The Battle of Montague Farm

For the residents of East Granby, the years after forming their own town were difficult times. The main corridor of transportation remained west of the “Mountain” until the beginning of the 20th century. The , and the Canal Railroad, ran north and south along the western boundary with Granby. To the southeast, a trolley took passengers to Hartford from the Rainbow section of Windsor and only intrepid stagecoach drivers like Francis Granger and Harvey Dibble offered passenger, freight and mail service over the dirt roads that serviced East Granby Center.

All this would change if the Central New England Railway could complete its route from Tariffville, through East Granby to Agawam Junction in Western Massachusetts, where it would connect with a line to Springfield. What looked like a sure thing was stopped dead in its tracks when Charles Montague refused to grant a right-of-way through his farm. Railroad historian Charles Milmine dubbed this fight "The Battle of Montague Farm."

The Connecticut General Assembly had approved this new branch line in 1887 and the route was established at that time. The Central New England Railway (CNE) had agreed to pay each landowner along the proposed route for a right-of-way but investor problems delayed the start of construction for more than 10 years and even though most of the options had expired, all but one property owner agreed to honor them.

When the railroad official came to settle accounts on the farm at 29 North Main St., he was met with quite a surprise! Mr. Montague had recently purchased this fairly large and unproductive farm which stretched all the way from North Main Street to today's Metacomet Drive. Montague, it was later learned, was from Massachusetts and was an agent for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which wanted to block the construction of any new rail line that would be competition for their business. A legal battle ensued and cost both railroads almost half a million dollars. It continued on for over four years and was finally settled by the Connecticut Supreme Court.

But back in East Granby the battle raged on. First the CNE simply built a track across the Montague farm in hopes that the federal government would intervene since the railway was to carry U.S. mail. This short 300-foot section of track was laid in no time, in fact one townsman was fond of telling how the entire track was laid in the time it took him and his father to haul a load of apples to the cider mill! However, the NYNH&H got an injunction and proceeded to tear up the tracks on the Montague farm.

The CNE went right on laying ties and rails. The crews that built the railroad became a fascination to the local residents. The contractor, J.B. Corbett moved into town for a few years while supervising the job. He hired many Italian immigrants who spoke little or no English. They used a “contraption," as the locals said, that was drawn by a team of twelve mules. It scooped up fill and, using an endless belt, dumped the material into mule drawn wagons.

In 1901 the first passengers, members of the Connecticut legislature, their friends and railroad officials arrived in East Granby. After giving a few short speeches and reviewing the situation, they all returned to Hartford. Soon after, the CNE was granted permission to build a detour to bypass the Montague farm. The East Granby and Suffield Railway was formed and raised enough capital to form a track for “the loop” as it was known.

The loop headed east from the Mountain depot, through the center of town, all the way to East Street where it proceeded north and connected with the rest of the railway in West Suffield.

This project was not easy to accomplish. It took about 100 men and 30 teams of animals to built four bridges, including an iron arched structure just south of the creamery, which allowed traffic on North Main Street to cross above the tracks.

After an inspection trip by the state railroad commission and the CNE officials, the branch line, including the loop, was put into regular service in September of 1902, 15 years after the state assembly had initially approved the rail line.

Five months after the trains started running, the NYNH&H sold the Montague farm to the CNE. Track was again laid over the farm and the loop fell into disuse. By 1904, the CNE merged with what had been the NYNH&H and the loop was stripped of its ties and rails.

Even the railway itself lasted only a few more years, with passenger service discontinued in 1927, and in 1938 when the last freight service was stopped. The station was dismantled for salvage and the rails were torn up, but if you look carefully, traces of the roadbed can still be seen today.

Excerpts from East Granby, the evolution of a Connecticut town by Mary Jane Springman and Betty Finnell Guinan.

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