Railroad Street Canaan

A photo, probably dating to the second decade of the 20th century, shows the southwest end of Railroad Street in Canaan sometime after 1914. It can be dated by the presence of Decker and Beebe’s storefront on the right side the picture. The plumbing and home appliance business was established by William Decker and J H Alvord in 1907 and became Decker & Beebe in 1914 when Alvord withdrew from the business and Decker partnered with Hiram Beebe.

The picture also shows the Fuller Hardware building, second from the right, which was constructed in 1903 and remained a popular business until 1976; the shingled Canaan Printing building, which also housed the Connecticut Western News; the town’s first bespoke library built in 1890 (immediately in front of the horse’s nose); another building best known for its mid-century occupants, Jack’s Meat Market and DeBarbieri’s fruit and vegetable store and finally, at the end of the street, Parson’s General Store which served the town from 1867 to 1937.

Across Main Street, can be seen the façade of the Canfield Building, built in 1903. Of these buildings, Parsons, the library, the print shop and the building housing the Badgley’s Meat Market and Decker and Beebe are all gone.