Oxford Historical Society, a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization
Twitchell Rowland Homestead Museum
P.O. Box 582, 60 Towner Lane, Oxford, CT 06478
Annual Vintage Tractor Meet
Sunday, October 5
From noon to 4 pm the yard of the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead will be the showcase for a range of classic farm vehicles – some of them fresh off the harvest fields of Oxford for the afternoon. Look for classic green and yellow John Deere tractors in a collection of sizes. Farmall is another popular and reliable workhorse. A special favorite is the “Old Gray Friend” 1946 Ford be- longing to the Rowland family. Some of the tractors have been customized and others restored to timeless function and looks.
Docent guided tours of the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum and the Munn Schoolhouse will be featured and a recently donated collection of vintage tools of all sizes from local farms will be on show.
The event is free and fun for all ages. Anyone interested in joining the show or with questions can call 203-463-0374.
On Display: Vintage Farm and Carpentry Tools.
Frank Phillips was cleaning out a corner of an old barn owned by Nellie Mosavich and found a pile of metal and wooden hammers, adzes, saws of all sizes and much more. Realizing these would be appropriate for the Historical Society he brought them to the Twitchell Rowland Homestead Museum. Look for a small three inch wide metal scoop – is it for animal medication, chicken feed? The largest item is the ox yoke owned by Atwater Treat and shown in photos of the early years of Oxford. There are even a few items that promise mystifying purposes. Maybe you will know what they are and how they work. It’s another peek into our local past.
OXFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY MARKS 50 YEARS
The Oxford Historical Society celebrates its 50th birthday this year. An informal group of history buffs met prior to 1975 with Bishop von Wettberg as their president, but it wasn’t until 1975 that the present group was legally incorporated. Jane Fertig was the first president.
Inspired by the National Bicentennial of 1976, the OHS formed a committee of volunteers to research and write Early Houses of Oxford. It was published in hardcover in time for the Bicentennial and has since been reprinted in paperback format. In 2016 under the direction of Marilyn Stebar, that book was updated and expanded with the publication Historic Buildings of Oxford, Past and Present.
The Society continued to meet, sponsoring programs on local history and on crafts such as quilts and stenciling. There were social events as well including wildly popular progressive dinners during the holidays and trips to historic sites such as Wethersfield and Sleepy Hollow. Members also continued to preserve Oxford’s past, main- taining a file in the Town Clerk’s vault and taping interviews with long-time Oxford residents.
In 2004 all that changed. The 1752 Twitchell-Rowland Homestead on Christian Street was about to be demol- ished to make way for a new housing development. First under the direction of President Sue Kopec and later Town Historian Dorothy DeBisschop, the Historical So- ciety raised funds to move the house in 2006 to its present location at 60 Towner Lane on property donated by Fred and Myrtle Rowland. Four years of work by over 300 volunteers culminated in 2010 when the building opened at last as Oxford’s first museum. In 2016, the Munn Schoolhouse was also moved to the site and re- stored, first directed by Mrs. DeBisschop and later by Bo Duncan. That structure too became available to the public for tours in 2025.
The Oxford Historical Society continues to work to save and to generate interest in our town’s history. The museum and schoolhouse are open on the first and third Sundays of each month for tours and a collection of historic artifacts and documents is maintained. The sum- mer of 2025 launched craft programs in the schoolhouse: “Fun at the Munn,” led by Bo Duncan. The very popular Fiber Festival, Peach Festival and Tractor Show at the Homestead plus the annual meeting in November fea- turing a speaker on state or local history all serve to educate and entertain the public about our past. We’ve come a long way!
Documenting Oxford’s American Revolution Servicemen
Semiquincentennial – WHAT?!
Help us make more history.
The Oxford Historical Society launches its America/ 250 Project on Thursday, September 11, at the Twitchell- Rowland Homestead, 60 Towner Lane in Oxford at 7 p.m. Towner Lane is located off Route 67 across from St. Thomas Church.
The society plans to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026 by documenting the lives and records of Oxford’s veterans of the American Revolution for preservation in multiple formats. Volunteers of all ages are welcome as the group researches period records and locates veterans’ headstones in local cemeteries. Photographers, readers and writers, video/sound recorders and tombstone cleaners are all needed to record the information found for future generations.
