The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
COLEBROOK GENERAL STORE CELEBRATES 225TH YEAR
Events mark anniversary of community hub
COLEBROOK » It could have been a scene out of a day, oh, say, 225 years ago, that sweetly unfolded in the center of Colebrook Sunday afternoon.
Children playing games on a church lawn, others riding in a horse drawn wagon, friends and neighbors chatting in front of the general store. It was, of course, 2017; but the day’s activities in this charming New England town focused on a day 225 years ago when the building housing the Colebrook General Store first opened.
Several hundred people gathered in the town center to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the building, which, thanks to dedicated citizens and one very ambitious entrepreneur, continues to serve the needs of townspeople and visitors.
Prior to its closing in 2007, the Colebrook General Store was the oldest continuously operating such business in the state. Construction on the building began in 1791 and was completed in 1792.
After the store closed, it sat vacant for several years while efforts to save the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, percolated. The Colebrook Preservation Society, a nonprofit organization, led an effort to save and reopen the store, an undertaking that finally led to the society’s purchase of the building and launching of a restoration and renovation of the structure’s interior and exterior. Monies for the purchase and rehab project was raised through donations and several grants, a total that has reached close to $200,000.
The store reopened on Dec. 13, 2014, when Jodi Marinelli unlocked the doors for business once again. Marinelli, a Hartland resident, comes from a family of restaurant owners and it had been her dream to open her own dining establishment. The store offers breakfast, lunch, food takeout and catering, as well as groceries and various other items for sale, one of which is the homemade éclairs that the store became famous for under previous owners.
“When this opportunity came up it was perfect,” said Marinelli, as she waited on customers prior to the anniversary celebration. “I always wanted to run a restaurant and the fact that I’m doing it in an historic building makes it that much more special. The building has so much character and we attract people from town and from other areas. It really is busy in here, even during the winter.”
Carol Lord, a member of the Colebrook Preservation Society, said, “For us to have the ability to bring the building back to life and to support the town and surrounding communities is wonderful.”
Her husband, Edward Lord, President of the CPS, said many individuals and groups supported the effort, both with their hands and sweat as well
as their money.
“We own the building free and clear, the mortgage is paid off, and we have a great person in Jodi and her entire family, who have worked hard to make this a successful business for themselves and to keep the store functioning,” he said. “We are completing a full rehabilitation of the building inside and out, and the front exterior is the final piece. Anything we have done has been faithful to the original design of the building. We are hoping that it will be open for another 225 years.”
Sally Bainbridge, who directed and organized Sunday’s celebration, said the general store was one of the reasons she and her husband decided to move from Indiana to Colebrook.
“We were going back and forth between the two states, but we decided to finally moved here because we fell in love with the town and especially the general store,” she said. “It was a sad day when it closed, but
now that it is open again it is a perfect meeting place for townspeople and it’s wonderful to have it back.”
State Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-Canton, and State Representative Jay Case, R-Winsted, were on hand for the celebration and brought along a citation from the State General Assembly recognizing the historic significance of the building and the 225th anniversary.
A number of events took place during the afternoon, including horse drawn wagon rides, face painting, games of dodge ball on the church green, a student art display, gift basket drawings, commemorative Tshirt sales, a cupcake decorating contest, a scavenger hunt, apple bobbing, hoop races, sack races, and a bean bag toss. There was music all afternoon, and a street dance from 4 to 6 p.m.
Times may have changed since the Colebrook General Store was built.
But the smiles on the faces of the children and adults in Colebrook Center Sunday afternoon showed that old-fashioned games, friendly conversation and a general store never go out of style.