Wednesday, March 9, 2022

March 11, 2022: Horse Island House, 'Wireless Music' Debuts, Greenwich's First Public Playground and More!



This podcast is made possible by 

Peter F. Alexander of Site Design Associates; the Long Island Sound Institute (LISI)the Ambassador Museum United States of America, Kevin M. J. O'Connor of Jeffrey Matthews Wealth Management, and listeners like you everywhere! 


As we observe Women's History Month, we are not just celebrating women from Greenwich's remarkable history, but also recognizing those women and women's organizations in the present day who are actively engaged in both scholarship and preservation of Greenwich, Connecticut's fascinating history.

Founded in 1901 by Mary Harriman, a 19-year old New York City debutante, the Junior League has been serving communities across the United States for generations. 

The Junior League of Greenwich, chartered in February, 1959, has played a continuous role in designing and establishing a wealth of projects and services for the community. 

One of those projects was the research and publication of The Great Estates Greenwich, Connecticut 1880-1930. The book depicts what the late-Town Historian William E. Finch called, "The Flowering of Greenwich," the changing of a farming community into a quiet, genteel town, interested in community improvement and appreciation for its historical past. The period 1880-1930, perhaps the zenith in Greenwich's nearly then-350-year history, was the age when the word 'Greenwich' became synonymous for "millionaire." 

For the next several weeks, I will be sharing selections from the Great Estates book. 

On today's show, you'll hear about one of the shore area estates, Horse Island House (pictured above). 

In the 3rd of February 1922 edition of the Greenwich News and Graphic, town residents learned about a new, technological marvel under the headline 'Wireless Music.' "In a short time, wireless sending outfits will be as common as wireless receiving stations." 

Does that sound familiar to us in the early 21st century?

As we continue to mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Greenwich Police Department, I’ll share news of burglaries, arrests and crimes committed and recorded from throughout Greenwich's history.



In 1911 a strip of land on the hillside behind the Havemeyer Building off Greenwich Avenue was developed for the creation of what might have been the first public playground for the town's children.


Did you know that an application for permission to operate a bus line for "commuters, common laborers and school pupils" between Round Hill and Greenwich was filed in 1942? 


I'll also share with you a 1922-published early history of the fashionable Rock Ridge residential park, formerly the Zaccheus Mead Farm.


Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls around the world! Stay where you are! We’ll have all this and lots more as today’s show unfolds. Stick around!



Contact me at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com


I’m on Facebook, too. Just look for Jeffrey Bingham Mead and send me a friend request. The show is also available on Facebook at Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons. 


Learn more about the show -and listen to past episodes for free- on the web at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons.blogspot.com


March is Women's History Month! Be sure to tune in for our next show, which is scheduled for Friday, the 18th of March 2022. 



2 comments:

  1. Had 5 AUNTS "not Ants,,,how many legs do they have?? (Grandma Ma)"add in RISD was Founded my Women!

    ReplyDelete