You don't see that many memorials solely dedicated to the 1898-1902 Spanish-American War, but you…read morewill find this striking monument on a strip of grass in downtown Meriden. I did some research on this monument and learned something about the veterans who fought in the war that won America the lands of Guam, Puerto Rico, and (temporarily) Cuba. World War II soldiers were called "GI Joes", World War One vets were "doughboys", and Spanish-American War vets were called "hikers". There are many variations of a hiker statue across the country commemorating that war -in fact I saw a similar one in Bristol. The Meriden statue portrays a hiker in the uniform of his day -long boots, a wide brimmed hat, his shirt sleeves rolled up, and a rifle held across his body at waist level. A plaque lists approximately 200 names of local men that served in the war. The inscription over the names reads " This memorial presented by the City of Meriden to the veterans of the Spanish American War". The plaque is getting hard to read, and the statue is showing obvious signs of age. Check out the hiker's face -it's an awesome statue.

If you're not paying attention as you drive in downtown Meriden, you might be startled at the sight…read moreof this gigantic monument that rises from the median strip on Broad Street like an approaching Godzilla. Dedicated in 1930, I'd say it's 35 feet or so tall. The main obelisk looks to be carved out of stone. On the monument's base are four gorgeous sculptures that represent an infantry soldier, a marine, a sailor and a nurse. The statues are amazing and very life-like. The crowning touch on this monument is at it's highest point. At the very top sits an eagle with his wings fully spread as if in flight. The base is inscribed with hundreds of names. There's an inscription on the base that reads, "Dedicated to those from Meriden who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of their country during the World War 1917-1918."

It can trace its history to a 1661 saloon…read more It's nickname was "Silver City of the World". Over 30 of it's sons rushed to Boston to fight the British during the infancy of the Revolution It's Meriden, CT- more or less half way between Hartford and New Haven where I-91 and I-691 and the Merritt Parkway all conveniently collide in the center of the state. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It can be found on a grassy area between both halves of Broad Street in downtown Meriden. It has different inscriptions on each side. It dates to 1976 and is in pretty good shape. The front side lists a time line of important dates in Meriden history. The back side describes how Captain John Couch of the Meriden militia led a squadron of three dozen patriots to Boston when hostilities broke out with the British at Lexington in 1775. The full two-sided inscription reads: 1661 - Meriden area first settled when Jonathan Gilbert is granted land by Connecticut Colony and employs Edward Higbee to operate an inn. 1670 - Greater part of present-day Meriden lands placed under jurisdiction of Wallingford. 1728 - Separate church parish, named after Gilbert's farm Merridan, is established by the General Assembly. 1806 - Meriden separated from Wallingford and organized as a town. 1867 - Meriden incorporated as a city. 1922 - Town and City of Meriden consolidated. Since the 19th Century Meriden has demonstrated itself to be a versatile manufacturing community. Its silver industry has grown to such proportions that Meriden is nicknamed the "Silver City of the World." (Side two) Lexington Alarm *Captain John Couch, responding to hostilities with British at Lexington, left this area April 23, 1775, commanding the Meriden militia: John Allen Christopher Atwater Moses Baldwin *Divan Berry Samuel Briggs John Butler Samuel Collins Asael Deming Israel Hall, Jr. Joel Hall *Moses Hall Rufus Hall Samuel Hall *Benjamin Hart *Insign Hough John Hough Phineas Hough Aaron Hull David Ives Elnathan Ives Enos Ives Samuel Johnson Epaphras Knott Isaac Livingston *Phineas Lyman Daniel McMullen *Ephraim Merriam John Merriam John Pearce *Benjamin Rice *Ezekiel Rice Gideon Rice Samuel Rice Joseph Shaylor Seth Smith Bela Warner *Jonathan Yale *Nathaniel Yale *Buried in Broad Street Cemetery Erected 1976 by American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, City of Meriden, Connecticut Historical Commission

