With poplars and maple trees lining the sidewalk, Station Place presented a bucolic setting to the visitor arriving at the newly constructed railroad station (center) in the early 20th century. One could hardly guess that an impressive business boom was under way, heralded in the local paper as the biggest boom Norfolk had ever witnessed. New stores had opened in the Royal Arcanum building (left), built in 1904, including a drug store, a market and an appliance store, which carried a complete line of stoves, ranges and refrigerators. As vehicular traffic increased (notice both the horse and carriage and the automobile), signs alerted drivers to bear right or left. With the construction of the hardware store (right), the Winsted Evening Citizen was enthusiastic: “Norfolk can boast one of the finest business districts in any town of its size in New England.”

—Ann Havemeyer

Photo courtesy of the Norfolk Historical Society.