Being from the south and Meriden so foreign before I got the Parker bug, I had the same want to visit Meriden as I suspect you do. So, when we got to Hartford I had my sister-in-law take me there. You will take on the aura of New England in the Industrial Age which we didn’t typically see in the South, especially Appalachia. The town appeared very quaint now, but your imagination takes you back to well to do manufacturing owners and a lot of folks who had some money. The site is void of most of the Parker buildings, the cemetery has many old graves with big tombstones. Sadly, a few years ago a bunch of PGCA volunteers cleaned up, de-brushed, replaced and repaired some markers of the Parker family, and when we were there it had grown back over. I got the feeling that us Parker folks felt closer to these folks than any remaining survivors. The museum was not open when I was there and I think that is an important visit. It’s sure worth the time to poke around. Enjoy!
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