by Mrs. Marion Hallowell
Catholics did not form a large group in South Windsor until 1850-1870 when the great Irish immigration took place. The early catholic settlers had no church of their own but attended services in Broad Brook, Manchester or East Hartford. In 1941, Bishop McAuliffe of Hartford, officially founded the South Windsor parish, St. Francis of Assisi. The parishioners held masses in the Town Hall auditorium in Main Street until their own church was completed in 1942. This brownstone church of early Norman architecture is well suited to its surroundings. It is located on Ellington Road in the Pleasant Valley area of South Windsor.
Please note that despite inaccuracies, we will include the description of each quilt square as published in the 1995 revised and corrected second edition booklet. This second edition was published in celebration of South Windsor’s “sesquicentennial” anniversary, 1845-1995, and was dedicated to the memory of Gail Woodard, who passed away in 1994. The revised edition was compiled by Charles E. Woodward in September, 1995, with the assitance of Doris Burgdof who provided many historical corrections.