.jpg)
The Enders Property
Then and Now
GRANBY HISTORY
The Enders Property
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, William Hart of Granby took a series of photographs of the property along Enders Road in West Granby. At that time, the property held the Enders house, a caretaker’s cottage, and several barns. The property was gifted to the state in 1970 and, in 1974, the house was cut into three sections and transported to its current location on the grounds of the Salmon Brook Historical Society. The remaining buildings were burned down.
The following photos are an attempt to show the changes that have taken place in the last 50 years as the forest has gradually, but steadily, reclaimed the land.
The top is an aerial photo taken in 1934. The bottom as it looks today. Notice the difference in fields vs forest.
Source: 1934 Aerial Photo View Here
These photos were taken about 100 yards after turning from Barkhamsted Road (Rte 219) onto Enders Road. A left will take you to the pond and dam. A right will lead to the old homestead site. Though hard to see, the left post of the pasture gate is still standing to the right of the tree.
A closer view. The gate post is on the far left of the photo with the old tree behind it. What remains of the stone wall is located to the right.
Turning left on Enders Road leads you to the cement dam. There used to be adjustable planks in the center that allowed for the control of water over the dam. Those planks are long gone and the dam has been breached on the north side, so that water flows around it.
Looking north on Enders Road. The old photo shows where the eastern part of the first set of barns stood.
Continuing north on Enders Road past the barns, the bridge comes into view.
At the sharp turn in the road, stood the Enders house. On the other side of the road, there was a barn and, farther back, the caretaker's cottage. There is a well in the front yard of the Enders house. There are a number of boulders in the area now and it was likely filled in for safety.
Heading west on Enders Road toward Legeyt Road.
Heading farther west on Enders Road, there is a metal gate with an old road that leads to the cellar hole of the Hayes house. Continuing behind the Hayes house leads to a field that the state still maintains as a field, mowing once a year to keep the woody stems from encroaching.
Back near the pasture gate, there was a set of barns. The top photo shows the west barn. Note that the second large tree from the left already had damage to its trunk in 1970. It is still standing today.
No more cows in the pasture, but you can see the gate post on the left in both photos
.jpg)