golf links between the crack teams of Danielson and Hampton. Much interest was felt in the match, and for several days it had been looked forward to with great anticipation. The game was called for 2 o’clock and at that hour the splendid links, which are now in perfect condition, presented a most attractive spectacle. The towns-people as well as the scores of summer visitors at the Inn and cottages turned out in large numbers and Hampton’s club colors of blue and white were very much in evidence.
“The Hampton club won the match by a score of 7 up. After the game a procession was formed which with cheers, the blowing of horns, waving of flags and other evidences of satisfaction escorted the victors to the Inn, where the celebration was continued until a late hour. Members of the Danielson team took their defeat philosophically and a return game was arranged which will take place at Danielson Friday of this week.”
Danielson won the rematch.
Several forces contributed to the end of Hampton as a summer playground. Passenger service on the railroad ended in 1937. The dam that maintained Bigelow Pond burst in 1946, and increased mobility brought on by the automobile allowed city dwellers a greater range of travel destinations. Though it is no longer a sought-after resort Hampton remains “one of the beautiful towns of this beautiful rural area.”
Mary McMillen