Hidden Gems of North-Central Connecticut

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — A throwback library and museum is the subject of the latest installment of a periodic series on Patch sites in north-central Connecticut highlighting "hidden gems" throughout the region.

The Wood Memorial Library & Museum, located at 783 Main Street in South Windsor since 1927, is a fully operational library which takes one back to the "good old days." It has a special focus on providing circulating, reference and archival collections in areas of local interest: Connecticut history, Native American history and culture and orinthology.

The library offers new adult nonfiction and bestsellers, as well as extensive collections of children's, young adult and juvenile material.

The Wood is not part of the state library system; it is non-digital and still utilizes an old-fashioned card catalog system.

In the museum, various exhibits are displayed throughout the year; currently, a photo display of birds is being showcased by the Hartford Audubon Society. The museum also contains collections of Native American artifacts, mounted birds, 18th-century furniture, paintings and quilts.

The library and museum are open Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the second Saturday each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Appointments may also be made for off-hour visits by calling 860-289-1783.

(Wood Memorial Library & Museum)
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This 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. 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:

• Hastings Farm
• Liquid Nirvana
• Iwo Jima Survivors Memorial Park
• Academy Hall
• Southington Drive-In
• Little Theatre of Manchester at Cheney Hall
• Somersvillage Gifts & Gourmet Baskets
• New England Civil War Museum
• The Pinchot Sycamore
• Stafford Palace Theater
• Mansfield Hollow State Park
• Old Tolland County Jail and Museum
• Hill-Stead Museum
• Mark's Restaurant