America/250 may be useful for fulfilling community service, Eagle or Gold Scout, or Capstone project re- quirements. History buffs are especially welcome. Membership in the Oxford Historical Society is not required.
Interested persons may call Dorothy DeBisschop at 203 910-4574 or simply come to the meeting.
18th Annual Peach Festival
The Oxford Historical Society hosted its Annual Peach Festival on Saturday, August 16, at the Great Hill United Methodist Church in Seymour. Homemade peach shortcake featured fresh peaches from Gazy Bros topped with Rich Farm’s peach ice cream.
This year’s Peach Festival photo display celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Oxford Historical Society. News articles and pictures documented the group’s efforts since 1975. The displays also featured the Hale-Coleman Peach Farm, once located on Great Hill and Peach Farm Roads. Not long ago raising peaches was a major enterprise in Seymour and Oxford.
Thank you to all who volunteered with preparations and worked the festival as well as the generous com- munity who supported the event. The society netted almost 11500. All proceeds support preservation and educational work.
Open Houses Scheduled
On the first and third Sunday each month the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead is open to the public from 2 pm to 4 pm. Docents chat about the history of the house and the items found inside as well as other topics of interest to the community. There is no charge for these open days: Sept. 7 and 21; Oct. 5 and 19. Check out the newly opened one room Munn School.
Books produced by the Society are available for purchase as well as unique notecard sets created using local art and photographs. Proceeds benefit the society’s events and activities plus maintenance of the buildings and grounds.
Oxford Heritage Recipe
LEILA HUBBELL TREAT: BANANA BREAD
While Leila Hubbell Treat was born in Seymour in 1890 to William Everett and Henrietta “Etta” Smith Hubbell, she spent her childhood in Quaker Farms, living in the house at 344 Quaker Farms Road. She attended the First Quaker Farms School which would have been just down the street from her. Certainly she walked to school.
As a young woman, she worked as a maid for a wealthy family in Saugatuck. It is unknown how she met Robert Harold Treat, but he lived on Rockhouse Hill, so theirs may have been a neighborhood romance. Leila’s granddaughter, Valerie Treat Nelson, has a letter from Robert written to her grandmother in Saugatuck, saying that he had just purchased a car, and when he learned to drive it, he’d come for a visit.
They married c1917, and their first child, also Robert Treat, was born that same year. He was followed by Carlton, Alvin and Alice. Alvin was killed in World War II, and his family never got over his loss. “He was special,” says Val.
Originally the family lived in the house at what is now the corner of Route 188 and Red Barn Road. Robert went to the Bell School, where the teacher smacked him with the ruler for misbehaving. Gifted with the Treat temper, he grabbed the ruler out of her hand, broke it in half and headed out the door.
In 1927, the Treats moved to a large farm that bor- dered both sides of Quaker Farms Road near Governor’s Hill and extended east as far as Still Road and the present Great Oak Road. Their new home on the west side of Route 188 was 2 old houses tied to- gether, united by a large wrap-around porch. There was a privy and later, a bathroom at the end of a long hall that went nowhere, an obvious add-on. It had no door, but a curtain for privacy. The pantry had a sloping floor and during Val’s childhood, the shelves held toys for the grandchildren. Behind the kitchen there was a wash- room outfitted with a washing machine with a mangle. Val inherited this and used it for her children’s diapers.
Four descendants of Robert and Leila Treat still have homes at the edges of the original farm, with a large area of woods and wetlands in the middle.
Horses provided the power for farm work. There were the usual cows,chickens, and pigs and a garden. A root cellar held potatoes and parsnips in the winter. Robert was especially gifted at brewing excellent apple cider!
The children were particularly bright, and Alvin’s en- gineering skills found him a job at Sikorsky. As teenag- ers, Carlton and Alvin tried to build an airplane which luckily never got off the ground. Later Carlton built a tiny convertible with an exhaust pipe on the side. Get- ting in and out of the car a passenger took great care not to burn his or her legs. Carlton drove his vehicle all over town.
