Street Name Changed at Family's Request

Allstate Insurance moved out of town several years ago, but the name of the street the building was on, now occupied by Bank of America, remained Allstate Drive long after.

That ended this summer when the short street, located off Batterson Park Road, was renamed Bagdigian Way.

The change was approved by the town council during its July meeting at the request of Peter Bagdigian and his sister, Patricia Bagdigian Buttero. The siblings are lifelong residents of Farmington now living in different parts of town. But they grew up in the section that now has a street bearing their family name.

“I sent a letter to the town manager saying that it would be nice if we could change the name,” Bagdigian said.

“My father and uncle operated the Lakeside Dairy,” he explained. “They owned 32 acres of land and we had an ice cream bar, roughly where Batterson Park Road is now.”

The family had 72 cows at one time and bottled their own milk.

“Cows would graze where office buildings are located now,” Buttero said.

“When the state decided to redo Fienemann Road, they ended up taking our business,” Bagdigian said. “Besides ice cream, we had the best French fries and fried clams, and we gave pony rides.”

The family’s parcel of land stretched from where the Extended Stay Deluxe suites are located on Fienemann Road to where Otis Elevator and the Marriott are situated. The property extended throughout the current Batterson Park Road area, including the street now called Bagdigian Way.

“It’s where we grew up,” Buttero said. “We lived at the top of the hill, near where Camp Courant is now.”

After the land was sold that included their farm and house, Peter Sr. built a new home for his family. That house is the only residence now located on what is now called Bagdigian Way.

Before the Bagdigians sold a portion of their property to Allstate, the street had another name – Paul Spring Road – which at the time went across Rte. 6 and over to Birdseye Road.

Paul Spring still exists off of Birdseye but no longer connects to Rte. 6. Carrier Corp. now sits on property off of Rte. 6, and I-84 separates the land where Paul Spring Road once continued.

“84 took everything out,” Bagdigian said.

His father, Peter Sr., and uncle, Monty, later formed a real estate business and helped develop the area off of Paul Spring Road that came to be called Petemont Drive.

“I know my parents and uncle would be very proud,” Buttero said. “This is a great tribute to them.”

Their elders contributed to the town by having a business in Farmington, she noted.

Both Bagdigian and Buttero have also done a lot for the town, they said, serving on town boards and commissions as well as volunteering in other ways.

The street sign was changed to reflect the new name four weeks ago and since then, the siblings and their children have received many positive comments from townspeople.

“I was thrilled,” Buttero said.