The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-06-20
INTERESTING NOTES

through Bethany, over what is termed
 the Center or Upper road" comes t
 the Episcopal and Congregation churches, which standing upon higl
 ground are quite conspicuous, ant
 which are, with the post-office ant Perry's Hail, objects that particularly l serve to determine the Center" of the small town of Bethany, he is apt to no
 tice the freshness and purity of the air
 the peaceful serenity which rests upQr the rural community; the varied anC i beautiful Landscapes; the lowing of the | cattle "as the plowman homeWaro
 plods his weary way" and if he
 chances to look behind him, the fine view to be had of Long Island and the l Sound. That these things are noticea- | ble is due to the fact that, being stu- | ated up among the hills where the | streams have their source, but little
 water power has been available, and so the place has escaped the noise and confusion, the pollution of the air and the water which are attendant upon the establishment of large manufacto- ries which, although of great benefit to a community, tend in many cases to lower the moral and intellectual status
 of neighborhood, and to detract from
 it in the eyes of those who might oth-
 erwise desire to reside in it.
 That the hills of Bethany are not all
 ready dotted with more summer homes
 owned by residents of New Haven Is
 unquestionab bly due to the fact that in
 the past poor roads and no convenient
 railroad facilities have been discoura-
 ging factors, together with the limited
 knowledge thus afforded of the beauti-
 full hills and magnificent views to be
 had from some of them This obstacle is already being overcome in marked degree by the availment by the town, and also by the sister town of Wood- bridge, of the state law, by which the roads leading from New Haven an to the Woodbridge and Bethany hills are being improved.
 If the traveller goes north from the churches about one-eighth of mile he will come to a large and somewhat weather beaten old house situated on the farther right hand corner, made by the road running between Beacon Falls
 
 serving by nature he will see nothing tion unless it be the three large chim- that will particularly attract his atten- neys which project above the roof and which together with the size of the structure tend to give it an air of ma jesty or he may note the many old fashioned windows which dot it's sides. But looking closer, he will observe that the cornice, though not prominent nor but narrow and old-fash- toned, shows degree of workmanship and taste which speaks well for the in- tellect and pocket-b book of its long ago builder. He will notice that the under- pinning is of fine cut sandstone, sell dom to be found under houses built at the time, and should he chance to pass by when the front door is open on a summer afternoon, he would undOubt- | edly be surprised to see a large hall extending from front to rear of the main house, with handsome arches overhead.
 During the past winter the writer | chanced to call at this old homestead | and was struck with a sense of it's al- | most ancient grandeur for it seems to | nave been what in it's day might have | been called an elegant residence" Ever since he has had feeling of de- sire to know more about it and its his .ory, and recently having had an op- to look 1t over from top to bottom and make some inquiries, he gladly availed himself of the opportu- lity. Knowing the interest which has become general in the last few years things in any way historical IT representing the life of our forefath- IFS, the writer takes pleasure in pen ling these few lines of description of a ,lace which otherwise might in time ,ass out of existence unnoticed, with he hope that the Journal and Courier nay consider them of enough interest to he public to reproduce them in print. .mong some of the features not all eady mentioned, the writer was par pleased with the south front aror which is about fifteen feet quare with two fancy arched alcoves t the back, with a handsome mante nd large fireplace between them rom floor to ceiling throughout the ,wer part of the house is distance of yer nine feet, and in several rooms the ,al near the ceiling is ornamented by
 handsome frieze. The writer calls to lind at least eight large, light, airy : 1oms besides the main lower hall, up- CT hall and dance hall some seven- zen feet wide by thirty-siX feet long. , here are no less than ten large tre- ,, laces. The writer is told that the ance hall has been used for holding , nurch festivals, and for time the T ,guar town meetings. The older peo- le delight to tell of the socials and ances that they used to attend under S hospita able roof, and it is presuma- e that not few New Haven people ho read these lines may recall having z some time in their lives shared the ensures of these past social gather e gs : What might be termed curiosity is tuated in the garret, and consists of V commodious brick smoke-house used i r smoking hams or beef. It is ar- nged to be connected by pipe with , e kitchen stove and the chimney, . us enabling the accomplishment of II !, ring the pork and beef for the larder ithout an extra fire, or the expendi- . TO of unnecessary labor. A unique ample of the idea expressed in the old V age. "Killing two birds with one a one" :. It appears that the house was built .e
 one Darious Beecher. The writer is Il
 E