From various issues of Essex Events and Essex Historical Society newsletters, etc.

What is the name of the automobile built in Essex just after 1900?
a.  Hyde     b. Middlesex     c. Pratt     d. Tiley

Which food purveyor displays an image of an old Hartford to New York Steamship?
a.  Olive Oyls     b. Pizza Pub     c. She Sells     d. Subway

Where was the "bit" shop?
a.  Centerbrook Architects     b. Essex Island Marina     c. Essex Machine Works
d.  Maritime Bank

What is Essex Historical Society President Don Malcarne's middle name?
a.  Lawrence     b. Leon     c. Lorello     d. Luke

What was the route of the Shoreline Electric Railroad?
a.  Essex RR Station to the foot of Main     b. Gillette Castle to Old Lyme     c. Ivoryton to Old Saybrook     d. Ivoryton to Westbrook

What is the 1995 dollar value of the ships burned in Essex Harbor during the 1814 raid?
a.  $8,004,000     b. $14,000,000     c. $92,000,000     d. $304,000,000

Where was Doane's Aerodrome?
a.  Colonial IGA     b. opposite Doane's Pharmacy     c. Essex Elementary School
d.  near Pettipaug Yacht Club

Who was the third ranking officer aboard old US Navy sailing vessels?
a.  Bosun     b. Chief Petty Officer     c. Sailing Master     d. Second Mate

Who wears this officer's uniform today at official public functions?
a.  Conductor on Essex Steam Train     b. New England Town Postmasters
c.  CT, RI, and MA Town Harbormasters     d. Corp Drum Major

Where can you most easily find the answers to the aforegoing nine questions?
a.  Ron or Chuck's barber chairs     b. Essex or Ivoryton Library     c. Comcast Cable TV
d.  Meeting of Essex Historical Society

• #4:    One building in Essex village has served as a private residence, apartment building, Town Hall, private meeting hall, Whittemore & Champlin's Soap Factory, and as home to two churches.  Any ideas?
• #5:     A home on River Road has a very interesting history in terms of the geographical distribution of its owners.  At various times it has been owned by people from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Alabama, Illinois, and California.  Can you identify this house?
• #6:     Essex once had a section named "Whitesboro."  Where was it located and what was its significance?  CLUE:  It was on the north side of the Pettipaug-Guilford Turnpike, which started in Essex and went to Guilford, roughly paralleling Route 80.
• #13:  Samuel Merritt Comstock is often regarded as the leading 19th century "industrialist" of the lower Connecticut River Valley.  What firm did he found, what did it produce, and how many people did it employ at its non-wartime peak?
• #14:  Henry Lay Champlin was a very famous Essex sea captain, entrepreneur, and financier.  Where did he live, and what famous Essex business did he help found?
• #15:  George A. Cheney was another well known late 19th century Essex entrepreneur.  Can you name his business partner, where one of his sons was born, and what family that son eventually married into?
• #49:  The center of Essex has actually had two buildings in which motion pictures were shown, on a regular basis.  These are both still standing [January 1995] and, of course, now serve different purposes.  Do you know where these structures are located?
• #50:  The Essex Hardware Co. in Centerbrook was known for many years as another retail operation.  Can you name this store and better yet, when and by whom it was founded?
• #51:  The Ivoryton Store has a unique significance that fits well into the history of that village.  Do you know who originally owned the store, who ran it, and the basic reason for its existence?

From various issues of Essex Events and Essex Historical Society newsletters, etc.

• 1  d. Tiley
• 2  c.  [until recently, was... ] She Sells
• 3  a.  Centerbrook Architects
• 4  b.  Leon
• 5  c.  Ivoryton to Old Saybrook
• 6  b.  $14,000,000
• 7  a.  diagonally across from Colonial IGA
• 8  c.  Sailing Master
• 9  d.  Corps Drum Major
• 10  d.  meeting of the Essex Historical Society, of course!
• #4:    This is #25 Prospect Street, almost directly across from Hill's Academy.  It was built as the Methodist Church in the late 1820s, adjacent to the current church (now [January 1991] a home), and moved to its present location in 1854.  It served for a short time as the home of The First Cong. Society of Essex, prior to 1854.
• #5:    This house is on the north side of River Road, immediately west of River Road Drive and was built by Ransford Avery Williams.  It is currently [January 1991] owned by the Rosensohn family.
• #6:    Whitesboro in 1838 was the original industrial section of what is now Ivoryton.  It was located near the dam, behind the Ivoryton Cong. Church on Brackett Lane, and also featured the new homes of two business partners, Edwin Griswold and Samuel M. Comstock, which still [January 1991] stand.  Samuel would later move "up" the Falls River and form The Comstock & Cheney Co.
• #13:  Samuel Comstock founded what became the Comstock, Cheney & Co., one of the world's largest producers of ivory products.  Around the turn of the century this factory employed up to 700 people.
• #14:  Henry Lay Champlin lived on Champlin Square in the house currently [January 1992] occupied by Mrs. Onolee Dupont that was featured in a recent Sunday edition of the Hartford Courant.  Henry was a founder of the Essex Savings Bank in the mid- 19th century.
• #15:  George A. Cheney was the business partner of Samuel Comstock.  His son, Crawford, supposedly the first caucasian born in Zanzibar, later married an heir of Henry L. Champlin.  George A. Cheney lived next door to the Champlins, and eventually the Champlin house became a Cheney homestead.
• #49:  The building on Essex Square that currently [January 1995] is owned by Talbots was built as a motion picture theatre in 1925 and continued in operation for over 45 years.  It also housed other businesses from 1925, the Essex Plumbing Co. and the Scholes Insurance Agency being examples.  The other theatre featured silent movies and was called the Thelma Theatre, and was operated by the Mack family; it was located where the Black Seal restaurant now is.
• #50:  This was known as Prann's Store and featured hardware, feeds, agricultural supplies, etc.  It was built and first operated as a store by Chapman Clark from Old Saybrook in the early 1870s.  The Prann family purchased it in 1893.  Another early owner was Herman Rose from New York City (1880 - 1893).
• #51:  The Ivoryton Store was built and owned by Samuel M. Comstock, who essentially founded Ivoryton.  It was run initially by the Rose family, one of whom was an original stock holder in the Comstock, Cheney & Co.  It represents a typical factory store, and is illustrative of the emerging cult of paternal capitalism in the United States in the latter part of the 19th century.  At Mr. Comstock's death in 1879 it was valued at $5,000.00 including furniture and fixtures.

Interesting Facts
#1:  The Pettipauge/Guilford Turnpike ran from the drawbridge at the end of Ferry Street, up Main Street, out West Avenue, and Main Street Centre Brook and West Centre Brook (name of current Ivoryton prior to 1880) then to North Guilford, roughly over Route 80.

Note: this county and town is up for adoption.

Thanks to Tom Bombaci, Jr., for his many years and dedicated service to the CTGenWeb Project.

If you would like to volunteer please contact Maureen Mead, SC CTGenWeb.