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On Tour

A 1926 Ford Pickup and 1927 Buick meet at the front entrance of the Inn at Woodstock Hill before setting off on Route 169, a National Scenic Byway. Courtesy photo.

 

 

WOODSTOCK — For the second time in three years the Inn at Woodstock Hill played host recently to a fleet of vintage cars, all pre-dating 1930, part of an antique vehicle tour organized by Mystic Seaport as part of its Antique Vehicle Show weekend.  Drawn back to Woodstock by its inviting Inn and historical charm, the 24-member tour had dinner Sept. 22 at Sweet Evalina’s and started its Sept. 23 schedule with a visit to Chamberlin Mill on Old Turnpike Road. 

Over the past few years a special connection has been established between Chamberlin Mill and Mystic Seaport, whose engine repair volunteers successfully restored the Mill’s 1928 Studebaker straight-eight engine in 2014-15. There were many who said this couldn’t be done, but the ingenious and generous volunteers from Mystic, familiar with engines badly corroded by sea water, were undaunted by the prospect of taking on an engine that had been rusting in the elements for almost a half century.  

With some financial support from the Studebaker Association of America, parts donated by a New Hampshire car collector, and many, many hours of labor, Nate Rosebrooks of Thompson and others from the Mystic volunteer team cleaned, repaired, and fine-tuned the engine, which was purring at Chamberlin Mill on Saturday morning. The powerful 1928 Studebaker engine was used to run Chamberlin Mill’s 1873 circular saw for several decades following “The Great Flood” of 1936.  Hooked up directly to the saw-arbor shaft, the engine was able to keep the Mill in operation through the 1960s, when production at the Mill ceased. Once Chamberlin Mill is restored, the engine will again be pressed into service to run its rebuilt circular saw.

The Mystic Seaport Antique Vehicle Show and Tour attract cars and other vehicles from throughout the northeastern states and beyond.   Among cars spotted in Woodstock were a 1927 Rolls Royce Phantom 1, several Ford Model T’s including a 1926 Pickup, and a 1927 Buick Sedan.  The oldest vehicles were a 1915 Dodge Brothers Five-Passenger sedan and a 1912 Overland Model 59 Roadster.  The tour’s itinerary changes from year to year, this year visiting sites in northern Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut, before heading to Mystic Seaport for its celebrated fish fry ahead of the Sunday Antique Vehicle Show. Anyone interested in information about next year’s show can look up This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“It really is a sight to see these beautifully restored cars coming around a bend on one of our quiet back roads, and we are delighted to have had a small part in their tour again this year,” said Jean McClellan, a representative of the non-profit organization that has taken responsibility for revitalizing the historic Chamberlin Mill.  Local residents will have a chance to visit Chamberlin Mill at 2 p.m. Oct. 1 as part of The Last Green Valley’s Walktober.  For more information on the Mill, see www.chamberlinmill.org.