Community Corner

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

The latest Hidden Gem has a unique history.

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A statue honoring the First Company Governor’s Horse Guards and the Troop B Cavalry unit at the West Hartford Armory.
A statue honoring the First Company Governor’s Horse Guards and the Troop B Cavalry unit at the West Hartford Armory. (Chris Dehnel/Patch)

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The latest Hidden Gem is definitely worth a peek when traveling through the Greater Hartford area. It's the circa 1913 West Hartford Armory, a structure steeped in unique history.

According to Historic Buildings of Connecticut.com, in 1911, the First Company Governor’s Horse Guards became the Troop B Cavalry regiment of the Connecticut National Guard. Soon after, Troop B undertook a project to construct an armory — complete with stables — with private funds at 836 Farmington Ave. in West Hartford.

Troop members and architects A. Raymond Ellis and Francis E. Waterman, designed the building to be very functional without extra features in order to keep costs down. The armory was build from 1912 to 1913 and then officially acquired by the state.

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The West Hartford Armory In 2021. (Chris Dehnel/Patch)

Troop B served along the Mexican border in 1916 and, in World War I, as a machine gun battalion.

In 1940, with the phasing out of the horse soldier, the unit became part of the 208th Coastal Artillery Regiment and the Armory was revamped to store large vehicles.

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After World War II, the First Company Governor’s Horse Guards was reorganized as a state militia unit and today has a facility in Avon.

A wall image at the West Hartford Armory shows the building in wartime. (Chris Dehnel/Patch)

The Army continued to house various units in the West Hartford Armory until the early 1980s, when the building was decommissioned and sold by the state.

It was then turned into professional office suites.

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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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