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AVON HISTORY ROOM
Marian Hunter History Room. Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, CT 06001. (860) 673-9712. Located on the second floor of the Avon Library, the Avon History Room is named for Marion M. Hunter, long-time librarian and historian of Avon. The collection was formed when the Library and the Avon Historical Society combined their archives and dedicated the room on February 4, 1989. It includes photographs, postcards, scrapbooks, maps, deeds, and other pieces of memorabilia. Researchers and interested residents may find information on the general history of the town, original old homes and buildings in Avon, and genealogies of original families. Staffed by volunteers from the Historical Society, it is open Tuesday and Thursday from 2-4 or by appointment.
Handicapped accessible.
MUSEUMS
Living Museum, 8 East Main Street. Open Sundays 2-4 pm, June through September or by appointment; free. Handicapped accessible. Dating from the early 19th century, this building was originally Schoolhouse No. 3 in West Avon. Collection consists of artifacts, memorabilia, historic photographs and maps. Located near the intersection of Rt. 44 (East Main Street) and Simsbury Road ( Rt. 10N). Parking and easy access to the museum is off Rt. 10N on Enford Street next to the Post Office.
 Pine Grove Schoolhouse, located at the intersection of Harris Road and West Avon Road (Rt. 167). Open Sundays 2 - 4 p.m. June through September or by appointment; free. On October 7, 1865, a man with a team was paid $1.50 for scraping and leveling the site for the Pine Grove School. Constructed at a cost of $1,538.34, the school opened in December. Miss Francis, its first teacher, received $96.00 for a four month winter term. English, grammar, mathematics, geography, history, music, and art were the subjects studied. The pupils walked to school carrying books, slates, and tin dinner pails. They took turns building a fire in a bench-type stove. Girls sat on the left and boys on the right. Eight grades were taught here. For 62 years the school was known as School Number 7. In 1927 the town officially named it the Pine Grove
School. By then it served as a place for prayer meetings and singing schools. It closed as a school in 1949, but remained open as a branch library, a nursery school, and a meeting place for Explorer Scouts. Today it is set up as an early 20th century schoolhouse complete with bolted desks (c. 1865), hand slates (c.1900), textbooks (c. 1925), and a working stove.
 The Derrin House is operated by the Avon Historical Society under a lease agreement with the State of Connecticut Military Department, owners of the building for the First Company Governor’s Horse Guard located across the street.
The home is situated in Horse Guard State Park; a 100 acre space owned by the CT Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), West Avon Road. The Society interprets the Derrin House as a 19th century rural farmhouse. Open Sundays, June-September, 2-4 pm or by appointment. Free.
According to a deed dated September 24th, 1766, John Page of Branford, CT, sold 39 acres of land and a farm of 103 acres in Northington to Lucy Darin for £39. With this large amount of land, the Darin Family built several homes along what is now West Avon Road. A descendant of Lucy Darin built, on or about 1810, what we now call the Derrin House. Early maps show the family occupied at least three homes at that time along the same road. The structure indicates that the rear portion of the house with the fireplace may well predate 1810 possibly as early as the 1770’s. The house was expanded at least four times with the section nearest West Avon Road being the newest.
These museums are maintained by the Avon Historical Society
PO Box 448, Avon, CT 06001 (860) 678-7621
First Governor's House Guards and Stables, 232 West Avon Road. (860) 673-3525. Oldest continuously operating cavalry unit in the United States. Located on a 35 acre state-owned military reservation, it contains a 40-stall barn, 30-40 horses, a drill field, 2 outdoor rings, and wooded trails. Organized in 1778, it was chartered as the Governor's Independent Volunteer Troup of Horse Guards in 1788 with the purpose of escorting the Governor. After 1911, the Troop became part of the Connecticut National Guard and participated in battle in Texas against Pancho Villa. In 1946, the unit joined the CT State Militia and is currently still a member. Sponsors horse shows in June and October. Visit their
website for further information.
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