The Hen House - Underhill Center Country Dancing in the Mid 40s to 60s

From the mid '40s to the mid '60s Underhill Center was a mecca for country dances held Saturday nights at the 'Hen House' (now Wells apartments) in Underhill Center. It was entertainment for all ages and was popular with dancers from all around the area. Now, not only was this great exercise, but people of all ages wouldn't think of letting a Saturday Night go by without going to "The Hen House."

If you didn't happen to be in your late teens in the Mid-60s, then probably you never heard of "The Hen House."

I don't remember the western bands that played there, or much about it, but there was lots of square dancing and it certainly was cheap entertainment. Usually groups who knew each other would gather in sets for the square dancing. Like most places, of course there were people, both young and old that would consume too much alcohol, but I can't remember any fights that made me reluctant to go there. The road between Underhill Flats and Underhill Center however was the scene of a number of serious and fatal accidents that were either alcohol related or caused by some racing going on.

After the "Hen House" discontinued its Saturday Night Dances, Aldolph Wells and his wife Harriet (Minor - Lee Minor's sister) purchased it and members of the Wells family still own it today.

Why was it called "The Hen House?" Well, that is what it was originally built for and if you drive to Underhill Center and take the road to Pleasant Valley, just as you leave the village, on the left, you will see what was at one time the once famous Saturday Night Place To Be "Hen House."