Remembering the origins of annual Railroad Days fest

NORTH CANAAN — With the advent of North Canaan’s 59th annual Railroad Days, Kathryn Boughton, Canaan’s Town Historian, recollected the festival’s origin and early years. Though she was away at college when the town held the very first festival, in 1964, by the time she had returned, Railroad Days was already and integral part of town tradition and community.

The Chamber of Commerce concocted Railroad Days as a commercial venture, a way for shops to empty out their summer inventory with bargains, and to give the local merchants a needed boost. Food and events, as well as sidewalks lined with tables of goods for sale, brought the tourists and residents to the town center.

From the beginning, “it had a very festive feel to it,” said Boughton. “The street looked gay! And you know, there’s nothing like a the chance to get a bargain.”

For decades, the town’s railroading history provided the central theme for the 10-day festival. Scenic excursions on the train were a centerpiece, and remained one of the most popular attractions until, due to liability issues, they were discontinued in the 1980s.

Canaanites often insist that without the railroad, there would be no Canaan. Before 1840, the “town” consisted of the Gillette property, up on the northwestern town line, and Lawrence Tavern, down by Lower Road, on the banks of the Blackberry River. Just 12 years after the trains arrived in Canaan, a nucleus of businesses had formed just west of the tracks, forming a nascent town center.

Through the WWII era, the village served as a cultural hub, where townspeople gathered to exchange news and talk, and visit the shops on Friday evenings. The plaza in front of the train station, hung with strings of painted lights, hosted dinners and dances on warm nights. At the town center, shops and businesses served as a cultural hub, where the town gathered to exchange news and talk on Friday evenings.

“All the farmers would come in, and it might be the only time all week long that they saw anybody off the farm. So their wives would get all dressed up—you didn’t go into town looking like a farmer!” People went shopping and socialized, walking up and down the streets, stopping in stores like Fuller Hardware and, “just chatting,” not always buying, said Boughton, quoting

Fred Hall, who ran the hardware store and before becoming a town historian. “But he said, ‘I didn’t care! It was fun to have them in the store.’”

Following the war, however, Canaan’s demographics—and subsequently its commercial landscape—underwent dramatic change. “After two decades of depression and war, people were just bursting to get in the new car with their new tires and go somewhere else,” said Boughton.

The onset of American car culture reshaped not just the demographics, but the landscape of the town itself. As the money drained from Canaan with the departure of the well-

to-do, the onset of American car culture was reshaping not just the demographics, but the literal town as well.

“What happened here was the same as what happened at town centers and in cities across the country,” said Christian Allyn, who, a lifelong Canaan resident who recently became a Canaan Selectman. In the 60s and 70s, “there were movements to level a lot of the buildings and put up shopping centers.” The exploding prevalence of cars also meant that the passenger trains were being used less and less.

“There used to be stores all along Main Street,” said Boughton. “I can’t tell you how many times I tell my students, ‘Well, this building was here, but now there’s a parking lot.’ You know, it’s like that old Joni Mitchell song.”

It was in this less-bucolic context, a challenging period in the town’s history not so different from those that Canaan has faced in more recent years, that the Chamber of Commerce came up with Railroad Days, hoping to boost commerce and bring people back into town.

During the depression of the 2010s, when Canaan was suffering severe economic stress, the annual Firemen’s Carnival was rolled into Railroad Days, preserving Canaan’s summer carnival while those in nearby towns continued to falter and shut down.

“Roughly 30 years ago, every town in the area had a carnival in some form,” said Allyn.

“Ours is one of the last ones. You get people coming from quite a distance.”

Since its inauguration, said Allyn, the festival has provided more than just fun and celebration for Canaanites; it also occasions a moment of unity and town pride, even—and perhaps especially—during stressful times. The focus of Railroad Days has evolved from its commercial origins to center much more on community celebration.

“They started out just trying to bring people into the town center for a hoopla party,” said Boughton. “And it’s still really a pretty good party!”