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The History of the Watertown Foundation
On October 6, 1925, fifty residents of Watertown met with David Woodward at M’Fingal Inn Bungalow.
He informed his guests of his love for the Town and his desire to do what he could to make it a better
place in which to live. He had therefore concluded that the organization of a Foundation, incorporated
under the laws of the State, should be undertaken for the purpose of receiving and maintaining funds and
using the income therefrom to improve the social and living conditions of the town. As we prepare for our 100th Centennial Celebration in October 2025, please enjoy these articles that highlight how the Watertown Foundation has been Connecting Our Community Through Giving for nearly 100 years!
Sincere thanks to our friends from Prime Publishers and the Town Times for helping us share the rich history of
the Watertown Foundation through a series of articles. Check back each month for new articles or see below for
other interesting information that you may have missed.
Are you related to a Watertown Foundation Founding Member? Scroll down to review the listing of many
recognizable names. Please let us know if you are related via email to wtnfoundationct@gmail.com.
APRIL 2024: “M’FINGAL INN AND MORE FAMILIAR NAMES”
The M’Fingal Inn hosted the original meeting of the Watertown Foundation on October 6, 1925. The foundation records indicate that the meeting was held in “The M’Fingal Bungalow,” presumably an out building of the inn. Built in the 1870’s for the Hamilton Family, it later served as “On the Hill Sanitarium.” Once abandoned, it re-opened as the M’Fingal Inn, named after the patriotic poem by Watertown’s John Trumbull, poet of the American Revolution. As an inn, it was widely considered one of the finest eating establishments in New England. The property encompassed four acres, bound by Middlebury Road, Hamilton
Avenue, Hamilton Lane and Woodbury Road. Demolished in 1952, this majestic inn sat on property that is now Princeton Terrace.
The Bungalow of the M’Fingal Inn
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MARCH 2024: “PHILANTHROPY IN ACTION THROUGH WATERTOWN FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS”
FEBRUARY 2024: "FAMILIAR NAMES"
JANUARY 2024: "CONNECTING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH GIVING"
ORIGINAL CHARTER MEMBERS
Mrs. Richard J. Ashworth
Bennett C. Atwood
Mrs. Bertha M. Atwood
Charles W. Atwood
Lester W. Atwood
Meritt W. Atwood
Theodore C. Atwood
Andrew W. Barton
Frank N. Bean
William H. Beers
Michael E. Brahen
Frank W. Brodie
Charles B. Buckingham
Mrs. Charles B. Buckingham
Mrs. John Buckingham
Samuel T. Buzzee
Fred G. Camp
Alexander J. Campbell
Leonard R. Carley
Mrs. Leonard R. Carley
Terence F. Carmody
Samuel A. Case
John H. Cassidy
Miss Elizabeth Curtis
Elmer A. Doolittle
Wadsworth C. Doster
Mrs. George A. Driggs
Edwin H. English
Arthur G. Evans
C.A. Hammond-Knowlton
Mrs. C.A. Hammond-Knowlton
Mildred Hammond-Knowlton
George A. Harper
B. Havens Heminway
Mrs. B. Haven Heminway
B. Havens Heminway, Jr.
Mrs. B. Havens Heminway, Jr.
Bartow L. Heminway
Merrit Heminway
Arthur P. Hickcox
F. Percy Hickox
Frank B. Hickcox
Howard M. Hickox
Newton B. Hobart
Charles S. Hungerford
Charles W. Jackson
William Judge
Fletcher W. Judson
Eugene H. Lamphier
Charles O. Lawson
George F. Lewis
Theodore Lilley
Adrian V.S. Lindsley
Ernest K. Loveland
Mrs. Fannie E.C. Low
Gerald C. Low
Andrew D. McIntosh
Mrs. Charles B. Mattoon
M. Heminway Merriman
Mrs. M. Heminway Merriman
H. Morton Merriman
Sidney B. Morton
William J. Munson
Mrs. Marian Woodward Ottley
Sherman H. Perry
Edward B. Pierpont
S. Kellogg Plume
Edwin G. Reade
Adolph C. Recker
William B. Reynolds
Harley F. Roberts
John L. Scott
Mrs. Ellen Hyde Scovill
Miss Margaret Scovill
Charles Sherwood
Charles Sherwood, Jr.
Curtiss Sherwood
John P. Sherwood
Charles H. Skilton
Pearl J. Skilton
Daniel G. Sullivan
Gordon C. Swift
Horace D. Taft
Harold E. Thompson
Oswald G. Villard
Garfield M. Weld
Clarence E. Wells
Eugene W. Wheeler
Karl Winter
David Woodward
Mrs. David Woodward
James B. Woolson
WATERTOWN FOUNDATION
PAST PRESIDENTS
1925-David Woodward
1926-Harley F. Roberts
1927-William J. Munson
1930-Dr. M. Heminway Merriman
1932-Harry H. Heminway
1934-Charles S. Hungerford
1936-Fletcher W. Judson
1938-S. Kellogg Plume
1940-Alexander J. Campbell
1942-Paul Cruikshank
1943-Arthur P. Hickcox
1945-Merritt W. Atwood
1947-Gerald C. Low
1947-Adrian V. S. Lindsley
1949-Thayer Baldwin
1951-F. Stillman Hyde
1954-Dr. J. H. Root, Jr.
1956-John N. Carley
1958-John T. Reardon
1960-Earle W. Couch
1962-Wooster B. Curtiss
1964-Harold H. Smith
1966-Charles S. Hungerford, Jr.
1968-Heminway Merriman
1970-Wilbur H. Caney
1972-E. Edward Thompson
1974-John H. S. Candee
1976-Mabelle Camp
1977-John H. Cassidy, Jr.
1979-John S. Brady
1981-William H. Eppehimer
1983-Carol Gilbert
1985-Joseph E. Horzepa
1987-Roberta Czarsty
1989-Henry L. Long, Jr.
1991-Barbara W. Mahoney
1993-Carey R. Geghan
1995-Richard Bozzuto
1997-Roger A. Chace
1999-Dwight F. Miller, M.D.
2001-Stedman G. Sweet
2003-Robert H. LaBonne, Sr.
2005-Richard H. Wick
2007-James S. Zoldy, Jr.
2009-Susan Atkins
2011-William Dunbar
2013-Paul Jessell
2015-Joseph Kinsella
2017-Margaret Durkee
2019-Linda Merriman
2021-Tina Agati
2023-Marcia Killeen
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