It is surprisingly difficult to track down the history of the Elm Cafe, Branford Patch readers, so we're taking a detour this week to an icon of Branford's history, a building that it's almost shocking I haven't covered. In fact, at the end of April I had the delightful experience of talking to the students of Mrs. Tobin at Mary T. Murphy School, and on their list of topics for me to investigate, Harrison House came up as an obvious choice. The conversation went something like this:
Student: Have you written about Harrison House?
Me: (almost aghast) No. Why have I not written about Harrison House?
Mrs. Tobin promptly recommended that I make it a priority (and invited me to go on a tour with her class when they visited, which, sadly, I missed). So, here we are, the week before the Branford Historical Society's annual Strawberry Festival, and I'm addressing that gap in the column.
What is Harrison House? How did it become the home for the Branford Historical Society?
If you know the answer to these questions, or have a favorite memory of visiting Harrison House, please share them in the comments. In the mean time, I'll get back to investigating the Elm Cafe -- and preparing to enjoy some delicious strawberry shortcake over the weekend!
