Picture Ellington - Then And Now

ELLINGTON, CT — Today we revive a popular periodic column from the past, highlighting businesses and landmarks from the town's past and what those locations look like today. We begin by updating a feature we first ran in 2020.

We return to a fascinating picture book entitled Images of America: Ellington. The book, compiled by Lynn Kloter Fahy for the Ellington Historical Society, was first published in 2005, and contains 128 pages of amazing photos and stories of the small town formerly known as "the Great Marsh."

This house, built in 1812, is located at 70 Main Street in the center of town. The photo was taken between 1906, when the trolley tracks running in front were installed for a route to Rockville, and 1914, when the third building of the Ellington Congregational Church, at right, burned down.

Howard McKnight purchased the 8-room, Federalist-style house in 1922. His daughter, Nellie McKnight, became a teacher, librarian and historian, and eventually took ownership of the property.

When Nellie McKnight passed away in 1981, she left the home and its furnishings to the Ellington Historical Society, who converted it to a museum. Numerous activities and events are conducted there throughout the year.

Here is a more contemporary look at the house, taken in 2021.