Robert was the family hunter, heading out with his cousin Howie and his Uncle Lester. They raised hounds and went after foxes and raccoons to sell the pelts. Alice, keeping up with her three brothers, was a bit of a tom- boy, and all the siblings teased each other. When Carlton took violin lessons, his brothers and sister hid his in- strument so they wouldn’t have to listen to him practice.
Leila spent much of her life at her woodstove in the kitchen cooking. When one meal ended, she started the next. It wasn’t until they sold the western acreage of the farm to the Catholic Church in 1967 and moved to the old house at 306 Quaker Farms Road that she had an electric range.
Val fondly remembers sitting on a stool by her grandmother’s Hoosier cabinet talking while Leila cooked and did dishes. She was a kind soul with a spe- cial love for children, and afternoons were sometimes spent with Val and the Foley children from next door playing cards. She also delighted them with her big tabby cat Tuffy whom she trained to jump through the hoop she made with her arms. Interestingly, she also loved watching wrestling on Saturday nights with her husband.
Christ Church defined Leila’s life outside her home. She played the organ for services there for many years, and then was followed as organist by her daughter Alice and her granddaughter, Val. She was very active in the Altar Guild and took great care pressing the altar linens. Leila died in 1972.
Given her love for her church, it is fitting that her recipe for banana bread was included in a Christ Church cook- book, submitted by her daughter, Alice Treat Gray who must have remembered her mother making it for the family.
BANANA BREAD – Leila Hubbell Treat
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 Tbsp. shortening
- 3 Bananas, mashed
- 1⁄2 cup water
- 1 egg
- 2 1⁄2 cups flour, sifted with
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt or less if desired
- Mix sugar, shortening and mashed bananas in bowl, stir.
- Mix in water, then egg, then flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt mixture.
- Pour into [greased and floured] Loaf Pan.
- Bake at 350 F for one hour, test.
Submitted by Alice Gray Her mother’s recipe.
Community News: FALL BOOK & BAKE SALE
Oxford Library 49 Great Oak Road, Oxford Presented by FOLIO (Friends of the Library in Oxford) FREE Admission! Great Prices!
Saturday, Nov. 1 (9 am -4 pm)
Monday, Nov. 3 (9 am – 4 pm)
Tuesday, Nov. 4 ELECTION DAY (9 am – 7 pm)
DONATION DAYS* FOR Book Sale: Saturday Oct. 4 and 18 FOLIO Van in library parking lot all day – 9 am to 4 pm. *See Library website for lists of accepted materials. Thanks for your support.
Society Dates for 2025
Mark your calendars:
- October 5 (noon – 4 pm) – Vintage Tractor Meet – The Homestead, 60 Towner Lane – free.
- November 15 (2-4 pm) – Oxford Historical Society Annual Meeting with program re-enactor Kevin Johnson as ‘Professor Jim’ of Trinity College – GHUMC, Seymour – Admission charged.
- December 7 (2-4 pm) & 21 (2-4 pm) – Holiday Open House – The Homestead 60 Towner Lane – free.
- January 4, 2026 (2-4 pm) – Twelfth Night at the Homestead, refreshments – 60 Towner Lane – free.
Fun @ the Munn
This summer we have made note paper, hand puppets, felted yarn flowers and folded paper fortune tellers. Stop in at the Twitchell Rowland Museum for a tour of the Homestead and then investigate the newly opened Munn Schoolhouse for Fun at the Munn on September 7, from 2-4 pm. It’s a free event – drop in arts explorations activities for all ages. All children must be accompanied by an adult. While presented by His- torical Society members, volunteers are welcome to help.
Join the Effort to Preserve Oxford’s Historic Rural Heritage
- Follow us on Facebook: @oxfordhistoricalsociety.
- Like our Facebook page to let foundations know the Society has your support.
- Join the Historical Society. Download a membership form here
- Visit the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead and learn more about our activities.
- Sign up for special tours & programs.
OHS membership forms can be downloaded at the OHS website. Mail forms and checks to OHS, PO Box 582, Oxford, CT 06478. Individual memberships are $10, Seniors and Junior Associates (under 18) $10, Families $25 and Business Supporters ($200).
Member dollars help with society expenses and activities, and the numbers of members are used by grant givers as an indication of involvement with the community. Also listed are opportunities for volunteering. Be sure to check those that appeal to you. Being a member really counts for us!