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La Salette in Bloomfield, CT
Strong Growth: 1914-1956
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| 1914: The original La Salette Villa in Bloomfield, Ct, used as a place for picnics and outings for the La Salette Missionaries and seminarians |
From the Hartford House’s foundation in 1892, the Parkville area of Hartford was growing rapidly and the La Salette Seminary College became very crowded. It soon became obvious that it could no longer accommodate all the categories which occupied it. The La Salette Missionaries saw the need for a separate residence, a Novitiate House, as the best solution.
Consequently in 1913 they purchased a farm at 130 Mountain Ave. in Bloomfield, CT., a little over six miles from the College and originally named the Capt. Oliver Filley House. Oliver was both a tinware manufacturer and a farmer and could trace his ancestry back to the Mayflower. (see more information below)
The house and property was first used as a summer home or country villa for those La Salettes living in the Hartford House, a spot for excursions and picnics during the
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| 1938: La Salette Novitiate House, Bloomfield, CT |
In 1916 the La Salettes broke ground for a $40,000, three-story brick building east of the Filley House. The 82-by-62-foot structure accommodated 50 students and was called the Novitiate of the College of La Salette. The building was dedicated on Sept. 25, 1917. Seminarians spent five years at La Salette College on New Park Avenue, one year in Bloomfield, and then were sent abroad to finish their education.
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| Bp. John Joseph Nilan, 7th Bishop of Hartford (1910-1934) |
Despite the onset of World War I, plans were drawn up for a Novitiate to be constructed on the lower end of the estate, practically on the main highway. Work was begun on this project in the summer of 1916. It took almost a year to complete the structure, no doubt because of war conditions. It was solemnly dedicated on September 25, 1917, by Bishop John Joseph Nilan, the Bishop of Hartford from 1910-1934.
At first, the priest mangers considered farming a diversion for themselves and their students. But by 1940 the farm was self-sufficient, and the novices were an integral part of this reality. In addition to farming, the La Salettes grew and sold produce, operated a dairy farm, raised livestock, slaughtered their own cattle and pigs. They were well-versed in plumbing, carpentry, electrical wiring, bricklaying and cabinet-making. They built their own swimming pool.
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| 1940: rear view of Annex under construction at La Salette Novitiate House, Bloomfield, CT. |
A separate garage of fieldstone was constructed in 1925 but it came down in 1939-1940 when the La Salettes embarked on building an Annex in the form of a three-story brick building, added to the main structure on the pattern of the original plan. They did most of the work themselves. It would contain a study hall, library, kitchen, reading room and dormitories.
Changes: 1957-1970s
The size novitiate classes reach a peak with a class of 25 seminarians. However the new vision of formation was rising as a result of Vatican Council II (1962-1965). With expansive opportunities opening for laity in the church and the model of religious life growing and changing, the numbers in our classes gradually decreased over the following years. In the mid-1970s, the Missionaries closed the Bloomfield facility and moved its novitiate to Altamont, NY.
Sale of Property: 1987
In 1987 the La Salettes sold the Bloomfield property to Milton Levine. In 1992 Levine sold the Filley House and 140 acres to the town of Bloomfield. The remaining property was divided, and the Novitiate building has been converted to office space. It has kept its original character, attention to detail and grand style.
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| The historic Capt. Oliver Filley House, bought by the La Salette Missionaries taken in 1885 with Samuel B. Finney family in foreground |
Filley House: 1992-2007
Our original property included the Capt. Oliver Filley House. Oliver was both a tinware manufacturer and a farmer and could trace his ancestry back to the Mayflower. The Filley Tin Shop was located on this property about 1800, later moving it to Brown Street in Bloomfield. In an account book covering the years 1807-1809, it states that: “After his father's death in 1796 he (Oliver), then 12 years old, took entire charge of the farm on Cook's Hill in Wintonbury, now Bloomfield. He became engaged in farming and manufacturing and represented his Town in the State Legislature for several sessions.”
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| Giles Filley, brother of Oliver Filley |
Then the property became the Samuel Bushnell Pinney Farm. The 235-acre parcel included the 1834 Captain Oliver Filley House, where the priests lived. The dramatic traprock stone farm house, built in 1834, sits on 145 acres and has been farmed for more than 200 years. It is presently being restored through a partnership between the Wintonbury Historical Society and the Town of Bloomfield, and is on the Connecticut Registry of Historical Places.
If all goes, well, it will serve as the home base for the Wintonbury Historical Society; a genealogical library for students and residents to use; a meeting place for local groups; a recreational site where visitors can use the 148 acres surrounding the home for hiking, bird-watching and other activities; an upstairs apartment for a full-time caretaker; and a museum commemorating Bloomfield’s past, present and future.
(Thanks are in order for Marlene Clark’s article, “Since You Asked: An Office Complex With A Religious Background” in The Hartford Courant of April 25, 2007 and Kevin Clapp’s article “This Old, Historic House” in The Hartford Courant of Jan. 4, 1998.)