The Stamford Historical Society

PHOTO ARCHIVIST’S SELECTION OF THE MONTH: DECEMBER 2000

What would be a suitable selection for December?
How about the railroad?

In 1949 The Fidelity Trust Company commissioned Stanley J. Rowland, one of the most prominent artists ever to have made Stamford his home, to paint six Stamford scenes as murals on the walls of the bank's main office at 129 Atlantic Street “with the highest degree of historical accuracy possible, the changing Stamford scene through the first 250 years of the community's existence.” A brochure on the murals was published as a Bicentennial gift to the community, called Stamford scenes from yesteryear, reproduced on this website. The murals are now in the possession of the Stamford Historical Society.

Mural: First Train to Stamford

One of the murals depicts the First Train to Stamford, Christmas Day, 1848

1860

edging of Engine No.27 of N.Y. & N.H.R.R.

So…here are some railroad pictures…

1868: The Stamford Depot of the New York and New Haven Railroad

Stamford Depot of the New York and New Haven Railroad, 1868

Daily trains began running on regular schedule through Stamford on January 1, 1849. The above depot was built in 1867 and stood a short distance east of what is now the junction of Atlantic and State Streets. At that time, the railroad had two tracks and passed through town on ground level and crossed the streets at grade. In the mid-1890s two additional tracks were added, and most crossings were elevated and bridged. As a result, the depot was razed and covered over, and a new railroad station was built, as depicted below.

Early 1900s

Post Card header
post card: Railroad Station post card: Railroad Station, bird's eye view

Undated: Adams Express

Adams Express

WWI: Soldiers Departing

Soldiers Departing, WWI

Tuesday, April 30, 1935: Train Wreck on Atlantic Street Bridge

Train Wreck on Atlantic Street Bridge April 30, 1935

1960: Before the days of Metro North

railroad logo from train photo at right New York New Haven & Hartford Railroad train at station
James Henry HoytLearn more about James Henry Hoyt, instrumental in the building of the New York and New Haven Railway and its third superintendent, from a contemporary of his, the Reverend E. B. Huntington.

Connecticut Railroads : an illustrated history
by Gregg M. Turner & Melancthon W. Jacobus
can be viewed in our Marcus Research Library or borrowed from the Ferguson Library.

© Stamford Historical Society

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Photo Collection Information
Selections 2008
Month Title
January 2008 Ladybird Johnson Opens Kiwanis Park, May 16, 1968
February 2008 From Our Postcard Collection: Bridges
April 2008 Baseball in Stamford
May 2008 The C.O. Miller Department Store at 15 Bank Street
June 2008 From Plates, Puddings and Pies to Plants (Gardening in North Stamford 1916)
September 2008 Ferries of Yesteryear
October 2008 Columbus Day Parade 1975
Selections 2007
Month Title
May 2007 The League of Women Voters and Harold I June, June 26, 1930
June 2007 Brownstones on Bell Street
July 2007 The Nature Studies and Recreations of a Business Man
Selections 2006
Month Title
January 2006 Women's Fashions
February 2006 Grocery & Variety Stores
April 2006 Rezo Waters, Basket Weaver
June 2006 Bands & Orchestras
September 2006 Yachting in Stamford
October 2006 Lockwood and Palmer Department Store
November 2006 The DiPreta Family: Seven Sons in WWII
Selections 2005
Month Title
January 2005 Ice Harvesting - The Diamond Ice Company
February 2005 Presidents, Past Presidents, Would-be Presidents in Stamford
March 2005 Burleigh Park: The Phillips Estate, c. 1900
May 2005 Dr. Givens' Sanitarium, Stamford Hall
June 2005 Portrait Postcards, Early 20th Century
July 2005 July 4th Celebrations in Stamford
October 2005 Football in Stamford, 1890 to 1942 / Michael Boyle
November 2005 A Veterans Day Special: Soldiers Monument, St. John's Park
December 2005 The Circus Comes to Town, and more…
Selections 2004
Month Title
March 2004 Horse Carriages
May 2004 A Woodland Home Made of Packing Boxes
July 2004 Postcards: Fun at the Beach (Shippan Point)
September 2004 One-Room Schoolhouses in Stamford
November 2004 Hoyt Getman & Judd and The St. John Wood-Working Company
Selections 2003
Month Title
January 2003 The Wardwell Homes on Elm Street
February 2003 The Old Town Hall II  
March 2003 The Portable Typewriter and its Uses, 1913 
June 2003 Wardwell Family Photos
Selections 2002
Month Title
January 2002 The E.B. Hoit Company. Grand Central Market in 1913
February 2002 The C.O. Miller Company. Department Store
April 2002 The Hoyt Family Meeting 1866
May 2002 Memorial Day Parade 1919
August 2002 The Children's Home on Hamilton Avenue
September 2002 Public Works Department 1914. Building Roads with the Rock Crusher
October 2002 The Hurricane of '38 and the Floods of '54 an '55
November 2002 Linden Lodge
December 2002 The Maziarek Woodworking Shop
Selections 2001
Month Title
January 2001 First National Bank
February 2001 Stamford's First Oldsmobile and the Mechaley Brothers
March 2001 The Blizzard of 1888
April 2001 Stamford Street Railroad Co.
May 2001 Dr. Jacob Nemoitin (1880-1963), Stamford's healer & humanitarian, painter & poet
Summer 2001 The Old Town Hall and the 1904 Fire
October 2001 Stamford Post Offices
November 2001 Postcards from another age
December 2001 Images from Guide to Nature Magazine, June 1910
Selections 2000
Month Title
June 2000 Strand Theatre on Upper Atlantic Street, ca. 1933
July 2000 Union House Hotel, ca. 1870
August 2000 “The Anderson Opera Company,” ca. 1890
September 2000 Dr. Francis J. Rogers, Physicians & Druggist
October 2000 Election 1936: Alfred Noroton Phillips Jr., Wilbur Lucius ”Uncle Toby” Cross
November 2000 Bicycle patrol in Stamford, then and now
December 2000 The railroad
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