Programs:

• Programs for children and adults
• Children's Story Hours
• Sunday Concerts
• Art Exhibits in the Wood Gallery
• Quilting
• Colonial Architecture Walking Tours
• Early Native American Culture
• Art & Craft Programs
  

Examine:

• A diorama depicting the life of early Podunk Indians.
• Fine antiques made by Connecticut River craftsmen.
• Paintings by accomplished local artists.
• Birds (over 150 specimens) of the Connecticut River Valley.

LIBRARY REFERENCES - There is some emphasis on pre-history, local and state history, local Connecticut Indian cultures and archaeology; art, architecture, decorative arts and material culture; gravestone art; quilts and quilting; birds and natural history. Hartford Audubon Society books and the definitive Birds of North America, a continually updated resource for researchers are available. ( Note: A complete list of WML bird references is available at Iconn.Org.) In addition to library reference materials, popular adult fiction as well as magazines on art, architecture, birds, quilting and more are kept up-to-date. Part of the library is also dedicated to a childrens' section for general reading: picture books, pre-school first readers, chapter books and teen series. PRE-SCHOOL STORY HOUR (on-going) no charge - From fall to spring on alternating thursday mornings, seasonally stories and crafts are made. Please call to pre-register. MUSEUM - Native American artifacts, historical quilts, mounted birds, paintings and early colonial furniture can be seen on permanent display throughout the Library. ( Please click here for more information under Collections.) ARCHIVES - WML maintains a growing archives of documents, photographs, artifacts and specimens of local interest, that also have value in the broader study of Connecticut history and world events. An online database will soon be available for: Primary Sources Photographs Records of Clubs and Organizations Old Maps Secondary Research Collections Herbarium Rare Books Oral Histories Cemeteries ART GALLERY - "GALLERY IN THE WOOD"- WML devotes space to the works of guest artists on a periodic basis. Click here to see what is currently on display in the Gallery. FREE SUNDAY AFTERNOON CONCERTS - are sponsored by the Sourth Windsor Cultural Arts Association monthly from fall to spring. Please see the homepage for new programs and the calendar listings. RECITAL HALL - The upstairs concert hall with its Steinway piano is available for rental for student recitals. Call the Library for further details. WOOD MEMORIAL LIBRARY QUILTERS - Drop in any Monday or Thursday morning, from 10 - 12 to join our quilters upstairs. New quilters are always welcome! QUILTS AND QUILTING - for 4th and 5th graders WML offers a three hour program on the short history of quilts and quilting, basic quilting instruction, and the art of making a quilted square. This program can also include "The Story of the Long Hill Quilt," an interpretive visit with Suzie Briggs, who at the age of ten was one of the 1893 square-makers. GUIDANCE FOR SCOUT INDIAN AND ARCHAEOLOGY BADGE WORK - Please call the library for more information. GUIDED WALKING TOURS - These tours are adaptable, grade school to adult. Each tour lasts approximately one hour. Each can be extended by adding an interactive component. Some are adaptable to bus tours. Wood Memorial Library and Its Collections Architectural and Historical Highlights of South Windsor's Historic District God's Acre or Edwards Burying Ground (1709 - 1820's) Ethno-botanical Exploration of the South Windsor Meadows Bird Walks at Station 43 An Introduction to Wood Memorial Library and Its Collections. This tour points out the neo-classical architectural elements of the building itself and gives an introductory view of the library's major collections. Included are Indian artifacts and mounted birds; its hall of period furniture which featrues 18th century Chapin pieces; paintings by local artists Amelia and Edith Watson, and Albertus Jones; South Windsor's Bicentennial Quilt; The Long Hill Missionary Society's Penny Square Friendship Quilt; more. (Can be augmented with an interactive Treasure Hunt) Architectural and Historical Highlights of the Historic District (upper Main Street, South Windsor, 2.5 miles north of WML). This tour begins at the corner of Main Street and Ferry Lane, at what was once the hub of town activity. Although the old Bissell Tarvern and the hustle and bustle of life in a prosperous river port town must today be imagined , the walk includes many of the town's architectural treasures. Here is the 1772 gambrel roofed house where Daniel Burnap made his brass tall clocks and Eli Terry, inventor of the "cheap" mantel clock, apprenticed; the post Revolutionary three-story mansion of merchant, John Watson; the three Federal brick houses built by the Bissell brothers, the 1757 David Bissell store, today the oldest operating Post Office in the country; what remains of the East Windsor Theological Seminary which opened its doors in 1835 (forerunner of the Hartford Seminary); and many other fine examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. Information about the builders, later occupants, and town events round out the story. (This walk is adaptable for a bus tour. It can be augmented with an interactive Treasure Hunt.) God's Acre or Edwards Burying Ground (1709 - 1820's) This site (1.6 miles north of WML) is recognized for its location overlooking the flood plain, and for the quality and variety of its carvings. It is the burial place of the town's first pastor, Rev. Timothy Edwards (father of theologian Jonathan Edwards), as well as early Bissells, Grants, Wolcotts, and Ellsworths. Veterans buried here fought in five wars spanning 125 years beginning with Queen Ann's War, and ending with the War of 1812. Markers illustrate the progression from the first unadorned stones, through baroque mid-century carvings, to end-of-century neo-classic restraint.The tour emphasizes local history and families, gravestone art and carvers. May be augmented with an inter-active Treasure Hunt or done exclusively with the aid of the Treasure Hunt. Ethno-botanical Walk in the Meadows - Start at Station 43, .6 miles north of WML. Emphasis is upon plants used by Native Americans and early settlers for food and medicines. Best time to see plants in bloom is in May and June. Other spring, summer and fall months, however, are also productive. The walk passes through various habitats: wood thickets, open marsh and meadow lands. It may be extended to reach the banks of the Connecticut River.(Add another hour.) The path follows an old farm road which always has wet spots, even in dry weather, so footwear should be planned accordingly. Walk can be augmented by a Treasure Hunt.) Bird Walks - Walks into the meadows at Station 43 throughout the various seasons to observe and identify birds are lead by members of the Hartford Audubon Society. Click here to see their schedule. Return to the top of this page