William Best House
377 Hayden Station Road, Windsor, CT 06095
William Howard Best was born May 11, 1924 and was a lifelong Windsor resident. His family has owned property and made a living in Windsor since the 1870s when his great-grandparents, James and Charlotte Thompson, purchased the land in Hayden Station. His great-great-uncle, Virgil Simmons, was a Civil War soldier. His grandfather, Charles Howard, was a hostler for a local farmer, caring for horses. His mother, Florence, was a pianist and a hairdresser.
William Best was the source for African American history in Windsor with most of the information stored in his memory and in photographs that he preserved of the town, his neighborhood and local African Americans. He wanted to make sure that black history, as part of Windsor’s story, was documented and acknowledged. He generously shared his extensive and invaluable knowledge with researchers and others who were interested. Bill and his wife Jean were active members of the Windsor Historical Society, and he served on the Board of Directors. He participated in the National Conference for Community and Justice, Conversations on Race and found pleasure and meaning in revealing his confrontations with racial issues in town and in the United States Marines during World War II.
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