On July 27, 1984, Vera and Frank Miller sold a large portion of their property to Mary F. Whalen of 781 East Street, Hebron, Connecticut19. The tract with the horse barn was not part of this contract. Mary likely continued to farm the land, as the map drawn up in 1985 for Kendall Builders Inc.20 indicates that the land was still open. In any case, the eighties brought a wave of development in Hebron. Perhaps seeing more profit from selling her land to a developer than keeping it herself, Mary signed a warranty to Kendall Builders Inc. on January 10, 1985, putting an end to farming on the land21. She continued to live in the farmhouse on 182 Old Colchester Road and sold the adjoining property, which was subdivided into two lots.
Kendall Builders Inc. were not the only builders grabbing land in Hebron. The landscape is dotted with homes and developments constructed in the eighties. The warranty between Kendall Inc. and Whalen lists Northern Builders Inc. as owning adjoining property. It seems at this time the suburbs had filled up, and white collar families, willing to commute further, looked to the hinterlands of Hartford. And so, Kendell Builders Inc. erected two new homes on Ike Goldstein’s former farm, each of about 1 acre.
On January 3, 1986, almost exactly a year after Kendall Builders bought the property, Robert and Kathleen Fiala took over the land22. They lived in Glastonbury, a town less than twenty miles from Hebron and known for affluence. They likely bought up hot real estate, looking to make a profit. And they certainly did. Ten months later, on November 10, 1986 they sold the property to Nicholas and Kathleen Tosca for $134,000; $104,000 more than they had bought it for23.
The Tosca’s lived in the house for sixteen years, turning ownership over Charles and Sylvia Lents on July 7, 200224. The couple moved to Hebron, as many other young families did, because it was only a thirty minute commute to Hartford, where Charles worked, and the school system was ranked a “B” out of an “A” through “H” scale. A treehouse was built in the backyard for two young children to play in. An above ground pool was installed25. The transformation from farmland to suburb was complete.
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The 180 OCR Project 