Bissell's – Destroyed by Two Conflagrations

Hiram K. Scott established the town's first variety and drug store in 1853 and became an influential businessman who served as postmaster, town clerk, probate judge, and druggist for 50 years. He sold the store to Harvey Bissell in the summer of 1895, just six months before the Great Fire destroyed the building. Bissell rebuilt it the following year, and the drugstore remained in business until it burned to the ground again in 2005. Bissell's continued after moving a half block east. The Ridgefield Savings Bank and First National Bank also occupied several locations and used several names. For many years both had offices on the first floor of the Town Hall. The First National Bank, formed in 1900, moved to the corner of Main and Governor Streets in 1911. The Ridgefield Savings Bank was organized in 1871 by local merchants and businessmen, first operated in the building known as Old Hundred, and in 1930 erected its new art deco building at 374 Main Street, replacing the tenement house seen in the photo.

Ridgefield, Connecticut · United States