In late August 2014, this epic monument was unveiled at the front entrance of the State Police…read moreHeadquarters in Middletown. It honors the law enforcement and public safety champions of the canine persuasion that have served our state for 80 years. According to the State Police website, they train four types of dogs -Patrol (a multipurpose category that includes tracking, apprehension, protection, and evidence recovery), Bloodhounds (for specialized and difficult tracking), Search and Rescue (to locate any live or deceased human scent in large search zones), and Detection dogs (think narcotics, accelerants, explosives and even electronic storage devices). The Connecticut State Police Canine program is renowned across the country and internationally. Police dogs from around the world are trained here (Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus to name a few). Training programs by the US State Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were modeled after the one designed by the CT State Police. The monument features likenesses of the three dog breeds used by the State Police, Labradors, German shepherds and bloodhounds. The monument's inscription reads: "Dedicated to past, present, and future canines of the Connecticut State Police. Their loyalty, courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten".

Another great example of some of the weird stuff you'll find in just about any town…read more This tower was built back in 1925 and it controlled downtown traffic for over 40 years. It was located at a 4-corner intersection, so it had red, yellow, and green lights on all four sides. A guy used to climb up into the tower with a ladder and he manually operated the lights. The full history of this strange contraption can be found on the detailed plaque at the base. The inscription reads: Meriden's Traffic Tower Erected on September 21, 1925, Meriden's Traffic Tower was an innovative traffic control device designed to provide safe travel for the vehicles and pedestrians of the growing city. The unique character of the tower quickly made it a local landmark and a symbol of the city. The traffic tower's original location, a short distance north of this site was in an area rich in historical significance for both Meriden and Connecticut. One of the earliest colonial roads ran through the area that is now downtown Meriden and in 1784 Connecticut's first stage coach ran from Hartford to New Haven passing through Meriden from Cook Avenue to West Main Street and along Colony Street. In the 1930's the Meriden Daily Journal ran a daily news column entitled "The Traffic Tower" indicating the tower's popularity as a city landmark. During World War II Meriden servicemen received a monthly "News From Home" bulletin which carried a picture of the traffic tower as a reminder of home. On May 22, 1967, after 42 years of successful operation, the traffic tower was retired from service to make way for modern traffic control devices. However, the memories associated with the tower and the symbolic value it had gained remained in the hearts and minds of many. Accordingly, in 1974 the tower was purchased by Kogut Enterprises and renovated through the efforts of the Union - Parker Co. and the American National Bank. In 1981, through the efforts of the Pride in Meriden Committee, the traffic tower was replaced near its original location at the intersection of Colony and West Main Streets. As part of Meriden's downtown revitalization the city has chosen to restore the traffic tower and provide it a place of dignity and prominence in the city's new downtown. From this place the traffic tower can continue to serve as an important symbol of the industry, innovation, values and community spirit of a city with a great past and a promising future. October 1993

This museum is adorable! I came because of a Groupon, and parking may be an issue for events. It…read morewas very limited on the property itself, although there is handicapped parking right next to the main house. Outside there is a barn and old outhouse, and a beautiful garden display. it's very well maintained. The entrance is off the front porch, where you're greeted by a docent or intern. Tours of the house are 20-30 minutes, and it contains so many original items from the original family who owned it (it went right from the last surviving to a museum), and the last generation was into collecting. There's a lot of local history, many dog decorations, and GOBLETS. There's over 1,000 goblets, and most seem to be single styles. They are working on cataloging them. The house is beautiful, and the history is fascinating. If you live in the area, you'll pick up pieces of Southington back in the day. Children would even enjoy seeing the cases of old products and what names they may recognize. And the goblets are breathtaking. This is a great value museum! (They also sell postcards for a great price)

