Hidden Gems Of Connecticut

VERNON, CT — This week marks the 159th anniversary off the Civil War's Second Battle of Bull Run, or Second Manassas. So it's fitting we take a trip to the latest Hidden Gem — the New England Civil War Museum and research center in Vernon.

Second Bull Run took place on Aug. 29 and 30, 1862, in Virginia. In a Confederate victory, the South suffered 8,000-plus casualties and the North nearly 14,000 casualties.

A trip to the museum is not only a trip back to Bull Run, but a march back in time to a place where Civil War veterans once met and a sprint into the present to a museum that now houses artifacts from the great 1860s struggle.

The New England Civil War Museum and Research Center is located in a fully preserved Grand Army of the Republic hall on the second floor of the Vernon Town Hall complex. Its origins can be traced back to 1896 and the Civil War veterans who made up Rockville's Grand Army of the Republic Burpee Post No. 71.

The vets sought "to perpetuate the memory of (the war's) dead for all time."

The museum's collection features uniforms, a regimental Bible, weapons that were used in actual Civil War battles, portraits and several versions of the carte de visite, the 1800s version of the business card.

Extensive research materials are also housed at the museum.

In 1993, the Rockville Sons of Union Veterans Camp, officially incorporated the New England Civil War Museum inside the former meeting rooms of Burpee Post No. 71. The museum has the honor and distinction of being one of the longest continuously used GAR Halls in the entire country.

The Vernon Town Hall and the museum are located at 14 Park Place in the Rockville section of town.

A museum grand reopening celebration is being planned for Oct. 9. For more information and regular hours, see the museum's website.

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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 Connecticut. Other columns in this series for 2021 include:

• Avery's Soda
• Salt 2.0 Restaurant
• The Grave of Jonathan, The Original Husky
• Golden Gavel Auction House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• The Cogswell Temperance Fountain
• The Old State House
• BouNom Bakery
• Union Pond Park/Jay Howroyd Fitness Trail
• The Submarine Force Museum/USS Nautilus
• The UConn Dairy Bar
• Grove Hill Cemetery, Vernon
• Backwoods Smokin' BBQ
• The Ranch House
• Connecticut State Police Museum
• Berlin Historic District
• Connecticut Parachutists Skydiving Club
• Tail Winds Ice Cream Shop
• The MLK Mural
• The Hilltop Restaurant and Bar
• Fork & Fire
• Lena's Italian Kitchen
• The Benedict Arnold Trail
• Swank Pearce
• Vernon Depot Historic Park
• Farr's Sporting Goods
• Robs Drivin Diner

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