Established 1968 · Plainville, Connecticut
Keeping Local History Alive Through Preservation, Inspiration, and Education
Featured Program
Tales from the Great Plain
Journey back over 250 years to discover the origins of our town, once called the Great Plain area of Farmington. The story begins in the 1600s, travels through the 1700s, and concludes with the era of American independence.
Wednesday May 27th · 6:30 PM
Plainville Historic Center · 29 Pierce Street
Register by email: plvhistorical@gmail.com
Now on YouTube
Click here. Enjoy two new videos. One is about Wheeler School which, when it was built in 1952, was the town's first “modern” school building. The other is the latest in the “Then & Now” series which shows the same local spot during different time periods. Both are produced by Plainville native Todd Jones, author of Plainville, Connecticut: A History.
1969 Parade Film
A trip back to Plainville's Centennial in 1969. This film was taken by the late Jack Mastrianni — many thanks to his son Gregory for sending us the 8mm movies, which we were able to have digitized. Click here to go to our YouTube channel.
Class of 1928
To access the list of students, click here. To request digital copies of a photo, please
contact us with the name(s).
Civil War · 29th Regiment
On February 21st we hosted a wonderful program on Connecticut's 29th Regiment. We also featured a display on our local veterans of the black regiments that fought in the Civil War — including three who were in the 29th. Click here to see an online version of the display.
A Restored Portrait
One of the Civil War veterans in the display noted above was William “Billy” Homer. He was also an acquaintance of Plainville artist Alfred Hepworth.
Several years ago, we were given a painting of William done by Hepworth. It was in need of repair and restoration. With a grant generously given by the Norton Trust, we recently had it restored and now have the painting on display at the Historic Center.
William was also a descendant of Lyman Homer who was known as one of the Black Governors in CT. An interesting note: William is shown here with “Moxie” which was one of the earliest carbonated soft drinks. It became popular in the latter 1800's.