Est. 1968 · Plainville, Connecticut

Plainville Historical Society

Established 1968 · Plainville, Connecticut

Welcome to the Plainville
Historical Society

Keeping Local History Alive Through Preservation, Inspiration, and Education

Featured Program

Discovering Early Plainville

Tales from the Great Plain

Journey back over 250 years to discover the origins of our town, once called the Great Plain area of Farmington. The story begins in the 1600s, travels through the 1700s, and concludes with the era of American independence.

Wednesday May 27th · 6:30 PM
Plainville Historic Center · 29 Pierce Street
Register by email: plvhistorical@gmail.com

Plainville Historical Society Presents — Two new videos on YouTube: More of Then and Now, and Wheeler School: Our First Modern School

Now on YouTube

Two New Videos

Click here. Enjoy two new videos. One is about Wheeler School which, when it was built in 1952, was the town’s first “modern” school building. The other is the latest in the “Then & Now” series which shows the same local spot during different time periods. Both are produced by Plainville native Todd Jones, author of Plainville, Connecticut: A History.
Plainville 1969 Centennial Parade Film Clips

1969 Parade Film

Plainville's Centennial Celebration

A trip back to Plainville’s Centennial in 1969. This film was taken by the late Jack Mastrianni — many thanks to his son Gregory for sending us the 8mm movies, which we were able to have digitized. Click here to go to our YouTube channel.
Broad Street School 1928 — class portraits arranged around the school building

Class of 1928

Broad Street School 1928

To access the list of students, click here. To request digital copies of a photo, please contact us with the name(s).
Plainville's African American Civil War Veterans — Connecticut's 29th Regiment

Civil War · 29th Regiment

African American Civil War Veterans

On February 21st we hosted a wonderful program on Connecticut’s 29th Regiment. We also featured a display on our local veterans of the black regiments that fought in the Civil War — including three who were in the 29th. Click here to see an online version of the display.
Painting of William "Billy" Homer by Plainville artist Alfred Hepworth

A Restored Portrait

William "Billy" Homer

One of the Civil War veterans in the display noted above was William "Billy" Homer. He was also an acquaintance of Plainville artist Alfred Hepworth.

Several years ago, we were given a painting of William done by Hepworth. It was in need of repair and restoration. With a grant generously given by the Norton Trust, we recently had it restored and now have the painting on display at the Historic Center.

William was also a descendant of Lyman Homer who was known as one of the Black Governors in CT. An interesting note: William is shown here with "Moxie" which was one of the earliest carbonated soft drinks. It became popular in the latter 1800's.

Plainville, Connecticut

860-747-6577

29 Pierce Street · Plainville, CT 06062