This guy never…read more threw out anything The Barnes Museum, formerly known as the Bradley Homestead, is a cool old house that serves as a historical library and is open to the public. It was built in 1836 and for five bucks you get to see and hear about another time and way of life. The first thing you notice once you are inside the house is that there is a lot of stuff. Lots of lots of stuff. All kinds of stuff. Stuff everywhere. It turns out Bradley Barnes, a son of the original builder of the house never threw out anything. He collected and kept all kinds of stuff. Some very cool stuff but also a lot of crap. It seems every single receipt, letter, photo, magazine, toy, knick knack and doo dad he every owned he kept. Perhaps some serious OCD going on there. It almost seemed like he knew the house was going to be a museum and wanted it well stocked with stuff. Of course all this stuff makes the house interesting to tour. The lady bringing us around seemed to know exactly what every single piece in the house was and where it came from. Pretty cool and amazing. All the stuff isn't from Bradley or from one temporal moment. Leela Barnes, Bradley's wife was a prolific painter and many of her paintings are scattered throughout the domicile. She also had many collections and also seem to keep just about everything she ever owned. You can definitely see what the attraction between these two was The house was being lived in until the 1970's when it was donated to the town so there were modifications and changes to the original structure and items from different decades. Going through the place is almost like a walk through time. Shifting back and forth through different years ands individuals. Of course you inevitable go back to Bradley's stuff. A great old house that is in absolutely pristine condition. It's filled with lots of very cool and some not so cool stuff. So much stuff that you have to thread carefully in places so that you don't end up breaking some of the stuff. I have a feeling that Leela and Bradley were a couple of crazy sob's but because of them we have a great old historic house filled with lots of very interesting stuff.

Dedicated back in 1880, this is another of our state's impressive Civil War memorials. It's located…read moreon the Southington Green at the intersection of Main Street (Route 10) and Academy Street It has a 7' tall sculpture of a Union soldier standing on a granite base that looks to be twice as tall as the soldier, so the whole thing must be around 20 feet tall. The soldier is a very young looking guy, and unlike so many of the Civil War memorials I have seen (old grizzled craggy guys with beards), he is clean shaven. Of course he's carrying his rifle by the barrel, like just about every other Civil War statue, and the butt of the rifle is on the ground. The lower pedestal has a column at each corner. At the front is a bas-relief carving of the US stars and stripes shield and the CT state seal. The front of the platform is inscribed: THE DEFENDERS OF OUR UNION. 1861 - 1865. There is a large square planter around the base, and it was beautifully decorated with purple flowers and American flags. The monument was dedicated on August 18, 1880, pretty soon after the Civil War ended. The monument is in great condition and its size and life-like detail make it a very impressive sight indeed.

The marker tells us that Middlefield was settled "around" 1700 by two Samuels and a Benjamin. When…read morewas the town chartered? How about two-hundred and seventy years later, in 1971! It also tells us via a gigantic list what was manufactured here over the years. How about lumber, snuff, black powder, knives, pistols, cotton products, grist, buttons, nails, iron wire, paper, and clothes wringers. That's quite an eclectic list! Now be honest, did you know what grist is? I didn't so I looked it up. It's a processed grain that is ground into meal or flour. This is a one-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It is fastened to an exterior wall near the main entrance of Middlefield Town Hall at 393 Jackson Hill Road. The marker was dedicated in 1981 and is in excellent condition

Meriden Library is a lovely place. There is always a very warm welcome. The staff are very caring…read moreand go above and beyond to encourage children to love books and to listen to and read stories. They encourage the children to borrow books and to be involved in the scanning and stamping process. This is wonderful for the children, who are invariably very happy and excited. We take our granddaughters to "Story time" on Mondays at 2.15. Kerry is a very skilled storyteller and she is so good with all the children. After the story, the children do some painting, which they all love. We are very grateful for this lovely facility. Thank you for all you do to support the children, parents and grandparents (especially grandparents!)

Note -- the building was under construction…read more Looks like the grand re-opening is in a couple weeks. There were renovators all over the place & that should've been my cue... or that the parking lot was COMPLETELY EMPTY. Parking lot was large in size and could accommodate quite a few people. (Maybe 40-50 cars?) Will be back when I'm passing through the area. This seemed to be the best reviewed library around and I will update my review when I've had the chance to experience the place a bit more.