149th Annual Reunion
June 21 & 22, 2019

A First Look at Plans

The 2019 Reunion will be on June 21 and 22.  It will be in Connecticut, as were the 2016 and 2017 Reunions, but this time we will be in the Essex area.  

Essex is close to the Connecticut shoreline, several miles south of Wethersfield where Nathaniel Dickinson first settled.  It has been home to many Dickinson descendants over the years, including the founder of the E. E. Dickinson Witch Hazel Company.  Their famous astringent lotion was manufactured for many years in Essex.  Several DFA members reside in this part of Connecticut so we’re delighted to bring our reunion to a place which is so special for them. 

We are making arrangements to hold the Saturday reunion activities in a building that was a former part of the Witch Hazel plant and is now a banquet hall operated by the Essex Steam Railroad Company.

We are hoping to have Melissa Josefiak, director of the Essex Historical Society, as our main speaker.  Many of you will remember Melissa in connection with our “tornado” reunion in Wethersfield ten years ago. Melissa is also planning a walking tour of points of interest in Essex.

As more plans are finalized they will be announced on this web page, so keep watching!

UPDATE, 11/20/18

Arrangements have now been made to have our Friday dinner, on June 21, at the charming and historic “Brush Mill at the Waterfall” in Chester, CT.   The wood frame building once was indeed a brush-producing factory and it stands beside the Pattaconk River, just downstream from a waterfall which is visible from some of the dining rooms.

Those of us who have dined at the Brush Mill agree that the food is excellent and we think the DFA dinner there will be a memorable experience.