Historic Name or Use   

William H. Smith Home

  Current Name or Use   

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 Address  

Address: 51 East Main Street, Stafford Springs

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 About This History of Stafford Savings Bank

This Romanesque/Tuscan style house was built for William H. Smith, owner of Smith & Cooley Mill and Glynville Mill, in 1888.   This is Stafford’s only house of this style that was made popular by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The house has a rusticated granite foundation, brownstone 1st story, and clapboarded 2nd story and 3rd story turret.   Albert E. Converse was the builder.  The stonework was done by the W. N. Flynt Co. of Monson, Massachusetts who also supplied the granite for the foundation and did the stonework on the Charles Holt house across the street, Holt Memorial Fountain, and the Christopher Allen Bridge on Spring Street.  

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William H. Smith was born in 1848 to William and Alice (Ellis) Smith in Stafford.  His father, William Smith, was a manufacturer of flocks and shoddy and owned two mills in town – the Glynville Mill on Furnace Avenue and the William Smith & Co. Mill on River Road (currently next to the Town Hall).   William joined his father’s company in 1872 and took it over, along with his brother-in-law, William Cooley, when the senior William Smith died in 1881; the company name then changed to Smith & Cooley.   

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William H. Smith married Estelle Wood of West Winfield, NY, and they had one son, Robert W. Smith born in 1877.  William was one of the founders of the First National Bank in Stafford, serving as the Vice President for a time and served as President of the Stafford Library Association.   The Smiths were active members of the Stafford Congregational Church.    Estelle Smith was active in the Women’s Library Club.   William died in 1900 and Estelle died in 1936.

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Robert Smith inherited his father’s house and became a partner in the Smith & Cooley mill.  He married Josephine Hewett.  He also served on the Board of Directors of the Stafford Savings Bank and was president of the Stafford Fair for a time.  

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In 1938, Robert W. Smith sold the house to J. Francis Browne & Sons who ran a funeral home in Thompsonville, Connecticut.   The house was remodeled to be a modern, fully equipped, funeral home and Richard Y. Browne, one of the sons, took the role of Resident Director, assisted by his wife, Elise (McIntyre) Browne, who was also a licensed embalmer.  The carriage house behind the main house was used as a garage for funeral vehicles and for the ambulance that he ran for many years.   

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In the 1940s, Richard Browne turned the carriage house into a furniture store named the Countryside Furniture Company.    In 1948, Richard hired Joseph A. Introvigne, Jr, a 24-year-old Stafford native who had served in WWII to manage the store and assist in the funeral home.  In 1954, the store was renamed Introvigne Furniture Mart although Browne still owned interest in the business.

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In 1956, the Browne’s sold the business to Richard E. Stevens and Henry J. Plante who established the Stevens-Plante Funeral Home.  Stevens later sold his share of the funeral business to Plante and it became the Henry J. Plante Funeral Home.  In 1964, Plante asked Joseph Introvigne to become a partner in the funeral home and it was renamed Introvigne-Plante Funeral Home.  In 1980, Joseph A. Introvigne, along with his son, Joseph R. Introvigne became the sole owners of funeral home.    Joseph A. Introvigne died in 2000.   Since that time, Joseph A.’s grandsons, Joseph R. and Michael J. have become licensed Funeral Directors, have worked with their father and have taken over the business becoming the third generation to serve the town of Stafford. 
 

 Time Line:

• 1888- William H. Smith builds a house on the corner of East Main and Crown Streets

• 1900 – William H. Smith dies

• 1936 – Estelle (Wood) Smith, William’s widow, dies, and the house passes to son Robert W. Smith

• 1938 – The House was sold to J. Francis Browne & Sons and became Browne Funeral Home

• 1956 – Business sold to Richard E. Stevens and Henry J. Plante, becoming Stevens-Plante Funeral Home

• 1964 – Joseph A. Introvigne becomes a partner in the business and name changes to Introvigne-Plante Funeral Home

• 1980 – Joseph A. Introvigne, became the sole owner and name is changed to Introvigne Funeral Home

• 2000 – Joseph A. Introvigne, dies and his son, Joseph R. Introvigne, Sr. purchases the business

• 2004 – Joseph R. Introvigne, Jr. became a licensed Funeral Director and joined his father’s business

• 2012 - Michael J. Introvigne, another son of Joseph R. Introvigne Sr. became a licensed Funeral Director and joined his father and brother in business.