Business & Tech

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

An historic riverside building, a top venue for weddings and events, is tucked away at the bottom of a hill, just yards from a main roadway.

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The Powder Mill Barn, an historic riverside building, is a top venue for weddings and events.
The Powder Mill Barn, an historic riverside building, is a top venue for weddings and events. (Courtesy of Polly Sweet)

ENFIELD, CT — Today's Hidden Gem is literally just that - an historic, rustic 19th-century building which has been converted into one of the top wedding and event venues in north-central Connecticut. It is located just a quarter-mile from busy Route 190 in the Hazardville section of Enfield, yet is secluded at the bottom of a hill, adjacent to a babbling river.

Powder Mill Barn at 32 South Maple Street was once the site of the Hazard Powder Company, which flourished in the mid-19th century. The company furnished an estimated 40 percent of all the gunpowder used during the Civil War. One of the few surviving structures from the company’s original complex of buildings is a barn built around 1845. Constructed as a horse barn, it was converted by Ralph Sweet for square dancing in 1959.

Sweet was a caller, with a dream of finding a place to host and call his own dances in, so he bought the dilapidated Powder Mill Barn. It needed a new roof, every window was broken, and it was buried in trees and overgrowth. His kids and friends from town came to help, and by 1961 the barn was the place to be on a Friday night. You could drive by and see the large doors open and the hundreds of people dancing. Banners from clubs all over New England still hang in the barn today.

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Following Sweet's passing in 2019, the barn was taken over by his daughter Polly. As the barn approached its 60-year anniversary in the Sweet family, many restorations were done, including installation of a brand new floor.

"Keeping the history, while making it more suitable for events like weddings, was the priority," Polly Sweet told Patch. "The history of Powder Hollow is important to the Sweet family, and if you have the opportunity to visit the barn, you can still enjoy the historical photos and Ralph’s color-coded, labeled maps of the Hazard Powder Co. displayed on the walls."

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Although the barn floor was built for dancing, and there is still one square dance club who dances regularly at the hall, the Powder Mill Barn has also been a popular rental venue for anything from weddings, showers, parties, club meetings, auctions, flea markets, dog training classes, and the annual Scantic Spring Splash.

The Powder Mill Barn is a beloved Enfield landmark, located in the Hazardville Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

For more photos and rental information, visit the Powder Mill Barn on Facebook and WeddingWire.

A look at the Powder Mill Barn, taken around the turn of the 20th century.

Photos courtesy of Polly Sweet

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Other columns in this series:

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