Shopping The Way It Used To Be

Much has changed since the time when Avon, Connecticut was a farming community. However, the area has maintained its unspoiled charm... and one farm there has found a new life as the home to an exciting way of shopping.

Riverdale Farms features many specialty shops, restaurants, personal and professional services, on the restored site of a 19th century farm. Eleven of the buildings are original structures from the days of the dairy farm - when milk was delivered into Hartford by a team of horses.

There has been much history and change since the 1600s, when the property was known as the Case Farm, and the Holloway family's purchase of those 124.5 acres in 1921. A sawmill was constructed after the devastating 1938 hurricane felled countless trees. The 1870s Neville house, which once housed the one-room Avon Library, was purchased from the Town of Avon and moved to Riverdale Farms so the Towpath Elementary School could be built. The original 19th century Avon railroad depot... with its deep eaves designed to protect waiting passengers... was purchased for $1.00 and moved to its present site, as Riverdale Farms continued to grow to over 600 acres.

Over time, as agricultural activity waned and homogenizing and pasteurizing of milk became costly, the Holloways began to sell pieces of their farm. In 1977, Silvio and Theresa Brighenti purchased the remaining 26 acres of Riverdale Farms with all the buildings on them, with the intent of preserving its appeal and history by transforming it into a new and exciting enterprise. After three years of putting all utilities underground, and faithfully restoring the buildings to preserve their architectural character, the first business started in 1980.

Amid the lush surrounding countryside, with the backdrop of Talcott Mountain and the Heublein Tower at its summit, Riverdale Farms Shopping has an ambience all its own. Visitors there will find convenience and selection... and shopping the way it used to be.

124 Simsbury Rd. Avon, CT 06001
Phone: (860) 677-6437 | info@riverdalefarmsshopping.com

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